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Im a web designer and use photoshop religiously for all my design work. Ive recently got into t-shirt designing and just had a question regarding Illustrator. Ive recently started to use Illustrator (specifically the pen tool for line drawings) but i still dont 'get' illustrator. I mean i know the difference and benefits between vectors/pixels etc but i still dont understand how illustrator could benefit me over photoshop (with which i can create pretty much anything).
So my question is: Is Illustrator absolutely necessary for doing the designs or can the designs i do in photoshop be sufficient for t-shirt designs.
Im a web designer and use photoshop religiously for all my design work. Ive recently got into t-shirt designing and just had a question regarding Illustrator. Ive recently started to use Illustrator (specifically the pen tool for line drawings) but i still dont 'get' illustrator. I mean i know the difference and benefits between vectors/pixels etc but i still dont understand how illustrator could benefit me over photoshop (with which i can create pretty much anything).
So my question is: Is Illustrator absolutely necessary for doing the designs or can the designs i do in photoshop be sufficient for t-shirt designs.
It really is about doing the vector art. if you want have something done in screen printing or plastisol transfers then you need to turn your art into vector art. Corel draw and Illustrator both do that, Photoshop is great for doing pictures and JPg prints.
Im a web designer and use photoshop religiously for all my design work. Ive recently got into t-shirt designing and just had a question regarding Illustrator. Ive recently started to use Illustrator (specifically the pen tool for line drawings) but i still dont 'get' illustrator. I mean i know the difference and benefits between vectors/pixels etc but i still dont understand how illustrator could benefit me over photoshop (with which i can create pretty much anything).
So my question is: Is Illustrator absolutely necessary for doing the designs or can the designs i do in photoshop be sufficient for t-shirt designs.
Illustrator is not necessary. I use it for some things and I use Photoshop for others. It really depends on what you are comfortable using, from my point of view, it doesn't matter. Alot of people are stuck on the vector thing and I don't know why. I've been screen printing for years I own and have owned several shops (screen printing, embroidery, vinyl graphics, logo design and all the like) doing different types of graphics.
No, Illustrator is not necessary. As long as you learn the basics of screen printing ( spot color design, simulation, process, etc...) then you can do ANYTHING in photoshop... (you need to be conscience of how many colors you are using vs. what process you will be using to print your design vs. cost)
Pretty much though, if you aren't going to be the one separating the files, then all you need to do is design your artwork to size. Find a really good print shop you like, and pay them to do the seps...
another good resource for finding out the ins and outs of screenprinting would be the gigposters screenprinting forum... those guys are the best in the biz... just read all the archived forum post and you'll be smarter than most GigPosters.com - gig posters, flyers and handbills from around the world!
Last edited by SadMonkeyDesign; December 14th, 2008 at 08:36 PM.
Im a web designer and use photoshop religiously for all my design work. Ive recently got into t-shirt designing and just had a question regarding Illustrator. Ive recently started to use Illustrator (specifically the pen tool for line drawings) but i still dont 'get' illustrator. I mean i know the difference and benefits between vectors/pixels etc but i still dont understand how illustrator could benefit me over photoshop (with which i can create pretty much anything).
So my question is: Is Illustrator absolutely necessary for doing the designs or can the designs i do in photoshop be sufficient for t-shirt designs.
Yo I practically came into this site asking the same question just a 4 days ago....haha...took me one night to learn Illustrator.
I say its well worth to learn. And it will help you out knowing both photoshop and illustrator.
Is Illustrator necessary? 
