#1: T-shirt Design Submissions for my friend’s book release

I created two submissions based on two poems from my friend’s book, Vogue 3:16
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This design is from the poem “Denture Love”.

I really love this poem because it’s filled with warmth. As a married woman, I look at this poem as a standard for growing old with my husband (if time allows). I used a red shirt instead of a muted tone because the glass uses a blue almost monotone palette. Also, the poem has a calm flow but lasting love is very much passionate, at least, in my opinion.

Here’s the process of creating the design.

First I penciled and inked a simple sketch.

After I scanned it into the computer, I traced and colored it in Illustrator and copied the vector to Photoshop.

This was my third time using Photoshop to color an image. I only recently learned how to do this technique. The good thing is I am a traditionally-trained artist, and I borrowed some ideas from painting and color theory. The original base color of the entire image is a very light powder blue because I wanted everything to look submerged and glass-like. I used layers for each different color. It took me a long time to get the look to where it is now. I need more time to analyze glass. Anyways, it took me several days to color this in.

This design is from the poem “Johnny Appleseed”.

This design took more time to do because I don’t like drawing technical things (machines, cars, straight lines). I wanted the pain in the man’s face to be the first thing everyone sees. Though the poem itself depicts a man who has given up on many things and has accepted his sad environment, I think that the man hasn’t truly given up. He is just trying to find somewhere that isn’t where he’s at, but he’s being forced back into the stereotypes and lifestyle that society won’t let him leave. I might be wrong about the interpretation of this poem. Even so, I’m just happy making a design close to my heart: being a black person trying to get away from the “machine”, the stereotypical identity that “higher ups” have coerced everyone to believe in.

Here’s the process.

I used Copic Multiliner Pens to outline this image. It took a long time…

I scanned it and traced it in Illustrator. I colored it using layers for each item (machines and skin). I didn’t want the things from the poem (mic, ball pencil, headphones) to disappear into the folds, so I used burnt orange over grey to make them stand out a little bit.

If you like poetry or the concepts of these designs, please buy my friend’s poetry collection, Vogue 3:16!