Illustrator and TShirt making

Hi all!

I need some help! Just uploaded a tshirt design but cannot make the background transparent. Have been trying to use adobe illustrator but my brain can’t cope. When the image first appeared it was a white rectangle on a black tee – and when I realised my error and defaulted the tee colour to white, I can still see the background colour from the original scan…

Can anyone tutorial me through?

your image needs to contain transparent areas. You could trace your scan in illustrator, but illustrator is not good for manipulating the scan itself. You need photoshop (or any bitmap image editor) to remove the white areas from your scan.

I create my designs in illustrator, and then I bring it into photoshop by placing it on to the template RB provide. Works like a charm.

I don’t know if this is possible in Illustrator or not …... try selecting the white area and go to edit>delete. You might have to tidy things up a bit, but it might work.

Illustrator doesn’t work like that I’m afraid…

Is there a Layer: Multiply available?

Thanks all for your responses – I don’t have photoshop – like a Canon 400D I simply can’t afford it… looks like I’ll have to hold off for a while. Cheers:)

Hey, try inkscape – just as capable as illustrator if not more so, and you should be able to get rid of the annoying white stuff as well.

Gimp is also free, and does what you need it to do!

Hey thanks heaps! Will go check them out:)

I agree with Natalie, GIMP is a fantastic (and free) alternative to Photoshop. Definitely check it out. It’ll be able to do everything you need it to do.

in Illustrator all you need to do is….....

File

Save for Web

and make it a png

easy! :) :)

If you’ve scanned it, you may want to do a Live Trace, and then Expand (that is if you have CS2) Then with the white arrow, click in the middle of the what area (what is appearing as white in your tee) and press delete. You will also have to do the same for the areas which are in your illustration which you do not what white. Alternatively you can select all the white with the magic wand.

hang on also….... you might want to separate the paths….... to delete the white.

some of the stuff that i post turns out kinda gray when uploaded, why is that?
but only the ones with allot of different colours

still having problems downloading gimp…

thickblackoutline – will try your method and see what happens:)

my illustrator only has save dropdown options for pdf and illustrator formats. havent got photoshop so can’t do the other thing…
will go try download gimp again…

hi- have managed to download gimp – am off to puzzle it out – cheers:)

Fotofiltre is another great free program that will work and Microsoft’s free Paint will work also. Go to paint.net

Can’t get the file size to work in Gimp – will try paint joan:)

I went back and tried Gimp and THIS TIME I got it right (Marg does the happy dance Thanks everyone for your input – it worked when I read about the layers thing and making the background go checkered (see the other posting on tshirt making)...

CHEERS:)

sent a bubblemail then realised youd solved your probs with
gimp .. great !

Yay!

I have really started working out this gimp program – so much to learn, so impatient! Thanks for all your help:) Marg

I agree, I am impatient to learn Gimp, but it will probably be worth it once I do.
.So far, I have not got the transparent background figured out If anyone can help, I need it.

open new file, go to advanced options and background colour. should see transparent