How To Make A Free T-Shirt Design Without Photoshop

How To Make A T-shirt Design Online

Making t-shirt designs online has become an easy process through the use of web-based tools. While looking into how to make my own t-shirt designs, I found that Placeit.net made it easiest and it looks great!

Here is how to make a t-shirt design online:

  1. Navigate to Placeit.net
  2. Under “Designs” in the top left menu, select “T-Shirt Designs”
  3. Choose a template that fits your needs best
  4. Enter custom text and graphics
  5. Change your font and colors
  6. Select “Download” in the top right corner

There are so many options for making your t-shirt online that it is worth going into detail on each of these steps. Here is a handy guide through the whole process.

1. Navigate To Placeit.net

We’ve used many t-shirt design tools online, and we always recommend Placeit.net.

Placeit has the largest library of design templates and even offers mockup templates so you can show your t-shirt design on a model!

2. Click on “T-Shirt Designs

Placeit.net has a wide variety of tools available. Exploring the website is great and could lead to inspiration for you and your designs, but for now, we will focus on the t-shirt design templates.

At the top of the page, there are five major categories. “Designs” is the second. Simply select designs, and a sub-menu of “t-shirt designs” will become available. Click that as well and you are in!

Near the top once again, there is a drop-down menu for selecting categories and narrowing the results being shown. If you have an idea for a shirt design already, this is a great way to help you find a close result. Otherwise, browse around and start looking for a template that calls to you.

3. Finding The Right Template

The large variety of templates available for making your t-shirt design online can be daunting. However, it is also a great sign that you will be able to find and create your perfect design with just a little bit of work.

To find the right template, consider the design’s use and the layout of the template. Almost everything about a shirt design can be changed, but the layout can be difficult to tinker with. Get that right and you are well on your way to a great design.

Finding The Right Layout

To sort through the thousands of shirt design templates ready to use, it is best to employ the filters and search functions that are available. Often, these categories will help you find the perfect pre-generated layout.

These filters can be as broad as looking only at bestsellers, to as exclusive as looking at shirt designs specifically related to Father’s Day. If the shirt is for a specific event or business, look in that category first. Or, if you just want to take a look at what is trendy and match your shirt design to that, selecting the “Best Selling” or “Newest” categories may be best.

When trying to find your right layout, consider these questions:

  • What is the ratio of text to image? – certain layouts are better suited for text than others.
  • Do you want the shirt to be recognizable or unique? – Following trends is certain to make a good shirt, but it may not be very “you”.
  • How many different colors do you want? – Do you prefer your shirts to be all black, or colorful and snappy? This can help you choose the right template.

What Is The Design’s Use

How will you use the shirt design when it is all said and done? If it is just for you, then simply select what looks best and follow that path. However, if the shirt is being created for a friend, a group, or an event, it is best to consider how others will take to the design.

If designing a t-shirt for any kind of event, consider what the event is for. Not only is there probably a category for templates of that nature online, but it can also help you decide on what is important to the shirt.

If there is any advertising going on the shirt, like a website or company name, it is best to choose a template that does well with text.  Otherwise, most shirt designs rely on great graphics and images.

Taking the time to consider the thoughts of those who will wear the design will make a better product at the end of the process.

4. Inputting Your Text And Images

With a template selected, it is time to actually make the shirt design your own. Here, the process can change wildly depending on how much customization needs to be done on the shirt.

Placeit.net makes it easy to adjust the text, colors, and graphics of any design templates on the site. You can also change the layout and font but that will be covered later.

Editing Text

To edit the text and replace it with your own message, simply click on the text box underneath the live design and start typing. This will replace the text in the image above immediately, allowing you to preview the design and make changes as you go.

Some template designs will have multiple text fields. The process is the same, simply selecting the text and editing each time. This is also how you can edit the color of each text box, whether you want them the same or different.

This is a great time for creativity in the design process, so let your mind wander! With how easy it is to change your design’s message it is worth testing out different things.

Editing Images

Changing the graphics on your custom t-shirt design is made just as easy and can have a large impact on how the shirt looks.

Each t-shirt template will come with at least one graphic but could have more. If you have multiple images you want on the design, it is easy to add them as well to create the perfect piece.

Uploading your own images can make your shirt truly unique, and is a great option for truly custom shirts. However, if you want a quick and good design, there is also a large variety of graphics available that can be chosen and put onto the shirt. Once again these can be searched by category to find exactly what you are looking for.

5. Editing Color and Font

Once the images and text of your shirt have been input, most of the work is done! Now it is time for the finishing touches. While there are infinite details that can be tweaked in any design, the two largest parts that should be personalized are color and font.

Choosing A Shirt Color

Choosing the color of your shirt design is important because it will influence how the text and graphics look in contrast. While there are a wide variety of colors available for the t-shirt design, it can be a good rule of thumb to stick to colors that you have seen before on shirts.

Black, gray, and white are chosen most often for shirts because they almost always offer great contrast so the graphics and text can be the center of attention for a shirt. When in doubt, stick with those colors.

The most important thing when choosing a shirt color is contrast. It is vital the shirt color is lighter and more subtle than the colors of text or graphics, as otherwise they will blend in and become muddled. Placeit.net has chosen a great variety of colors to be available for templates. When in doubt, test a color and see how the designs pop.

Choosing Font

Font is how your text will show up on the shirt and a great way to introduce even more style to the design. There is a lot of theory behind choosing good fonts, and getting the right one can elevate a t-shirt design from good to great.

Luckily, many of the templates already have great fonts chosen. If you like them, simply leave them as is and your shirt design is done! However, if you want to change them, Placeit.net has done a great job of curating good fonts that can fit with most designs.

When looking at the various fonts available under the text category, consider how the font should look, as well as the message of the text. If a shirt’s message is to believe in oneself, it may be best to avoid fonts that look too edgy or unreadable. Or, if the shirt is for a child, avoiding script fonts that are done in cursive may be best.

The most important thing when choosing a font is legibility. After that, it is all a design choice!

6. Enjoy!

Congratulations, you have made a custom t-shirt design online! With that, you can download the design and print it yourself, or experiment and keep easily making designs.

Pro Tip: Placeit also offers an additional 15% off any plan with this coupon if you decide a premium plan is better for your needs.