HAWAIIAN SHIRT- Intro to Digital Media
INTRODUCTION:
For this project we were asked to create a Hawaiian shirt with a unique design and pattern. I chose to work with jellyfish and plumeria, I wanted to create an under the sea, floral type of vibe. I think jellyfish are uniquely beautiful and weird, while plumeria are a tropical flower frequently used in Hawaiian leis.
MATERIALS:
Adobe Illustrator was used to create all the elements of my Hawaiian shirt and images for inspiration were sourced from Google searches.
CREATIVE PROCESS:
I knew I wanted to create an underwater feel to my Hawaiian shirt so I chose a colour palette that would work with my theme. I chose to use a dark blue and dark green gradient for the background to create a sense of depth, like the sea. For the jellyfish and plumeria, I wanted to keep it light and vibrant. I used a glowing effect for the jellyfish so that it would pop off of the shirt and be the star of the pattern. The plumeria was done in a light pink to compliment the vibrancy of the jellyfish and add dimension to the dark gradient background.
INSPIRATION:
https://unsplash.com/photos/EQtylXVEyNc
https://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/blogs/articles-and-tips/top-8-must-have-tropical-plants-for-every-garden
I made illustrations of the jellyfish with the plumeria dancing around it. I kept the plumeria a solid colour so the jellyfish could be the star of the pattern with its glowing tendrils.
Workflow:
I began by placing an image of a Hawaiian shirt into Illustrator to create a template, then I dimmed the image to 50%. I then proceeded to trace the template with the pen tool and made each panel a different colour. I used the layering method to create a complete tracing of the shirt.
After the tracing was complete, I deleted the template and I went back to make sure all the edges lined up and the shirt was one cohesive piece.
I chose to use a blue-green gradient for my shirt colour to resemble the depths of the sea but also to distinguish the collar from the rest of the shirt. The gradient lifts the collar and makes the shirt more dynamic than if I had used a solid colour.
For the first rendition of my pattern, I played around with different colour combinations for the plumeria. Ultimately, I felt that the green and yellow did not provide enough of a complimentary contrast as the light pink. I chose to use an outer glow on the tendrils of the jellyfish to give the appearance of being electric.
After I was satisfied with the layout of my jellyfish and plumeria, I created a pattern using the pattern making tool in Illustrator. I tested out a few different tile types, eventually settling on a grid type. I wanted to keep space between the illustrations so each section could be clearly distinguishable from one another.
To apply the pattern I created, I duplicated the fill in the appearance panel and applied the pattern to the top fill so it would sit on top of my chosen gradient. To offset the pattern as it would be on a real Hawaiian shirt, I used the tilde key plus the arrow keys to move the pattern up and down, giving it a realistic look.
For my buttons I tried out a few different shapes and colour palettes, I wanted to experiment with using a star to keep with the underwater theme of the project. To create the buttons I made the desired shape and duplicated it twice, one duplicate was coloured in a darker shade and one was coloured black with a Gaussian blur, this was placed at the very back to create a drop shadow. I used radial gradients to create the face of the button, multiple stops were added to give the button a realistic edge. To create the button holes I used the shape builder tool with the option key to subtract the circles from the middle.
I settled on a blue-green colour palette for the button to match the gradient of my shirt and used pink thread to match the flowers.
For my shirt label, I imported fabric texture from a Google image search and created a simple illustration to match the design of my Hawaiian shirt. I included the plumeria to keep the floral theme. I set the opacity to multiply and reduced it to 21% for the plumeria, this ensures that the texture of the label could be seen through, mimicking real fabric. The type was reduced to 67% opacity also on multiply to reveal the texture but also to remain bold in its design. I chose the name "Mac Daddy Shirt Company" because my nickname is Mac and because it sounds pretty bad ass.
Final label choice
The buttons were arranged vertically on the shirt, aligned with equal spacing in between and the label was placed on the inside of the shirt.
I arrange the final elements of the shirt right below the finished product
Final work:
I chose to name my piece "Dreamin' of Jellies", I think the shirt has a dream-like quality to it, the colours complement each other to create a beach-worthy Hawaiian shirt ready for the next vacation!
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed creating this Hawaiian shirt, I learned a lot of new techniques and skills in the process. This was the first project I did in Illustrator where I enjoyed the process of creating, initially I found Illustrator really frustrating. However, all of the time I spent trying to figure it out came together with this piece. I found pattern making to be really fun and useful, I enjoyed creating my own pattern and applying it to the shirt, I found myself wanting to do a bunch of different variations just to see how they would turn out. One of the challenges I had was the tracing aspect of this project, I struggled a bit with the pen tool however near the end I was much more proficient than I was when I started. Overall, I found this project really challenging and rewarding. During the challenging parts I channelled the chill vibes of the jellyfish and was one with Illustrator, much like the jellies are one with the ocean.
