# Site General > Off-topic Cafe > Creative Corner >  Handprinted tshirts

## FireStorm

Some photos of my latest artistic endeavor. Printing tshirts using negatives, light sensitive ink, and sunshine.

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_AlexisFitzy_ (04-22-2014),Tennessee (04-22-2014)

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## Morris Reese

> Some photos of my latest artistic endeavor. Printing tshirts using negatives, light sensitive ink, and sunshine.


Hey, that's really cool!!!! Teach me!!

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## Tennessee

That's awesome how'd you do that

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## AlexisFitzy

That's really really beautiful! I love it  :Smile:  it would look super cool on a black shirt with the print white  :Very Happy:  


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## FireStorm

Thanks! I'm glad you all like it :Smile: . The process is fairly simple...I created a black and white negative from a high quality digital photo using GIMP. I print the negative out on clear film (the film I use is made specifically for this, so it will hold a lot of ink for good contrast). Then I put the dye on the shirt. The dye is clear, and you have to apply it in the dark...as soon as it is exposed to light it starts to change color and once the color changes you can't wash it out. While I'm still in the dark I apply the negative to the shirt, and cover up any areas I don't want to expose in case I accidentally got dye somewhere I didn't want it. Then I put the whole thing out in the sun for 10-20min, bring it back into the dark, pull the negative off, and wash it with a special wash (all in the dark). Washing it gets the dye that hasn't been exposed out. If I didn't wash it, the next time it hit light it would change color. Of course, that is the short version. The reality is that I started printing on scraps of fabric, and did a bunch of crappy looking prints until I got the kinks worked out....

Here's another one I did :Smile:

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_AlexisFitzy_ (04-28-2014),_Bluebonnet Herp_ (04-28-2014)

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## FireStorm

Here's another new one...I changed the negative a bit to get more contrast, and did a kid's shirt this time. And the dye is a mix of red and orange. Let me know if any of you have trouble seeing the pics...I linked from my Etsy shop instead of photobucket so hopefully they still show up.

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## Valvaren

That is so cool!! I love the detail you are getting! You should pm the link to your shop, i'd love to check it out!

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_FireStorm_ (05-23-2014)

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## FireStorm

Here is another one...this one is still a work in progress. It is from my favorite pic of a mom on hatching eggs. The red shirt was the first test print...turned out a little light and I didn't get enough ink at the top so the baby's head got cut off. The blue shirt is kinda over exposed I think, but my mom wants it. So either it isn't so bad, or she's just being nice.

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## FireStorm

And Valvaren, I sent you a PM. 

Also, I'm thinking about trying to do a gecko or beardie of some sort...I just have to find one I can take a picture of or something. Any ideas for what species would look good? High contrast seems to turn out best....

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## ChrisS

That looks awesome!


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_FireStorm_ (05-23-2014)

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## FireStorm

Thanks! I really think the mom on eggs has potential. I just need to work out the exposure time. It's so tricky, I'm in FL so I'm finding that I have to use a much shorter time than the ink manufacturer recommends....the sun here is ridiculous.

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