1. A design that looks good on a piece of art paper might not show up well on the shirt. If your design has too many small lines or dots, it might not show up well. The easiest way to be sure is to scan your drawing in to the computer and blow it up to the size it will be on the T shirt. Stand back from it and see if it looks the way you want it to look.

2. When you make black and white designs, the white might be the color of the shirt. Custom T shirts are often made so that the white on the image is considered a background and is not printed. Therefore, anything you leave white will be the color of the T shirt itself. To make things perfectly clear, specify if you want something done in white.

3. Before you make a colored drawing, find out how many colors the T shirt company can do for you. If may only be possible to do one or two colors effectively on a shirt design. It is great to make colorful works of art, but be aware that they are not always easy to translate into custom T shirt prints.

4. You do not have to draw the lettering if you choose not to do so. Some T shirt designs you might draw would have a caption as a part of the design. If you want the caption to appeal to your own artistic ideas, you might like to draw the caption yourself. However, if you want the caption to be clear and legible, it might be better to simply draw the picture portion of the design and use the shirt company's design tool to add the text.

5. Simple designs are often the most striking. When you draw an elaborate design, the person who views the custom T shirts on which it is printed might be confused. If you draw a plain design with crisp, clear lines the response will always be immediate. Your audience might love your work or they might not like it at all. A straightforward design is more likely to carry a stronger emotional impact.

6. When you have completed your work of art, you will need to prepare it for printing. If it is a pen and ink drawing, you will need to make sure the ink is dry before you start to work with it further. When the artwork is ready, you can bring it into your shirt company. For an online store, scan it into your computer to upload it into their design tool.

You can display your artwork proudly on custom T shirts if you take the time to design them carefully. The computer has not rendered drawing a lost art; far from it. It has made it simple for artists to share their work with the world.