How to Make a Vintage T Shirt Design in Adobe Illustrator

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to create a vintage t-shirt design in Adobe Illustrator. You will be using a variety of valuable tools to take your skills to the next level! Your new design can then be used for printing onto t-shirts as sublimation or a cut file for vinyl iron on. Perfect to personalize your wardrobe or gift to friends and family!

Step 1 - Open a new document and select your color palette

Let us begin by creating a new document. Next, double click the fill option to select your color palette. Here you can enter the HEX code as shown in the screenshot to use the same colors I will be using.

Step 2 - Create your wavy sunset within a circle

In this step you will create a wavy sunset within a circle. It is a bit of a process but the result is awesome. We will begin by drawing a tall triangle. Click and hold the shapes button then select the Star shape. 

Click on your artboard to bring up the star menu, select 3 points and select OK.

Select your triangle and position the top point in the center of the artboard. Then drag the bottom of the triangle to the base of your artboard. Use the image below as a visual guide.

With your triangle selected, double click the fill button to fill with color.

Now we will create the effect using the Warp Options and Rotate Tool.

Create an arched triangle

To create the arc in the triangle, select your shape and select Effects > Warp > Arc. Select the preview button within the Warp Options and change your settings until you achieve your desired effect. I am going to set the bend to -8%, then select OK. 

Select Object > Expand Appearance to convert this to a fill shape.

Create the radial effect with your arched triangle

To create the radial effect, select the Rotate Tool from your left toolbar. Then, hold the option on your keyboard and click the top node of your curved triangle. This will bring up the Rotate options. Here you want to type 360 divided by the amount of times you want your shape to be repeated. For my design, I will enter 360/14, then select Copy. 

Your second shape will then appear in position. You can now press Option + D to duplicate your shape and fill your circle.

Apply this effect to a semi circle

Select your Ellipse Tool. From the center point of your triangles, hold down Shift + Option + Command and drag your circle to your desired size. 

Using your Direct Selection Tool (white arrow) select and delete the lowest node of your circle. Then using your Pen Tool, connect the two remaining nodes to complete the semi circle.

Next, highlight all of your shapes and select the Shape Builder Tool. As you hover over sections of your shapes, areas will become greyed out. Hold down Shift and click on the outer shapes that you no longer need. This will delete any shapes that have a crossing path. 

You can now delete the semi circle to reveal your wavy sunset. Select alternating shapes to change the color using your fill menu.

Step 3 - Create your blue lines to represent the sea

Now we are going to create lines to represent our sea using the Rectangle Tool. Select your rectangle tool.

Draw 3 narrow rectangles under your sunset, each one getting narrower. Then recolor the rectangles using your fill menu, alternating your colors.

You now need to repeat the step ‘applying this effect to a semi circle’ from step 2. Ensure that your semi circle edges meet with the edges of the sunset.

Use the Shape Builder Tool to remove the edges.

Step 4 - Select your font and create your text

In this tutorial we will be using a modern retro font called Mintello. Select the Type Tool and from the Character menu on the right, select your font.

To add your text to an angle, select Object > Transform > Shear.

This will bring up the Shear options. Select the preview button and choose your desired angle, then select OK. When you are happy with it, select Type > Outlines to convert your text to paths.

You can then select Object > Ungroup to move the words or letters individually. Now you can reposition your words until you are happy with the composition. Resize by selecting the words then hold shift and drag the edges to fit to your sunset design. Recolor this text using your fill menu.

Step 5 - Add a drop shadow to your text

Select your text with the Selection Tool and select Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. This will bring up the drop shadow options. 

Select the preview option so that it is activated. Change your settings to your desired effect and select your color by selecting the color box. See the screenshot for my settings.

You have now finished your vintage design! If you liked this tutorial make sure to check out our other tutorials like how to use the blend tool with text, how to create SVGs, and how to use the recolor artwork tool in Illustrator.