SOMB II (see below)

So I spent the better part of today on my The Flat Tire Shirt Project(TFTSP). While quite satisfied with my DIY results, my OCD(OCD) quest for perfection raged on.
First thing this morning, off I went to Don Quixote, Formerly Daiei, Formerly Holiday Mart(FDFHM), to purchase some blank tees. Unfortunately for me, they only had mediums(MED), but fortunately for Evil Hoku(EH), that was his size.
I used the same picture from the shirts I did last night, and I am sorry to say, the green tint remained. Evil Hoku(EH) says he remembers that inkjet printers add cyan to greys so it cannot be helped.
I did another shirt using the Blog Title Picture(BTP). That came out well. Evil Hoku(EH) is the proud owner of the first(experimental) editions of said shirts.
Here is how my shirt turned out:



I also did a badge on the front:



Since Don Quixote(FDFHM) only had medium shirts, a trip to the mall was required. Champs had some cheap blanks in all kinds of colors, but I stayed with your basic black, white and grey.
Next Came The Fun Part(NCTFP).
I had this cool picture of my bike's rear wheel area that I wanted to use for my next design. Unfortunately, something about the composition was just not right.
Here is the one of the Original Unadulterated Shots(OUS):



I say one of the shots because for some reason or another, I was never quite happy with various aspects of each photo. I must have shot from some variation of the same angle about forty(40) times using various camera settings.
I Guess That's Why I'm Not the Photo Major(IGTWINPM) and Evil Hoku(EH) is well, evil. Fortunately/Unfortunately(F/U), I have a camera that can be set to manual so it too, is truly evil.
NCTFP part two(see above).
Now, I'll be the first to admit that Photoshop for me is like someone tossing me the keys to the Space Shuttle(SS) and telling me to take it for a spin. At best, I could probably turn it on, but then again, I Guess That's Why I'm Not a Friggin' Astronaut(IGTWINFA).
Photoshop for me, is one of those hit and miss(HAM) sort of things: I might be able to get the desired results, but after I'm done, I have no idea how I did it. F/U, I am still battling this cold so I have a lot of spare time on my hands. Actually, using the HAM technique, I might even be able to fly the SS.
Anyways, I finally settled on this for the front:



And a Larger Version(LV) for the back:



And here is a LV of the Photoshopped pic:


I also added something to the left sleeve:



There a few more designs I want to try out, but I have run out of transfer sheets so they will have to wait. The Transfers for Dark Colored Shirts(TDCS) are a bit different, so I think I will have to ReThink(RT) the photo compositions.
As I said last night, this is a pretty easy, inexpensive project to do and the results, while not exactly commercial quality, are nice.
However, as in anything, I Am A Professional, Don't Try This At Home(IAAPDTTAH).
And of course, You Mileage May Vary(YMMV).

note: if anyone wants to Try This At Home(TTAH), I would be more than happy to send along the files. Just drop me an email and I'll send them as an attachment. If you have Mad Photoshop Skilz(MPS), you can even remove the logos.
The Flat Tire Staff (TFTS)

The Shirt Off My Back

I've been having a life and death struggle with a cold this past couple of weeks. Okay, not life and death, but enough to keep me off the bike. Well actually, I did ride the two miles to the hardware store last week to purchase a stainless steel bolt for the Beach Bike's front rack. But that doesn't really count.
My cold comes at a perfect time since I am off from work for the next week. I may have more time on my hands as the teacher's union has agreed to furloughs to reduce the state budget and it looks as though the union that represents people like me will follow suit.
There is a another story here, but I don't know if I want to get into it. I just hope it doesn't mean I have to give up the shirt off my back.
Which brings me to my cure for boredom.
I decided to make shirts.
The Flat Tire shirts.
To make a short story long, I played around with different images associated with the blog and cranked up the Photoshop.
I took a photo and added the blog title and address.
Voila!


Here's a close-up:


The process was simple:
I manipulated the image in Photoshop until I got what I wanted. I then mirrored the image. In Adobe speak, I believe it was called a horizontal rotation. I spent a while trying to figure out how to reverse the image to no avail. I eventually googled it. I guess that's why I'm not the photo major and Evil Hoku is, well, evil.
In order to save transfer paper waste, I rotated the image vertically, then inserted it onto a Word document. I pasted two of them side by side so when printing, I would get two transfers on one sheet. Then I simply printed them and cut them out.


To apply the transfers, I put my shirt over a masonite board to flatten it out (flatten, get it?). The iron was set on high, then applied with pressure on the transfer per instructions.
The only problems I had were with the color of the transfer. If you compare it to the picure at right, the transfer has a greenish tint to it. I think if I go back and change the picture to greyscale, it should be okay.
If you are going to try this at home (which you shouldn't because I am a professional), don't forget that there are transfers for light and dark colored shirts. The color of the shirt will also alter the color of the transfer as the image is a bit translucent. I would think that the transfers for dark clothing would be opaque.
I am going to try and make smaller logos and put them on my cycling jerseys; maybe on the breast or on the pockets in back. The concern here is to not melt the polyester when applying the transfer.
Total cost: fourteen dollars(for a packet of six transfer sheets).
I didn't think this project would turn out this well. Being so pleased with the results, I took off my shirt and did another one:


The possibilities here are truly infinite. A cool project that doesn't cost you your know what.
No, not an arm and a leg(see above)!