The purpose of the project was to create a Hawaiian shirt design using newly acquired Adobe Illustrator of character tracing and pattern making skills.

Project requirements included pattern illustration design, a 3D looking button, shirt's name, company name and company label. We were also asked to present the final work on a Tabloid layout and include the shirt, samples of the pattern illustration, the button and the label. A designer's name and a shirt's name were to be placed below the shirt.

Adobe Illustrator on MacBook Pro. 

As I am an eco and nature freak, I wanted to make beautiful nature the focus of my first design project. This time of the year when days are getting shorter and colder, I envisioned very green, plant and flower based pattern illustration.  With that idea in mind, I started to look at various Hawaiian shirt designs as well as YT films on traditional Hawaiian shirt making. Considering my very basic Adobe skills at this point, I was looking for an image which would not be too complex. A combination of large monstera leaf, hibiscus flowers and a palm leaf were good starting point as they represent abundant, rich nature and warmth of sunny places. I used Britannica ImageQuest database to find the images (Figure 1 and 2), traced them using Pen tool and made adjustments as needed.

The first step of my process was to create a Hawaiian shirt outline which I did by tracing a template made from a sample shirt image (Figure 3).

When my template was done, I used Adobe Pen tool to draw a shirt's outline. As I knew very little about drawing on layers, I meticulously followed the sequence explained in a DrawingLayerSequenceAnimation tutorial video https://youtu.be/RPwLLBKn2bE by OnesAndZeros which was really helpful (Figure 4). It was important to make sure that all pieces overlap and to double-check that they are joint smoothly without any rough corners, edges or gaps.

Now was the time to create a pattern illustration. Using Pen tool again, I traced and adjusted images of three pattern elements: a monstera leaf, a palm leaf, a hibiscus flower and later worked on my colour selection.  As winter was approaching, I longed for lively greens and fresh fruity reds and pinks so I included them in my composition. To make a pattern, you need to select all pattern elements and choose Object > Pattern > Make. 

In the next step, using Pattern Options, I played with different tile sizes and possibilities like Hex by Raw and Hex by Column until I found an interesting design which conveys lush green, garden-jungle and funky feel (Figure 5).

Once the pattern was applied to all closed paths, I needed to offset it in order to convey an a real textile image where patterns usually do not line up. I used the tilde key and a rotation tool. I also added some shadowing under the collar and inside the shirt to add a little bit more of a 3D illusion. This was done by changing opacity to Multiply and by adding Gaussian blur from the Appearance panel special effects (Figure 6).

One challenge here was to ensure that the shadow does not spill over the shirt which is what happens when you apply Gaussian blur. I used Clipping Mask function to eliminate any part of shadow that was not needed (Object-> Clipping Mask-> Make).

Creation of a button according to specific requirements was a separate little project. I first used Ellipse tool to draw the button's outline and one of its four holes. I copied the little ellipse four times to create four identical holes, aligned them properly and used Shape Builder tool (subtraction) to complete the button's outline. 

In order to make the button look realistic, I filled it with rich and intense green and green-yellow hue and applied gradient (Gradient tool) to achieve a 3D effect (Figure 7). I also made two more layers (copy by holding Option key); a dark green layer as the button's back and a black layer as the button's shading (Figure 8). To ensure realistic shading effect, I changed the opacity to 43%, eliminated the stroke and added Gaussian blur via special effects in the Appearance panel.

As buttons need to be sewn to the shirt, I now set out to create a few colourful threads. I drew a short line with a Line tool, enlarged its stroke and experimented with application of colour via Appearance panel until I found a colour scheme that I liked (Figure 9). With one thread ready, I made five more copies (Figure 10) and arranged them around the holes (Figures 11) imitating button sewing.

Once the button was completed, it was time to apply it to the shirt. I created additional five button copies, aligned them vertically and placed them on the top part of the shirt.

Another requirement was to design shirt's label including shirt's name and a company name. To start it off, I used an image of linen texture as my label's background.

Then, using an Ellipse tool, I drew a slim ellipse and played with lines and colours to achieve an abstract image representing my shirt's mood of lush green nature, freshness, and free-spirited people. I used the same hues which were already applied to the design illustration (green, yellow and red) but experiments with various combinations of stroke sizes, tints, and shades until I was happy with the result.

At this point it was important to remember to use Opacity Blend Mode for all elements placed on the label as it changes opacity in such a way that you can see a cloth underneath and the elements look like they have been printed on real textile.

I completed this step of logo design by grouping all paths and shapes by using a Clipping Mask function; Object -> Clipping Mask -> Make (Figure 12).

In the next step I added threading on both sides of the label to create an illusion that it has been manually sewn. As I already knew how to create multicolour stroke, that task was quick. It was also fun to play with colour combination. I repeated yellow and green hues to keep unity of the overall colour composition (Figure 13).

At this point I was ready to add company name to the label. Following the eco-friendly, natural look-and-feel of the shirt, I settled on "For a Greener Good" as I liked its double meaning. 

I spent some time on selecting suitable typeface and finally decided to use Marker Felt font (Figure 14) as I liked its casual and clean vibe. I also applied dark green colour to the font to maintain colour harmony.

There was additional requirement to convert fonts to graphic (Type -> Create Outlines in menu bar). By doing that, we give ourselves an option to further adjust the font any way we like and, more importantly, this conversion enables any manufacturer to print our design without having to worry about access to a particular unique font.  Because it's graphic! I thought that was a cool trick.

In the end, I felt my typeface came out a little boring and too simple, so I beefed it up by adding another layer in yellow which added a bright highlight and made it look as if it was lit by the sun (Figure 14).

Here, again, we were faced with specific requirements for the final presentation of the end-product. We had to place all design elements in a sequence outlined to us and we had to sign the shirt using 18pt BOLD Sans Serif font (Figure 15).