For this project, we were assigned the task of designing and creating a Hawaiian style shirt with a unique/creative pattern, as well as shirt buttons and an original company label. The only thing we were given was a template for the overall shape of the different pieces of the shirt, everything else was done ourselves

Every piece of this assignment was done in Adobe Illustrator, and all of the individual pieces were drawn using either the pen or the pencil tool.

The shirt template was provided by our professor in the resources tab of this assignment.

All references, inspiration, and textures were found from google image searches.

I happened to be eating a burrito when this project was assigned, and it inspired me to want to drift away from the expected, traditional Hawaiian symbols such as palm trees or big flowers, and add a little bit of spice. (pun intended)

I wanted to incorporate the colours and flavours of my Mexican burrito, namely the chili peppers and bright, warm colours. I included multiple colours of the chili I used to add even more variety to the pattern, and to keep things interesting.

I used fire on my company tag to further bring across the point that these were hot peppers specifically, instead of just simply regular peppers.

To create the shapes I needed for my shirt, I turned the opacity down on the template shirt and used the pen tool to outline each individual section. I made sure to outline the sections in the correct order so that it layered correctly and the front parts were actually sitting at the front. I kept every section a different colour to help myself differentiate the pieces.

Then I adjusted specific points so that all the lines flowed correctly and all the pieces connected properly

Then I changed the background colour of my shirt to be one solid colour and began working on my pattern. I drew my chili pepper using references I found from the internet, and changed it to a colour that worked with the shirt colour.

I added two additional chilis in a variety of colours and directions, to make the pattern flow and not seem too simple.

I then decided that it still looked too boring, so I changed the stroke on the chilis. This made the edges less smooth, and added some interesting texture to them.

After that, I added the pattern to the shirt by clicking on each individual section of the shirt, duplicating the fill layer, and adding the pattern on the top one. (This way both the shirt colour AND the pattern were visible)

I used the tilde key to rotate and offset each section's pattern to make it look more realistic, as real shirts' patterns go in different directions on the sleeves/body/collar. 

Next, I made my buttons with the circle shape tool, gradient tool, and some gaussian blur. I used a colour that complimented the rest of the shirt but still popped out visibly. I used a radial gradient to add depth to the edges and center of the button, and cut out the inner holes where the threads attach it to the shirt. I added shadows behind the button, and added some blur to make them softer. Then I created the threads of the button and layered them across the holes in the center of the button.

I added my buttons to the shirt, making sure they were an even distance from the edge of the seam, and equal distance away from each other. 

For my tag, I found a burlap texture online and added the information I needed such as my tagline, company name, and all of my images (the chili and the fire) I added dashed lines on the edges to imitate seams, and then attached it to the inner panel of the shirt.

Finally, I pieced everything together on the page, adjusted the layout, and added my name/the title.

Overall, I thought this project was really fun and gave me some great opportunities to be creative. I learned some new tools and tricks in Illustrator, such as using the tilde key to rotate and move the pattern, and how to make and edit patterns. I think the hardest part of this project for me was trying to rotate and move the pattern around without making it look too uniform/linear on my shirt, however I think I managed to make it work in the end. If I did this assignment again, I would probably add a shirt texture and shadows to my shirt which would elevate my work even further. Overall, I had a great time and learned a lot about Illustrator!