Painting an Afro Woman on a Tee Shirt

Painting an afro woman on a tee shirt.

I purchased a plain white tee shirt a couple of years ago with the intent of painting on it.

I started drawing an image to paint, but I never finished.

Now I have a totally different image in mind that I would like to draw, and paint.

There are times that an urge will come upon me to draw something specific, and I have learned to follow through when this happens.

This time, I felt a pull to paint a woman with a large afro.

I searched, and found a photo that I would like to use as a guide.

Painting an Afro Woman on a Tee Shirt - My Process

Once upon a time, I would draw images of people from my own imagination, and they turned out decent most of the time.

A few years ago, I tried drawing an image of a person as I was looking at a photo.

My drawing skills were instantly elevated by doing this.

I was greatly amazed.

Needless to say, this is now my process.

As long as I have a photo in front of me, I am able to draw different images of people.

I capture the pose, and general likeness, but the images are not identical.

I don't stick to the script when it comes to the clothing, features and hairstyles.

I often create totally unique outfits with different colors and patterns.

I make the features (complexion, hair, eyes, nose, lips), my own.

I also love to create various hairstyles (straight hair, curly hair, ponytails, braids, afros, afro puffs, etc.)

To give the appearance of afro textured hair, the paint must be smudged.

Very little paint is added to the paintbrush when painting voluminous hair.

A sponge paintbrush works well in this instance.

I started by drawing the image on the tee shirt.

I painted the skin next.

I then painted the skirt.

I painted the top after the skirt.

I saved my favorite part for last...the afro.

The biggest challenge that I have when drawing on a tee shirt is that the fabric moves with the movement of the pencil.

As a result, the markings are sometimes very faint.

This can make painting the image difficult.

It is also challenging to use an eraser for the same reason.

I keep practicing, and I hope my technique improves over time.

To see more of my work, please visit my Etsy page, and follow me on Instagram.