Michael Essek's Blog - T-Shirt Design & Print on Demand Tips

One (Easy) way to come up with better pun ideas

by Michael Essek · Updated: January 26, 2023

Today – I have a website to share that can help you come up with better ideas.

So – if you’re just getting started creating designs for products – and have no idea what to design around – read on for a neat exercise to help you prime your idea muscles.

You know the whole ‘sharpen your axe first’ thing? That’s good advice.

Far too many designers get caught in the weeds early on – obsessing over ‘research’ and ‘keywords’ and ‘niches’ – and missing the more fundamental principles of what makes for a great design:

Humour, a strong concept, and the right design approach.

Newsletters Updated: January 26, 2023

Why T-Shirt Designers Should Put Faces on Things

by Michael Essek · Updated: January 24, 2023

People love faces.

We’re naturally attracted to things with faces.

(take for example the ‘faces in things’ instagram account).

It’s why mascots and characters are so popular, and why they show up in so many brand and company logos.

(which reminds me of another fun twitter account I follow – the weird and wonderful mascots of Japan).

Given the innate appeal of mascots and characters – it’s surprising that so many T-Shirt designers ignore this – and instead rely on illustrations and graphics that are ‘faceless’.

I see a lot of designs that feature bland, generic graphics – silhouettes or lifeless objects of some kind.

That’s fine in certain situations – but if you want to really connect with your audience – you should consider ‘characterising’ your illustrations.

Newsletters Updated: January 24, 2023

4 Hard Things To Do (For Designers Who Want To Grow Fast)

by Michael Essek · Updated: January 18, 2023

Have you noticed that we all gravitate towards things that are easy?

Short cuts, tactics, tricks, hacks.

Everybody is looking for the easiest way to achieve anything.

So here’s a crazy idea for you: don’t do that.

Instead, look for the hard things.

For example – what is the hardest thing you could be doing right now?

What are those things that you don’t want to do, that are challenging and painful – but that you know would have a big impact on your business if you did them, or got better at them?

You may not know what those are for you right now – but if you’re trying to make a living from your art – I have a few suggestions for ‘hard things’ you might want to consider…

Selling T-Shirts Online Updated: January 18, 2023

6 Free T-Shirt Idea Methods For Any Niche, Topic or Trend (A Step-By-Step Guide)

by Michael Essek · Updated: April 26, 2021

Generating original design ideas is a skill every T-Shirt designer should develop.

If you can come up with unique, funny and witty ideas on-demand – then you can hop on the latest trend with ease, create loads of winning designs to build your brand, and flood your Print on Demand accounts with high numbers of buyer-friendly products.

In this Step-by-step guide I’ll share 6 Idea generation techniques that will work for ANY niche, topic, trend or market – simply follow the steps below and you’ll be generating your own unique ideas in no time at all.

Note: If you find this guide useful, then you’ll love my Ideas Workshop course – a comprehensive class teaching everything I know about creating original design ideas that sell. Find out more here.

Ok – let’s get into the guide, and start generating some original ideas!

Selling T-Shirts Online Updated: April 26, 2021

How To Make T-Shirt Designs With Procreate

by Michael Essek · Updated: March 25, 2021

Is it possible to create a great looking T-Shirt design just using Procreate on the iPad?

The answer is yes – but there’s a few things you should bear in mind.

In this video, I walk you through my T-Shirt design process inside Procreate on the iPad – covering everything from illustration, to adding custom text, to finishing off with textures and a vintage effect.

T-Shirt Design Ideas Updated: March 25, 2021

Obinsun Interview: Cute Skulls, Cats, Rainbows – Oh My!

by Michael Essek · Updated: July 20, 2020

Joel Robinson (aka. Obinsun) is an artist I’ve admired for a while.

You’ll regularly see his work being promoted and featured on the homepages of Redbubble, Teepublic or Threadless – and his simple but attractive style is highly recognisable.

Joel was kind enough to answer some questions from me about how he got started, what his creative process looks like, and what advice he would give to up and coming T-Shirt artists.

Let’s get into it!

T-Shirt Artist Interviews Updated: July 20, 2020

Merch by Amazon Phone Cases: 6 Tips To Boost Sales

by Michael Essek · Updated: January 5, 2023

Phone Cases have landed at Merch by Amazon – allowing artists to create designs for iPhone and Samsung cell phone cases, across various models.

In this article I’ll cover the basics of the phone cases, show you how to setup your artwork for optimum results, and share 6 tips and tricks to help you identify target markets for your designs.

Selling T-Shirts Online Updated: January 5, 2023

How To Sell On Teepublic: The Definitive Guide [With 8 Top Selling Tips]

by Michael Essek · Updated: January 5, 2023

Welcome to How To Sell On Teepublic – my comprehensive guide to selling your art on Teepublic.

Whether you’re just getting started with Teepublic – or if you’re a succesful Teepublic designer already – this guide has something useful for you.

I’ll explain how Teepublic works, why it’s a great place to sell your artwork, and give you 8 practical Teepublic selling tips that will help grow your sales.

So let’s dive in!

Print On Demand Updated: January 5, 2023

How To Place Your First Printify Order

by Michael Essek · Updated: March 23, 2020

Are you thinking of trying out Printify as a potential Print on Demand Fulfilment Partner – but not sure where to start?

If so – I got you. In this article I’ll show you how you can place a sample order with Printify, without having to integrate with any marketplace or storefront.

In other words, you can test the quality of various Printify providers, without the effort of setting up a full integration.

I’ll show you:

So let’s dive in!

Selling T-Shirts Online Updated: March 23, 2020

How To Place Your First Order With Printful The Right Way (with FREE Shipping & 20% Off)

by Michael Essek · Updated: May 12, 2022

If you’re thinking of using Printful as your Print-on-demand fulfilment partner – then placing a sample order is an absolute must.

By placing a sample order you’ll get familiar with Printful’s website and ordering process, plus you’ll be able to judge for yourself the quality of Printful’s products and printing.

In this article I’ll show you..

So let’s get to it!

Selling T-Shirts Online Updated: May 12, 2022

Get Exclusive Ideas To Supercharge Your T-Shirt Sales!