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ART EXPLAINED
RASTER VS. VECTOR
To understand digital art, you must first understand the difference between Raster and Vector art. Raster art is art made of pixels (tiny finite dots of color) whereas Vector art is shown via a mathematical repsentation of line art. Because of these differences Vector art can be scaled to any size and not lose any quality while Raster art will start to look more and more pixelated the larger it is made. Think of old Atari video games where the pixels were quite large, this made the characters look very blocky and unrefined. This will happen with your art too if it is too low a resolution. We can use Raster art, it just has to be AT LEAST 300 dpi AT PRINTED SIZE.
Here is an example of the Mozilla Firefox as a raster image that becomes noticably pixelated when enlarged.
OTHER ART LIMITATIONS
Other than art being either Raster or Vector there are some other limitations. Often the most prodominate is the maximum number of colors. Screen printing consists of breaking down every image into the total number of colors used, separating all of those colors into their own screen, registering the screens on press, then each screen is filled with the proper color inks and printed onto your garment. If a light ink is being printed on a dark garment then a white ink is printed under the color so it can remain vivid and bright. Think of trying to paint a watercolor onto a colored piece of paper, it just wouldn't work. This means the most colors we can print on a light color fabric is 6 colors and on dark it is 5. This should be more than enough colors to achieve amazing results but some art has to be re-worked to achieve this.
The other limiting factor is trying to make something look photographic. Photgraphic images contain extremely fine detail and millions of colors. There are some processes we use that can mimic photography such as CMYK Process printing and Simulated-process printing but they are more expensive and will have to be discussed at great length for each job because they have varied strengths and weaknesses.
The final thing that can limit or alter your intended artisitc vision is the halftone. Halftones are used in screen printing to fade from one color to another or blend an image into it's background. This is another attribute of graphic design that can be applied or removed on a case by case basis due it's own strengths and weaknesses. It can be something used to cut cost or add more dimension to your existing art. It is something that can be addressed once your art is submitted.
MAKING YOUR ART PRINT READY
When printing it is preferred that all art be 100% full Vector art but we know that isn't always a reality that can be achieved in everyone's position. We here at Body Billboards want to make your dreams a reality, whether it is making your new fashion line from scratch or just getting your kid's soccer team some cool uniforms; we can make it work. We can take any art and make it printable, even if it is a crayon drawing on a napkin. When you print with us your first hour is $25 and in that first hour we can pretty much make any design into printable art. We can then take that starting point and perform all kinds of edits for only $50/hr. Just let us know what you want your imprintable items to look like and we can make it look great.
Come by the shop anytime or just click below to get in touch with us to take your first step to making your art into 100% customized merchandise! You can also email artwork@bodybillboards.com with any ART SPECIFIC questions about your upcoming order.
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