Making a Spray-Paint Stencil

• There are two common and relatively simple ways of making spray-paint stencils. The easiest is to place tape on the shirt in the design that you want. You can use painters tape or sticky vinyl paper -- the sort book covers are made with -- and cut or rip the tape until it has the design you want, stick it to the shirt, then spray over it. The difficulty with this option is that very sticky tapes may stretch your shirt's fabric. On the positive side, the plastic texture of the tape is paint resistant, so color will not seep through to the shirt. Another option is cut out your design on thick card stock like cardboard. It works best if you have a very intricate design with many holes and spaces, or multicolor designs that require multiple stencils. Hold the stencil over your shirt and spray the paint, then wait for it to dry before removing it.
  
  

Finding Inspiration

• Finding inspiration can be a hassle, especially if you did not experience or remember much of the '80s. Research designs from that period by doing a simple image search, or looking in design or art books and magazines. Look for images that will be simple for you to reproduce using your stencils and spray paint, or you can create graffiti-style images using spray paint "tips" (spray paint can caps that create different paint effects when used). Avoid images with a lot of details or that would require a number of colors since the more colors you use, the stiffer your shirt will be.
  
  

Trademarked Designs

• Some designs are simple and interesting enough that you may want to reproduce them exactly as they were on a vintage shirt, but this can be a problem. Trademarked images such as certain bands, like Kiss for example, may be distinct and memorable, but they are also not available to the public. You must pay to use the image. In those situations it is best to create a new design inspired by the image you like. For example, your T-Shirt design might say "Guns & Roses" but it would use a different font and rose graphic than that used by the band "Guns and Roses."
  
  

1980s-Inspired Designs

• If you are short on ideas, there are a number of topics you can use to find inspiration for your shirt. Old school video-game controller designs, such as that of Atari and Nintendo, continue to be hugely popular. Clip-art versions of the designs are easy to find and cut into a stencil. Other possible subjects could be a board game-themed shirt, such as games by Hasbro and Milton Bradley. Cartoon characters like the Ninja Turtles also continue to be popular subjects of vintage T-shirts, as do movie characters like Gizmo from Gremlins.