Create some funny t-shirts and gifts
You don't need to be a graphic designer to design t-shirts. If you are funny you can make some humorous tees.
New Table of Contents
- First don't do this!
- How to create funny print on demand t-shirts
- Where to open a store
- Funny Shirts to buy
- Youtube Zazzle Advice
- My Websites
- Get inspired byThe Onion!
- New Flickr Photos
- Funny shirts on Amazon
- Vintage funny shirts on eBay
- New Del.icio.us bookmarks
- T-shirt news from Google
- Great Stuff on Amazon
- Get inspired! Watch a Movie
- Reader Feedback
- Let Homer Simpson Inspire you
- More zazzle tutorials
First don't do this!
Trust me.
How to create funny print on demand t-shirts
Here's a helpful list
2. Have some talent. I know this sounds harsh but if you are not funny you have no business making t-shirts. Go become an accountant or something. Trust me you will make much more money that way, in fact I wish I had math skills, but I don't. If you don't have any design talent whatsoever stick to slogan shirts. They sell better than you might think.
3. Remember funny thoughts that happen to you throughout the day. Take a notebook with you at all times, because you never know when inspiration will strike. At Starbucks, by the pool etc...
4. Check out other shops, what are they doing? Do you think you could do better? Don't copy them but get inspired. It seems like there are a lot of shops out there that have an I'm kind of a big deal Anchorman movie quote shirt, so I did a rebuttal: the I'm kinda sick about hearing about you're a big deal shirt.
5. Don't be too raunchy. I'm not easily offended just think this trend has been done to death. Plus if it's not raunchy but it has humor a college student or teen would like its more likely to be purchased as a gift by the parents and they are the ones with the money.
6. Get inspired by pop culture. Watch the classics: Animal House, Caddyshack, John Hughes movies, etc. Think outside the box, don't directly lift quotes but try to allude to the movie in some way, make sure people get the connection without the copyright infringement. If you don't get any ideas at least you had fun watching some movies.
7. Write what you know. If you are a sci-fi fantasy fan then go for a little geek humor. Or do some shirts about your day job. Just remember you don't need to make a shirt for every profession on the planet (Doctors do it better, Accountants do it better, Movie Theater Ushers do it better...)
8. Be nostalgic. You are not the only one who grew up in the 80's or the 70's or the 60's. People love remembering the fun times they had back in the day. Your shirts can help them think back to those happy times.
9. Don't be afraid of current events. Some people advise you to stay away from celebrity tees. I say go for it. Yes the trend will die in a couple of weeks or months, but you can always mark it down then take it down. Just don't spend a lot of time on your Save Britney shirt. Watch Best Week Ever for ideas or go to the gossipy websites like tmz.com.
10. Put up a lot of designs. Your site is not a graphic design portfolio. It doesn't have to represent your best work, in fact some of your weaker ideas may become your hottest seller. Everyone has different taste. If you think an idea is not your best then just do a text only design and see what happens.
11. Don't be afraid of cliches. We have all heard them a thousand times before but cliches can be funny if you put your own spin on them. For example a couple of years ago I found a shirt at target that says I am having an out of money experience.I get a laugh whenever I wear it.
12. Have a decent design program. I use photoshop, it's an old version but it works. You don't need to have a professional program but ms paint or something that came free with your printer or digital camera is probably not going to give you professional looking products. This is necessary even if you only do text based shirts.
13. Get some fun fonts. There are loads of places where you can get free fonts that are OK to use on print on demand products. Use them, but remember you don't always need to use a fun font. Sometimes they can be hard to read or distracting. Try to make them fit the slogan.
14. Have fun. If you're not having fun coming up with slogans then maybe it's not your particular talent. Switch your store to a focus on dog breeds or inspirational quotes. Those stores probably make more money anyway.
15. Don't be afraid to rework a design or just take it down if you are embarrassed by it. If your first design was that Swedish-Armenian phonebooth inspector design, and now you know better you can definitely go ahead and remove all 24,000 examples of it.
Go buy yourself at t-shirt at
the T-shirt fort
Where to open a store
- Zazzle
- Zazzle is rapidly overtaking cafepress as the fastest growing print on demand company.
- Printfection
- Printfection is known for it's high quality printing process.
- Skreened
- Now you can have bigger sized designs done with a screen printing process.
- Spreadshirt
- Spreadshirt is print on demand company based in Germany.
- redbubble
- Red Bubble is one of the up and coming print on demand companies.
Funny Shirts to buy

Doing all your own stunts is so 2002. Don't try it at home. Funny stick figure on fire shirt is perfect for anyone with a sense of humor and a lack of common sense.

I found my passion and they're not hiring. This design is for all those times you tried reaching for the stars and found your self empty handed. Wear it with pride to your dead end job.

It's the 1984 all valley karate championship. Watch out! Legs will be swept. Inspired by a classic 80s movie, Kids from Encino and Reseda can both agree on loving this design. Wear it to a go-cart park or under your shower costume.

Who needs pick up lines when you have a trumpet. You have skills and are a total player. Tell everyone in the band about it with this design. It's something to toot about.

Poor guy, he died doing what he hated. Do you hate to exercise? Do you believe the local gym is secretly a portal to hell? You are not alone. Sweating sucks. Tell the world with this design
Youtube Zazzle Advice
My Websites
More than just t-shirts these are the websites I run.
http://www.locker17.com
I wrote a funny YA manuscript and created a websit more...0 points
http://www.locker17.com/portfolio/
I need to quit desinging so many t-shirts and get more...0 points
http://www.cafepress.com/tshirtfort
This is the main page of my t-shirt shop. it's not more...0 points
http://www.cafepress.com/tshirtfort/3817066
It's that time of the year. Check out the funniest more...0 points
http://www.cafepress.com/tshirtfort/3954061
Every month the T-shirt Fort spotlights a differen more...0 points
Get inspired byThe Onion!
Funny shirts on Amazon
New Del.icio.us bookmarks
T-shirt news from Google
Great Stuff on Amazon
Amazon's picks were not up to snuff so enjoy some new hotness.
Get inspired! Watch a Movie
It seems like every other shirt on the web was inspired by a movie. These are the ones people are renting now.
- 001- Crash

Tensions erupt when the tangled lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Per...- 002- The Departed

To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the under...- 003- The Bucket List

When corporate mogul Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) wind...- 004- The Pursuit of Happyness

Will Smith earned an Oscar nomination for an inspiring performance opposite his real-life son Jaden...- 005- No Country for Old Men

A hunter (Josh Brolin) who stumbles upon a dead body, $2 million and a stash of heroin in a Texas de...- Try Netflix free for 14 days
Reader Feedback
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Reply
- spunkyduckling spunkyduckling Oct 25, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
- Hey thanks for the information. Learned something new. Since you are an expert on the topic might I invite you over to my lens www.squidoo.com/armywivespetpeetves and tell me what you think of my t shirt designs. I used a simple program to create it not ms paint. Comments welcomed
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Reply
- lake-effect lake-effect Jan 5, 2009 @ 11:14 am
- Very good info. Thanks!
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Reply
- flowski flowski Jan 29, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
- Thanks for the great info about how to make funny t-shirts and gifts on Cafe Press. Very helpful!
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Reply
- Disco_Stu Disco_Stu Nov 10, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
- Good tips! *****
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