Dye-sub designs?

[isterling]

Hey, I was wondering what the deal is with dye sub suits? I really enjoy looking at the designs i've seen some costumers on here and other places have. I understand the process vaguely, but perhaps some of you more experienced can explain it to me. I see that you must create a template to be printed out, but where/how does one obtain or create a pattern for printing?

I can't really find that many people who actually can commission these suits. I know there is spidey4fun, but i tried shooting him an email and never got a response. Who should I go to?

I'd really like to use this process for a few hero suit styles, as well as that interesting fabric design from TRON legacy.

Thanks a bunch guys,
i

 

[TheNickFox]

Here is my thread showing how I created a pattern for a Spider-Man suit in Photoshop:

http://www.therpf.com/f24/nick-fox-...ttern-development-w-pic-heavy-tutorial-97460/

Follow that and apply some creativity and experimentation of your own and you'll be able to create any suit you can imagine.

I don't yet have experience in the actually technical process of the printing/what is required so it's best to go to someone else for that info.

Good luck.

-Nick

 

[Harmonic_Distortion]

As someone who used to do these costumes (Marvel issued us a C&D), it's really not a detailed process, but of course does involve talent/hard work.

The hardest part of course is the pattern. NickFox explains in his thread about the TK pattern (which I have to respectfully, gently disagree has quite good resolution as it was a scan of the original Sony print done on a giant, high-res scanner). There are ones for sale on the web even today...though the proportions may be off (the "Spidey Boone" pattern as one example).

If you're doing a pattern with vastly different color sections (like the spidey with blue and red) you'd want to do them on different layers so you can adjust the colors without affecting the other section(s). You'd also want to put muscles on a different layer too.

Photoshop has a menu option for saturation which is important because you want the dye-sub printer to saturate the fabric all the way through so that when the fabric stretches you don't get color distortion or even white sections. (There's a setting for absolute saturation and such if you're really interested)

The printing itself can be done from multiple places in America. Fabricondemand.com has a reasonable price of 34.99$ per lycra yard and no set up fee. The studio that actually did the printing for the Spiderman movie costumes 2 and 3 has a set up fee of $50 and a $75 per square yard.

From there I'm sure you can tell the last step is sewing. There are multiple ways to do the zipper - a) straight down the back b) along the length of the arms c) from armpit down the torso back up to the other armpit...and so on.

For the soles, there are multiple ways to do them. One way is to stretch the suit over a pair of cheap vans and staple them down...then use barge cement to glue a piece of tool drawer liner (rubber sheet that can be found at a hardware store)...or you can sew the soles into the aquasocks...or just glue the aquasocks down over the suit.

It's all easier said than done, but there you go.

 

[aceofknaves88]

I'm most curious about where you even get the pattern to begin with or how you make it once you're in Photoshop...

Also have always been curious about the creation of the muscle design, too. I mean, I know Photoshop pretty well, but man, you guys who do this must REALLY know it.

 

[isterling]

Simple, yet very creative. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[TheNickFox]

I'm most curious about where you even get the pattern to begin with or how you make it once you're in Photoshop...

Also have always been curious about the creation of the muscle design, too. I mean, I know Photoshop pretty well, but man, you guys who do this must REALLY know it.

I rememeber around 2005, when a handful of us were all working towards making our own patterns, none of us had any clue what we were doing. We just tried something, and if it worked, great! We'd tell the other guys so they could learn. If, however, it didn't work, we'd keep trying different things until it did.

Just keep trying things, read my thread, and just play around with the program. It's the best way to learn.

-Nick

 

[Harmonic_Distortion]

While I've had people say "anyone can find the pattern using Google" but I've never heard of anyone being successful. There's a spideydiy or something website that has a pattern for 20$ but I've been told by people who know that the proportions are slightly off. (That's not to say it wouldn't be a good start.)

 

[TheNickFox]

Ditto!

The other thing is that if you are okay with Photoshop, you should be able to trace some of my pictures to get the full pattern shape (no need for Google OR $20). Like this one for instance:

Use the pen tool to trace the outlines, add color and emblems, make some muscle shading (if you want it), distort any brick/scale/honeycomb patterns (If you choose) and you've got yourself a pattern.

-Nick

 

[TaylorMcManus]

Ditto!

The other thing is that if you are okay with Photoshop, you should be able to trace some of my pictures to get the full pattern shape (no need for Google OR $20). Like this one for instance:

Use the pen tool to trace the outlines, add color and emblems, make some muscle shading (if you want it), distort any brick/scale/honeycomb patterns (If you choose) and you've got yourself a pattern.

-Nick

Thanks so much for this, I've been trying to figure out how to make my own design, and this is very helpful. But I have no idea how big the design should be in order for it to be the right size when it's printed. Can anyone help me out here?

 

[j0wE]

I have no idea how big the design should be in order for it to be the right size when it's printed. Can anyone help me out here?

See this

Sizing

See the point between the eyes on the spiderman? Measure from there down to the point on the spiderbelt. That length should be 26 inches for a small suit...28 inches for a medium suit and 30-31 inches for a large suit. Most people will be large (5'10 to 6'1). You can size it up from there if you're taller (I'm 6'3" 195 lbs)...which some other people will need.

Yeah I'm kind of giving away a trade secret, but the information should be out there.

 

[TaylorMcManus]

Alright, thanks so much!

 

[richyrich818]

quick question...if i'm going to use fabricondemand.com , how do i know how many yards of fabric i should use for a spiderman pattern or any other pattern for that matter?

 

[Harmonic_Distortion]

That depends on how you've sized your suit, and also how you've arranged the pieces of the pattern on your file. There are ways you can do it to only use the least amount of print area...and other arrangements where space is wasted.

The point is not really what size the pattern is, it's how you've sized it in proportion to a real person. I explained sizing (your mileage may vary...getting prints sized right is part of the art of the whole thing and may take more than one print) above so as long as you keep everything in proportion to those size changes, whatever size your file ends up (as long as it fits in their print size) is fine.

 

[richyrich818]

aaaaah got it, i'll make sure the center of my spidey mask is 30" from the tip of the belt and then rearrange the pattern pieces. i think it's all making sense to me now. hopefully this will work the first time, i'm not trying to pay twice for a print, it's like 200-350 bucks i've read

 

[Harmonic_Distortion]

Actually it's not that much from FabricOnDemand.com. Spandex/Lycra is $ 34.20 / yard. You'll probably use 2-3 yards which is approx $100 for the whole thing.

 

[richyrich818]

oh wow really? hmmm, maybe it was so much because of the time difference. most of the posts i've read that mention pricing have been a couple of years old. thanks so much! now i just need to decide if i'm going to go with the red/blue spidey, or the color corrected black spidey since i got a buddy of mine to change the color and make me a new file...decisions decisions...

 

[TaylorMcManus]

I have a question. A lot of the dye-subbed suits that I see, seem to be a little dark and desaturated. Should I make my design to be a little brighter and more saturated in order to achieve more accurate colors? Or will that not be a problem?

 

[TheNickFox]

I have a question. A lot of the dye-subbed suits that I see, seem to be a little dark and desaturated. Should I make my design to be a little brighter and more saturated in order to achieve more accurate colors? Or will that not be a problem?

The reason they look that way is usually a combination of two things:

1) low resolution/badly color-corrected TKComics patterns being used.

2) White Lycra "bleeding through" once it's stretched.

The first one is just poor planning or poor photoshop skills when dealing with the wildly distributed file. (AKA the TKComics Pattern) They end up just colorizing or adjusting the color balance without also adjusting the contrast properly. And since everything is on one photoshop layer, the composition comes out muddy and "dark."

If you're making your own file, this shouldn't be a problem. If you're using a flat pattern, just tweak your contrast or levels a bit.

The second is a bigger issue. The movie suits were printed onto colored lycra milliskin. The red parts on a "peachy" color, and the blue on a "slate-ish" color. The colors that were printed onto them were adjusted accordingly so that when overlayed on the colored fabric, the colors would print correctly.

This can be offset in a few ways. The most intensive of which is to use a professional print shop, rather than spoonflower, and ask them to print it on the fabric while it's being stretched. (The pattern would have to be designed accordingly)

Overall, it's a problem that's mostly noticeable while the suit is being photographed with a flash. In person, most of the suits don't look as pink as some of the images would have you believe. So, adjusting the colors, should work fine as a quick and easy solution.

In the end, just pick something and stick to it. It will be a good learning lesson. And if you ever make another, you'll have some practical knowledge to make your second one even better than your first.

-Nick

 

[TaylorMcManus]

Alright! Thanks so much, man. In my short time on this forum you have been extremely helpful, so thanks for taking the time to answer all of the questions!

 

[TaylorMcManus]

I have another question haha. It may be a dumb question, but regarding fabricondemand.com, it says there is a 58" width for the lycra, so when I'm buying it by the yard would it be 1 yard x 58", or is it a square yard? I just need to know how much I should be ordering!