What Is The Knockout Technique And Why I Use It For Every Ruby Avenue Design

If you have seen a Ruby Avenue hoodie in person, you might notice something. A lot of the art is actually the black of the hoodie itself.

Glows. Smoke. Edges of a skull or a mask. All built out of empty space, not one big block of ink.

That is the knockout technique. Every Ruby Avenue design uses a mix of knockout and halftone, so the print can breathe and sit better on the body. In this post I want to explain what that means, how it works and why I use it on every piece.

What Is The Knockout Technique?

The knockout technique is a simple idea with a fancy name. Instead of printing a big solid rectangle of colour, you remove parts of the design and let the hoodie or t-shirt show through. The garment becomes part of the artwork.

On a black hoodie that means:

• Dark areas are just the fabric itself
• The print only covers the parts that need light, glow or detail
• The rest of the shape is created with negative space

So instead of a big square on your chest, you get a design that feels like it lives in the hoodie. The black around it is not just background. It is part of the design.

Where Halftones Come In

Knockout is only half of the story. Every Ruby Avenue design is also halftoned. That means the art is broken up into lots of tiny dots and textures instead of huge flat blocks.

Halftones help to:

• Blend light into shadow in a smooth way
• Keep the print flexible when you move
• Reduce the amount of solid ink on the hoodie

When you mix halftone and knockout together, you get prints that look detailed up close but still feel light and wearable because there is more fabric showing through between the dots.

Real Examples From Ruby Avenue

To make it easier to see the knockout and halftone work, I have put each design on a neutral grey background beside the final black hoodie version. On grey you can see where the print stops and the fabric would show through.

Knockout Versus Big Solid Prints

You have seen the other style many times. A big square or rectangle printed right in the middle of a hoodie or t-shirt.

That can work for some designs, but it has a few downsides:

• It feels heavier on the chest
• It bends less when you move
• It can feel sweaty in warm rooms
• If it cracks, it cracks in one big block

With a knockout and halftone layout there is less ink on the garment and it is broken up into shapes and dots. That gives you:

• A lighter feel across the front
• More of the original hoodie texture
• Less chance of a giant cracked plate later
• A cleaner look that blends into the fabric

It looks more like the art was built for the hoodie, not just stuck on top of it.

Why Knockout Fits Dark Fantasy Art

Ruby Avenue lives somewhere between streetwear and dark fantasy. Black hoodies. Smoke. Glow. Magic circles. Ghosts and cursed armour.

Knockout works perfectly for that kind of art because:

• Black hoodies are already a strong visual canvas
• Highlights and glows feel brighter against real black fabric
• You get strong contrast between sharp details and empty space
• Characters can fade into shadow in a natural way

If you look closely at my designs, there are often areas that fade into nothing. A cloak that disappears into the dark, or a mask that melts into shadow. That is knockout at work.

How I Build A Knockout And Halftone Design

Here is a simple version of my process when I work on a Ruby Avenue piece.

1. Start with a full design in Kittl
   I begin with a detailed illustration, usually built and refined in Kittl. This is where I figure out the pose, the energy and the overall composition.
2. Strip away noise and background
   I remove backgrounds and extra clutter and focus on the main shape and the mood. I imagine how it will sit on a black hoodie or tee in real life.
3. Move into Photoshop for knockout and halftone
   In Photoshop I do the heavy lifting. I knock out the deepest blacks so the garment becomes the shadow, and I turn smooth areas into halftone and grain so there are tiny gaps and dots instead of solid slabs of ink.
4. Shape the glow and midtones
   I keep the light areas, smoke and glows and let them fade back into the fabric. The halftone work here makes the edges soft so the art feels like it sinks into the hoodie instead of sitting on top.
5. Check size, balance and breathability
   I look at mockups and test prints. If the design feels too heavy or too flat, I pull more areas back to pure hoodie black or push more into halftone until it looks right and feels light enough to wear every day.

The goal is balance. Enough print so the art hits hard. Enough knockout and halftone so the hoodie still feels like clothing, not armour.

How Ruby Avenue Prints Feel To Wear

Because every Ruby Avenue design is both halftoned and knocked out, the front of the hoodie usually feels:

• Softer and more flexible
• Closer to the original hoodie texture
• Less bulky across the chest

The print is there, you can feel it, but there is still a lot of open fabric between the dots and shapes. That keeps the hoodie more breathable and easier to wear indoors or layered under a jacket.

How These Prints Age Over Time

All prints age. That is normal. What you want is a print that still looks good as it wears in.

With knockout and halftone together:

• Small cracks tend to follow thin lines and small shapes
• The design can gain a bit of character as it ages
• The hoodie still reads mostly black from a distance

On my own hoodies I have pieces that are past sixty washes. Washed inside out at thirty to forty degrees and dried on low heat. Up close you can see some cracking and wrinkling, but from a couple of feet away the design still looks clean.

How To Care For Knockout And Halftone Hoodies And T-Shirts

Caring for a Ruby Avenue print is the same as caring for any good quality graphic hoodie or tee. It is just extra worth doing because the art relies on fine detail and smooth fades.

Quick version of what I recommend:

• Turn the garment inside out before washing
• Wash at 30 to 40°C on a short or daily cycle
• Use liquid soap that is safe for dark clothes
• Avoid bleach on dark items
• Spin on a medium speed
• Tumble dry inside out on low heat, or hang dry if you can
• Iron inside out on low if it needs it

If you want the full breakdown of washing and drying, you can read my detailed care guide here:

How To Wash Graphic Hoodies And T-Shirts So They Actually Last

Why Ruby Avenue Uses This Technique On Every Design

I started Ruby Avenue by making designs I wanted to wear myself. Black hoodies. Strong art. Not too loud, but not boring either.

Using knockout and halftone on every design lets me:

• Keep the hoodie mostly black and clean
• Show detailed art without turning the front into a plastic block
• Keep the print breathable and flexible for everyday wear
• Play with shadow, glow and negative space in a way that feels like my style

It takes more work at the design stage, but it gives a better final piece. Something you can wear a lot that still feels good and looks sharp.

If you want to see this in action, check out the current collection:

• Crimson Reaper hoodie
• Cyberpunk Hacker hoodie
• Browse all Ruby Avenue hoodies

Look closely at the edges, shadows and gaps. A lot of what looks like ink is really the hoodie itself working with the art.