Surface-Pattern Design

From Photo to Sketch to Pattern

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There were so many mushrooms in the woods that I explored this year. I took a ton of photos of all the varying shapes, sizes, and colors.

When I got home, I used my photos as references for sketches and collage elements in my art journal

I then used all these references to create a mushroom pattern for a creative exercise in Module 2 by Make it in Design. Below you can see the motifs I drew and the color palette I chose.

Then I scanned the motifs on to my computer, cleaned them up in Adobe Photoshop, and traced them, added color, and laid out the pattern in Adobe Illustrator.

And finally, I named the pattern Mushroom Meadow and uploaded it to my Redbubble shop on all kinds of products.

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You Have To Be. . .

“You have to be obsessed, otherwise, you are going to give up.” ~John Baldessari

Give My Designs This Holiday Season

Are you looking for unique gifts this holiday season? Check out my Redbubble shop for products with my whimsical patterns, designed with passion and wonder. Keep scrolling for some of my favorites.

Mouse Pads

Posters

Travel Mugs

Coasters

Zippered Pouches

Mugs

Jigsaw Puzzles

Phone Cases

Your Head. . .

“Your head is a living forest full of songbirds.” e.e. cummings

Creating Pattern Variations

A recent exercise in Module 2 by Make it in Design asked us to pick a color palette and create a pattern from it.

I chose a color palette that reminded me of the photos I’ve been taking of berries and flowers and created this mood board.

Berries & Blooms color palette and motifs

I drew the berries & flower by hand, scanned them, and traced them in Adobe Illustrator. I chose a subset of colors for my pattern that I’m calling Berries & Blooms.

First I created this pattern by placing the berries and flowers in circles.

The assignment encouraged us to create variations on our pattern. For this version, I placed the berries and flowers in a half-drop arrangement on a striped background.

For this version, I created an iregular grid background that I arranged the motifs on.

I decided that I like the circle version the best and uploaded it to my Redbubble shop.

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