Six classes finished—challenge (way) complete!
As part of my April Creative Challenge, I completed Introduction to Designing Repeat Patterns in Illustrator on SkillShare.
Materials Used
- Paper: Moleskine Cassette Tape Limited Edition Sketchbook (because I’m a nerd)
- Pens: Tombow Dual Brush Pen (black) and a regular ol’ BIC ballpoint pen
- Software: Adobe Illustrator CC and Adobe Draw (iPhone app)
My Project
The class assignment was to create a repeat pattern in Illustrator.
I was pumped when I saw this class on Skillshare! I’ve wanted to know the secret to designing repeat patterns for a long time. Back when I used to paint on unloved ceramics people told me that my designs would translate into fabric, but I never could make things repeat properly. I gave up, even though I did design one little birdies fabric pattern (but wasn’t super proud of it).
The main part of the project is to doodle, draw, sketch, or whatever you prefer to call it when you put pen to paper. I warmed up with some familiar motifs (flowers I used to draw allllll the time 10 years ago) and ended up filling at least 10 pages with ideas. I have a really rad idea for a (you guessed it) David Bowie themed pattern line*, so I’m pumped to work on that.
Anyway, here are some snaps of some of my doodles.
I chose to use this last doodle for my pattern because it was almost a repeat pattern without much editing.
I traced it in Adobe Draw (with my finger on my phone … ugh, but still easier/faster than the pen tool in Illustrator!). I hadn’t tried Adobe Draw before, so I didn’t know that it only creates shapes instead of paths, which is a total bummer (and why I left the sketchy quality on my pattern). Going to try a different app next time so I can make edits to my shapes.
I ended up not using the weird swirly and peppermint candy-looking thing in the middle. It was the one motif that seemed out of place. I replaced it with a long, skinny, fern-type leaf in my final pattern.
My Finished Repeat Pattern: Dandelion Fields
I’m sure that name is unoriginal. Here is my finished repeat pattern. You can kind of see the repeat happening with all the images stacked in this post. I decided not to go all out with color since I liked the sketchy quality. I went with a muted palette, which is out of character for me, but these motifs seemed to call for one.
Once I finished my pattern block, I pulled it into Photoshop and dumped them on Society6 to test out the repeat on some mockups.
Society6 doesn’t repeat the pattern, but it gives you an idea of what it might look like on different items.
For instance, I’d go much smaller on the pattern for the next four products, but it’s still kind of fun to see something I designed on a real thing. 
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If you took a class on SkillShare, what would you want to take?
I had a blast with this one and can’t wait to take the next class in this series!
*I’m applying for a gallery show with all my Bowie pieces, and thought this would be a nice addition. Wish me luck! I sadly missed this year’s deadline (I learned about this gallery in April; deadline was March 31), so I won’t find out until next year.
