Make It In Design Summer School – Brief 1

I am having so much fun in the Make It In Design Summer school! I have learned about 5 new techniques in Photoshop, really happy about that. Very simple techniques, but major “Aha” moments.

For the Beginning track, our assignment was “Tropical Paradise”. I decided to update an old pattern of mine. I have wanted to do this, and it seemed the perfect reason. I changed the palette, and added textures to the design. You can see the original here.

fun-foam-textured-sheetsFirst I had to create the textures. I used textured fun foam craft sheets and ink pad to “stamp” the designs. Then I scanned the paper into the computer and digitally removed the background (paper) so I was left with just the dots, or waves. I also created some textures digitally.

My submission will probably give you a craving for a creamsicle. I decided to go soft and mellow with the new version.

 

MIID Beginning Track Brief 1 submission. © Sheila Delgado 2014

MIID Beginning Track Brief 1 submission. © Sheila Delgado 2014

MIID Beginning track swimsuit mock up.

MIID Beginning track swimsuit mock up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the complete gallery for the Beginner track here. Everyone really had fun with this theme. We also created swimsuit mock ups.

My submission for the Intermediate track, “Retro Geometric” is a classic Persian design that I tweaked a bit. I was very glad that for this assignment, we did not have to turn in a repeating pattern. The size of canvas I was working on was not large enough to show the repeat. I can easily take this design and add to it, to create a repeat.

MIID Intermediate track Brief 1. © Sheila Delgado 2014

MIID Intermediate track Brief 1. © Sheila Delgado 2014

MIID Retro Geometric pillow mock up

MIID Retro Geometric pillow mock up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UUGGHH! I just realized I submitted the wrong design. Laughing at myself. Oh well! This is the first version I did (orange), and I just wasn’t feeling the colors. We were given a palette, but we were allowed to use tints as well, so it was pretty open. This was my submission.

Retro Geometric colorway 2. © Sheila Delgado 2014

Retro Geometric colorway 2. © Sheila Delgado 2014

Retro Geometric pillow mock up. © Sheila Delgado 2014

Retro Geometric pillow mock up. © Sheila Delgado 2014

And this in the cool tones, is what I meant to turn in.  (Hmm, sorry it is so blurry.) Which palette do you like better? I also did a design based on an old Native American rug.

 

The MIID site went down when we were all trying to submit our designs, and I am guessing in the middle of all that… brain fart.

You can see the Intermediate gallery here.

MIID Advanced track Brief 1 submission. © Sheila Delgado 2014

MIID Advanced track Brief 1 submission. © Sheila Delgado 2014

For the Advanced track, I created this design, based on a vase I have in my studio. Honestly, I just wasn’t coming up with any good ideas for the “Water Rays” theme.

I drew a bunch of line patterns, and circles, scanned them, and then pieced them together in Photoshop. This is not a repeating design, and that was not required for the assignment.

I was really second guessing this one towards the end. I had just the fish with the texture, and I thought if I added eyes, I would need to add a mouth, or more details to the body for balance. I was thinking that I did not want to add many more details, because the background is already so busy. When I added the eyes… the design just popped.

water rays suit mock up

MIID Advanced track swimsuit mock up.

I really like how it looks on the suit! You can view the Advanced track gallery here.

Participation in the Make It In Design Summer School, gives each designer the opportunity to win a free spot in their upcoming course, The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. They are giving away three spots, one for each track of the summer school. Exciting!

We get our assignments for the 2nd Brief on Monday, and I can’t wait! It is an achievement for me, to create 5 designs in one week, Whoa! And Whew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 thoughts on “Make It In Design Summer School – Brief 1

    1. Sheila Post author

      I am so glad you like it Lucy. It actually is not as muted as it looks here. The colors are a bit stronger. I am looking forward to your series on art. Should be good reading! Have fun with the kiddos!

      Reply
  1. sue gardner

    Terrific patterns! Its a whole new world -so much to learn, so many neat tricks, that looks great fun as well as being hard to do! Im still trying to wrap my head around repeats, sometimes they work, sometimes not- and I never know which or why LOL

    Reply
    1. Sheila Post author

      Thanks so much Sue. Hey, if you ever need any help, or want me to see if I can figure out why it is not working… just let me know. i will gladly share what I know 🙂

      Reply
  2. Jim Carpenter

    I have absolutely no idea how you do what you do here! And I love it – especially the blue fish with the eyes – it has both motion and stillness in it – And the color is just perfect. Regarding your question as to which I liked better the orange pattern or the one with the cool tones – something about the cool toned one makes me gravitate to it. But I think both are terrific.

    Reply
    1. Sheila Post author

      Wow Jim, thank you 🙂 I have only been doing pattern design for about 2 years, and all self taught. Well, with the help of amazing designers who are willing to share their knowledge. Videos… Youtube… tutorials. I still have so much to learn, but that is part of the fun 🙂 Enjoy your weekend Jim!

      Reply
  3. Carol Hopper

    Fabric design is completely amazing to me. I can barely understand how you get where you are as this is not in my world of art. So thank you for sharing your process and helping me understand this more! I love your work.

    Reply
  4. Elaine

    Sheila,
    I am trying to create a similar background like your beginner’s entry. Did you say you used the foam sheets to create that look? ‘Cause it almost looks more like linen than dots or squares. Just curious how you accomplished it. 🙂
    Have a great day!
    Elaine

    Reply
    1. Sheila Post author

      I took a square, I think 10 x 10 inches, and used the shape tool (photoshop) to draw lines. I used the shift key to keep them all straight. I filled the entire area with lines, it doesn’t take as long as it sounds. when I was done, I defined the pattern. I tried to make some uneven spacing, some really close to each other, and some farther apart. It is a repeating pattern, but if you want the same look for smaller pieces in your design, you can use crooked lines that do not match up. Enjoy your weekend Elaine!

      Reply
    1. Sheila Post author

      Thanks Terrilynn 🙂 I really enjoyed reading about how others create too. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a super weekend!

      Reply
    1. Sheila Post author

      Megan I love your designs! Thanks for visiting and commenting 🙂 Can’t wait to see more of your awesome work 🙂

      Reply

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