Category Archives: Patterns

Day three, and thee

Thanks so much for visiting, and for commenting! Wanted to say that ahead of time, just in case. The deadline is breathing down my neck. And of course, the computer decided to act up. I kept getting the error message “scratch disk is full”. Which basically means that Photoshop is out-of-order and closed for repairs. Not a good thing.

I was up until 2:20 am. Trying to get a jump on the day by writing my post. My #3 assignment for Summer School is “somewhere in the middle” as Jonah (sleepless in Seattle) so confidently put it. Paint, scan, clean, add details, place, and post.

I painted more feathers than you see here. Watercolor washes are finicky. Several of my first attempts were not as intense, so I won’t be using them in the final design. They are good, but just don’t fit with these. I still need to add details, and I have the pattern worked out in my head. Here’s hoping it works on paper too.

Five flushed feathers. watercolor. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

I also completed this companion pattern with the feathers from yesterday’s post. I will make this available in my shops later this month

HaPpY PaiNtInG and happy day to you! Take a look at what was created today.

Day Two – 30 in 30

18 Replies

One little, two little, three little…

Feathers (Indians).

I remember that song from childhood, and Bugs Bunny. The originals mind you. I never thought it was anything other than a fun song, but now that I am an adult, I know better. Sad how some things come about. If you are interested in learning more, take a look at this Wiki page. I did not know it was Irish, or that there was an Icelandic version. The originals are really gruesome, especially when you consider they were for children.

More pieces and parts of what will be a repeating pattern. I am showing you the progression, starting with my sketches. Looking for interesting shapes… oh and an OOPS! Red got away from me. Thinking that these will be smaller elements in the design, to give a bit of depth.

Feathers sketches. Watercolor and pencil. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Here, after a digital cleaning. They are each individual pieces. It isn’t showing in the scan, but I did add a bit of grey to give some form to the quills. After the cleaning, it just looked like dirt, so I took that out as well. The final design will be as much about the white, or negative space, as it will be about the feather shapes.

Feathers cropped and cleaned. Watercolor, approx. 2. in. tall. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Playing with the idea of adding digital elements. If you take a look at yesterday’s feather, you can see that my white pens were not cooperating. And while I do like the soft look, for a painting, those details will have less impact in a pattern design.

These digital lines really pop.

Digitally enhanced feathers. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Another benefit of adding details digitally, is that they can easily be changed within the design. For instance, once the feathers are placed in a repeat, I may see that I have to many dots close together, or the lines may need to be thicker to show up. That is part of the fun of designing, so many options to play with!

Don’t forget to glance at Leslie’s page for all of today’s amazing artwork. I have also started a Pinterest board for the Challenge. Hoping to give a little more exposure that will maybe even lead to sales!

Happy painting everyone!

Make It In Design Summer School – Brief Two

6 Replies

This week my design time was drastically reduced. I participated in a Creative Live course with Bonnie Christine of Going Home to Roost. Her class was a blast. Really intense. Three full days on Illustrator and surface pattern design. More on that in a bit.

I only had three days to complete my designs for the MIID assignments. I was determined to complete them all, so I had to simplify. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid.

Make It – Beginner

Tribal Shapes, MIID. Beginner Brief 2, © 2014 Sheila Delgado

For the Beginner theme, Tribal Shapes, I came up with this basic repeat. I knew that I would incorporate it in the Tribal Collage for the advanced assignment.

MIID Beginner Brief 2 details

I added lines to mimic a woven fabric, and then I erased them partly for a worn look. I used a second brush to add splotches of color.

Make It – Intermediate

MIID Intermediate Brief 2, © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Animal Print was the intermediate theme. I felt the need for steed. My original thought was to do some sort of quilted pattern of just hides. But then I thought about those terrible 70’s patchwork purses, and I just couldn’t go that route. I am not sure this is better. Animal prints in general are just not favorites of mine.

Faux horse hide

I added the same texture details, thinking of nubby old blankets, or an old itchy rug. I do like how the details turned out, but they do not translate well on screen, and I am not really sure they are visible in MIID gallery pages. I also completed the required product mock-up for this, and I really like how it looks in use.

Mock up, MIID Intermediate Brief 2

Make It – Advanced

Tribal Collage, the advanced assignment, brought these elements together. I did this pattern in about six hours. Right up against the deadline.

MIID Advanced details

So tell me what you think. Did I take the texture too far, or not far enough?

MIID Advanced Brief 2, © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Design Surface Patterns From Scratch With Bonnie Christine

So amazing! Bonnie is a terrific teacher and she is so generous in sharing all she knows. To anyone interested in learning pattern design, I highly recommend this class. The instruction in Illustrator was geared specifically for pattern design. I have worked in Photoshop, honestly, because learning Illustrator seemed daunting.

Bonnie made it look so easy, she explained each step. I had planned on creating my MIID designs in Illustrator, because I was short on time I stuck with Photoshop. You know, learning curve.

But I am tackling Illustrator this weekend. Bonnie’s assignment is to create a six piece pattern collection. FUN!!

Enjoy your weekend!