This week the Spoonflower design challenge was for Birthday Party Table Linens. And it is being shown on the table runner. I decided to make sure my entry worked on the runner. Which meant that it might not work as well on many of the other products. The coordinating designs do work more universally. But I goofed. They used a different mock up. Haha. I should have done a toss pattern.
The brief also stated we should consider the design being used for years to come. I considered using a more generic phrase. One that would work for birthdays and various celebrations.
I have done only one other chevron design. But it seemed perfect for this. To me, suggesting a banner hanging high above the birthday table.
Doodle Bugs was our Spoonflower assignment this week. I am not a fan of bugs in general. I wouldn’t choose to draw them. I do admire bugs that other artists create. And I have to admit, I was surprised at how many colorful, pretty bugs there are. I had a hard time narrowing it down.
The brief called for hand drawn or painted bugs. My Talens Angora watercolor palette came to mind. Warm desert tones. (Their skin tone collection.) And I decided on Moths. There are so many pretty ones. Some are neon pink and yellow. There were lots of yellows, in the images I researched. And warm earthy rusts and salmons.
I created the bodies and details using the pen tool in Photoshop. I wanted nice crisp lines. I painted blobs, trying to get some bleeds and blooms. I wasn’t as successful with that, but I did end up with a few that were usable. I trimmed them digitally to fit the moth bodies.
I have never considered painting a butterfly. Always felt it was beyond my abilities. But I surprised myself. I am learning to think in pen tool. Haha. 🙂 No way would I be able to draw them by hand though.
I am really happy with how this turned out. Happy with the hues. Happy with my little taught-me-so-much doodle bugs. 😉 Voting is open until next Tuesday, the 25th.
Last week I received notice that Spoonflower was making changes in the challenge voting. They have already changed the main challenge page, and WOW! I am looking forward to seeing what changes they made on the voting page. Fingers crossed.
I just read in a Facebook Spoonflower group, that the voting is messy and takes you through 21 pages. BUT, it does allow you to exit and come back to it. It saves your votes, but shows the designs in random order. So you may see some designs more than once, if you re enter. Sounds like they need to work out some glitches.
It will take people using it, for them to gather info for improvements. And if you do consider voting, I am very interested in hearing your opinions, so I can pass them on to Spoonflower.
They did mention, that there would be two columns instead of one, on the phone app. That is a huge change. And will help make voting a little faster. They will also be verifying that designs meet the requirements, and are repeating designs. One key to voting on the phone, is to open the page, and give it a few seconds to load the images.
WOO WHO!!!
Spoonflower calculates the counts now! Awesome! I don’t have to search through the entries now, to find my placement. Thank you Spoonflower! 🙂
Rugged Line placement in the Miniature Dollhouse Wallpaper challenge.
Woo Whoo! 176!! That is the top 10.45 %. (If the online calculator is correct. LOL)
You can see the top 65, here. I would have needed only 30 more votes to make the top 65. WOWzers! 🙂 This simple design is one of my favorites. So nice that so many others like it too. 🙂
Sending out a huge cup of appreciation, to all of you who voted & to those of you taking the time to vote this week. 🙂 And to all of my followers. I am so grateful. 🙂
Abstracted animal prints for curtains, our challenge this week. I decided to keep it minimal. I started with inspiration from the coral snake.
Their coloring is very eye catching. The US has only three species of coral snakes: the eastern coral snake, the Texas coral snake, and the Arizona coral snake. But there are dozens of different types. You can take a look at this chart, if you are not totally creeped out by snakes. As far as design goes, there are very pretty, brightly patterned styles.
Starting inspiration…
I have a cousin who is deathly afraid of snakes. I admit, I would not want to find myself in close proximity to a large snake. But I can look at them without the skin shivering disgust I get from looking at spiders. 😱🤣
I started with a stripe. Added filters to alter the stripe shape, for an organic feel. Essentially, I had two repeating patterns. The stripe, and the skin. Well, maybe it was just my brain on toast, but I could not get the two repeats to match up.
It’s math. And if you are a creative, you know what that means. I just couldn’t get the equation figured out. P(Y-X=m | Y > X) &= \sum_{k} P(Y-X=m, X=k | Y > X) \\ &= \sum_{k} P(Y-X=m | X=k, Y > X) 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Once I stepped away from that idea, and started working with colors, I really liked the pattern much better. It’s true. Sometimes less is better.
I know this design will most likely be passed by in the voting. It will be shown on a curtain. And as you can see in the first image, the design is barely visible. But I have a working repeat. It can be used for costumes, pajamas, or a cuddly blanket for nap time.
Tumblers & Treats placed at 1514 of 2151 entries with 24 votes. You can see the top 73, here. I would have needed 155 votes to make the top 73.
I am grateful to those who voted! Thank you, for taking the time! 🙂 🥰 🙂 🥰 🙂 🥰
Spoonflower is making changes in the next few weeks. Many of them to make it easier to vote in the challenges. You will be able to scroll through two rows, instead of one, on your phone. They will also be curating the entries, to verify that they meet the specific requirements, and that the designs are in fact, repeating patterns.
It’s warming up around here. And the trees are in bloom. Woo Who! Hope the weather is treating you well, in your neck of the woods.
