Tag Archives: MIID Summer School

Make It In Design Summer School Finals

Whew! I did it. All three of the final assignments are posted. Hallelujah AMEN! I spent all day yesterday thinking I still had a piece to do for the advanced assignment. Which meant a late, late night. I was done, and didn’t even know it.

I am starting my painting for today this afternoon, so tomorrow I will post two paintings for Leslie’s challenge.

Make It In Design Summer School – Final Assignments

To revisit the first and second assignments just click on the links. I’d really love to hear what you think.

Make It In Design is a collaboration between internationally acclaimed surface pattern designer Rachael Taylor and award-winning entrepreneur Beth Kempton (formerly Nicholls!), founder of Do What You Love. They are based in the UK. All courses are delivered online and are accessible from anywhere in the world. They also publish MOYO magazine, the world’s first online magazine dedicated to surface pattern design.

Everyone submitting work for all three creative briefs in their track (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced) will be entered into a draw to win a free place on The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. We also have the opportunity to be featured in their Look Book, which will be shared with their industry-wide network later this year. 

I so admire the work these women are producing.

Beginner Track Brief 3

Each brief is five to eight pages of inspiration and direction. We are left to our own interpretation of the theme. The megatrend, or over riding influence, for all three assignments was Dissonance. The final theme for brief 3 was Jewels. We were not assigned a palette, though one was suggested. I chose colors from the Advanced palette, to use for all three assignments with the intention of creating a mini collection, designs that would work together.

I wanted to create an abstract, graphic design.  My take on diamonds. This was created entirely on the computer.  Some of the key words they supplied: hard, simple, clean, decadent, sophisticated. I will be adding links once I have added these to my shops. You can click on the image to see a larger version.

MIID BEG Brief 3 - Jewels. Surface design © 2014 Sheila Delgado

MIID BEG Brief 3 – Jewels. Surface design © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Intermediate Track Brief 3

The theme here was Feathers, I did use variations of two of the assigned palette colors. The gold and blue. Key words supplied included: feathers, quills, wings, smooth, soft, dreamy. I wanted to use sharp edges, to coordinate with the Jewels piece. Again, abstracted shapes. I painted these in watercolor and added digital details, you can see more of the process here.

MIID Intermediate Brief 3, Feathers. Surface design © 2014 Sheila Delgado

MIID Intermediate Brief 3, Feathers. Surface design © 2014 Sheila Delgado

First design idea, mock up, feathers. © 214 Sheila Delgado

First design idea, mock up, feathers. © 214 Sheila Delgado

I started in another direction… but it just didn’t take flight. I didn’t realize until I had just about finished though, that it would not have impact. These feathers were painted in watercolor, and the lines were added digitally. I just decided that it was a bit on the kindergarten level, and I was aiming higher. Still, these feathers may find their way into something else, never know.

We were also assigned a mock up, and this is the one I turned in.  (Below)

MIID INT Brief 3 mock up. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

MIID INT Brief 3 mock up. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Advanced Track Brief 3

Our assignment was Intricate Chaos. Among the key words: intricate, paper-cut, detailed, stained glass. I did not cut loose on this, not sure I got the chaotic dissonance aspect. But I love this design. It turned out exactly as I had envisioned. My artist friends will know that doesn’t often happen.

The design above I had first thought of as a secondary design, smaller scale to coordinate with the design below. But once I had completed this, I realized – DUH – Intricate!!! So I ditched my intended and non-existent advanced design idea. I will create it at a later time, to go along with all of these.

MIID Advanced Brief 3, Intricate Chaos. Watercolor, and digital mixed media. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

MIID Advanced Brief 3, Intricate Chaos. Watercolor, and digital mixed media. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

 

Click on the image to see details. The feathers were painted in watercolor. Then I scanned them into the computer and manipulated them in Photoshop. I cleaned up the edges, but I did leave some rough and wobbly bits. Not too perfect.

MIID ADV Brief 3 mock up. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

MIID ADV Brief 3 mock up. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

There are only five shapes, but I used some in reverse, or mirror image, to give more variance. The circles and lines, are really just one digital design, I made it a little larger than the feather shapes, so I could place it differently on each feather. I wanted them to all relate, but not be the same. Once I saw the white on the bright feathers, WOOO WHOOOO!

Toss pattern. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Toss pattern. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

I wanted white to be a major player in each of these designs. Crisp and clean. I don’t usually lean towards red, but this color combo was just calling me. The colors in all three are actually off just a bit, so they don’t work as a collection. But I can go in and digitally alter them to coordinate. I created this simple toss as well….so that is five patterns in 7 days. (whoa)

 

I loved taking part in this challenge, oh and it was challenging. I am really happy with six of the nine designs, not a bad average. These designs will be available at Spoonflower as fabrics, wall paper, gift wrap and decals. Also I will put them on products in my Zazzle shop.

Thanks for taking a look, and following me on this journey. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, comments are always welcome!

 

 

Day Two – 30 in 30

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

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

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

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!

 

 

 

Day one, Done

Leslie Saeta’s September Challenge has begun. 30 paintings in 30 days. Over 700 artists worldwide are participating. The link above will take you to her post, where you can take a look at all the great art created today.  The map shows the countries represented. One of my favorite parts is viewing the daily creations of my friends. Hope you will take a peek.

I am finishing  my Summer School assignments, so these first few will be simple. Actually pieces of a surface pattern I am working on for school. I have several of these to work with, and you will see them in the next few days.

For the theme of Feathers… my first. The quill has gone missing, but I am thinking the design will be more about the shapes, than the details.

Feather, watercolor and pen. Approx. 4.5 in. long. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Feather, watercolor and pen. Approx. 4.5 in. long. © 2014 Sheila Delgado