Adventures in Pattern Design
Well, here I am again.
Attempting to not live a stagnant life of working to pay the bills above all else. Yes, paying the bills is important…I do NOT have a dream to live on the streets (that dream died at age 7). But I have that. I have finally found that J.O.B. that is giving me a little time freedom to explore other things. Enjoyable things. Things that may not be grand or even very interesting to anyone else, but things that bring me joy. Things I can share just for the sake of sharing. (That’s why my Instagram is still such a mess! Take a look below to see what I mean!)
Last year I took part in a pattern design challenge with Bonnie Christine. It was 5 days of learning how to make a repeating pattern in Illustrator, using my very own hand drawn doodles. The first thing it did for me was make me realize how much I like doodling! Secondly, it made me realize how my brain works…and doesn’t work. Computer software is one of the most frustrating things to me. So I gave up and moved on.
Enter Rachelle Holowko. I found her pattern design workshop. This one was not free but to me it was worth whatever I paid for it (I honestly can’t recall the price, but I’m pretty stingy so I’m sure it must’ve been reasonable to me). In it, she shows how to make repeating patterns in Illustrator but also in Photoshop. In my mind, perhaps Photoshop would be easier!? I honestly don’t know that the software was easier or if her instruction was different, but I actually understood her method.
Fast forward to just last week when I see Bonnie’s free class again. Now with more practice, I try again. And again, I get stuck. But this time I knew more! This time I realized it wasn’t the delivery of the instructions. This free course showed the way I had learned from Rachelle…I just wasn’t smart enough to push past the bit I didn’t understand and try Bonnie’s second method. Which turned out to be the way Rachelle teaches it.
It’s more fun than I anticipated!
Honestly, as frustrated as I was with this last year I still love patterns and wanted to design them. I had actually done a few and added them to journal covers for my KDP shop. That’s why I REALLY wanted to get it this time. I mean TRULY understand what I was doing. And do it without the tutorial playing as I did it!
I’m actually not there yet. I am VERY new at this but I am having so much fun.
The end goal may surprise you…if you know me.
What’s the point of designing patterns ‘just for fun’? Well, truthfully, while it is fun, I do want it to be more than just a hobby. I have my J.O.B. that helps pay the bills and doesn’t drain all my life force, but I would like more. How awesome would it be to go back to my local Trader Joe’s where I worked for 11 years and see one of MY designs on a greeting card there? How cool would it be to be shopping with my friend who LOVES Home Goods and find one of MY patterns on a pillow?
Pretty.Damn.Awesome.
Pretty.Damn.Cool.
I will definitely be setting up a Spoonflower shop soon! I am in LOVE with this new pattern!
I’m starting slow and going slow.
These are lofty goals for me. I’m not expecting either of those companies to pick up my first attempt at a pattern or a greeting card design. But if I am having fun doing this, and I’m not focused on how to pay the bills…I’m already ahead of where I was this time last year.
Never stop trying. Never stop moving forward. Never stop having fun.