Wednesday 22 May 2013

Want to learn another skill? How about designing patterns!


Today I am going to be telling you about a wonderful opportunity you could take part in.  My good friend Majo Bautista V, a fellow designer, and a very talented one at that, is running a fantastic course via Skillshare.  Now Majo never does anything half heartedly so I know for a fact this course will be jampacked with information, tips and tricks and will have you creating beautiful patterns before you know it.  Oh and it is only $30 (£20) but if you sign up via this link you get $10 off!, so for a mere $20 (£13.25).

I always believe you should pick up as many different skills as you can in life, so if you fancy learning an new little skill then why not try this.  I present to you, Reign Repeats – Create perfect repeat patterns in Adobe Illustrator.


Now before you shoot this opportunity down by saying you don’t have Adobe Illustrator, fear not!  Adobe do free trials of their software over on their website here, these trials are for 30 days so make sure you get it just before the course if you decide to do it.  Just find Adobe Illustrator in the list and click 'Try' to download the software.

Anyway where was I, new skills!  With this course you could make your own patterns for anything from fabrics to make crafts or curtains, to getting your own tea towels, your own stationary or even your own wallpaper printed.  The end uses for patterns are literally endless! 

Pattern designing is perfect for those who think they can’t draw at all aswell as those who are fantastic at drawing.  You do not need to be an artist to be good at this, everyone finds their own style when they start pattern designing and I can speak from my own experience that when you complete a pattern you truly love it is such a wonderful feeling.

Here is a little sneak peek of what is included and what you will learn in this course:

  • Basic Illustrator tools which will bring your ideas to life
  • How to create technical repeating patterns
  • How to use the new Pattern Tool in Illustrator CS6
  • How to take your hand drawn sketches and vectorise them
  • How to apply colour and easily recolour your designs
  • The numerous types of repeating patterns and how to make them
  • How to solve common problems that may arise when using Illustrator
  • How to prepare your files to sell your designs via Spoonflower
  • Inspirational interviews from great designers


Majo has really gone above and beyond with this course, she will even be showcasing some of the best designs via her blog and Facebook page at the end of the course.  This will be a fantastic opportunity to get your designs out there and have them seen by the general public and other designers.  There will then be a vote for the top 3 designs who will receive some fantastic prizes that have been donated by Spoonflower!

So what are you waiting for!  Sign up here to find out how to make gorgeous patterns :)



6 comments:

  1. You are amazing! Thanks for this wonderful blogpost Emma! You've said it all in great words and have also motivated me even more :)

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  2. Thank you so much for this post! I caught it on LinkedIn and here I am :)
    Is there a time frame for this?
    Thanks!

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    1. Hello! It runs from the 7th of June and the deadline for the spoonflower competition is the 2nd of July but once you sign up you have the content for as long as you want to work through at your own pace or at another time :)

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    2. Emma, forgive the questions, but I am a Graphics Designer, doing Digital Scrapbooking, and I'm wondering if this course is for me.
      I don't think I could design patterns for real cloth for a living, but I'm very interested in learning to design seamless pattern in Illustrator.
      I'd love your advice.
      Also, is it OK if I sign up after the 7th?
      Thanks!
      Myst

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    3. Yes you can sign up after the 7th, this course will be running continuously, it's just majo may not be able to give you feed back at a later date. If your looking to learn how to design seamless repeating patterns then this course is perfect and you'll have all of the information indefinitely once you sign up. If you sign up at a later date and ever need any advice or want a bit of feedback you can always email me and I would be happy to help you!

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    4. Thanks Emma! I'll definitely sign up!
      Myst

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