Paint to Pattern

Even though most of my work is digital I still spend a lot of time painting with traditional media, in particular, gouache and watercolour.  There is a huge market for it, so it's always a good idea to build your skills in this area.  And it's so much fun!  

So in this class, we are going to paint some icons using a medium of your choice.  It might be Gouache, watercolour or whatever else you enjoy painting with. We will then scan those in and create a simple pattern in Photoshop.

What you'll learn:

I’ll take you step by step through the following:

1. Finding inspiration
2. Sketching icons
3. Painting icons
4. Transferring them to Photoshop
5. Removing backgrounds and isolating each icon on a separate layer.
6. Creating a repeating grid pattern in Photoshop

Who this class is for:

This class is for those who work in traditional media and want to learn about surface pattern design.  I will take you through most of the basic skills required in photoshop, but If you need a little extra help with Photoshop, I recommend first doing my class  “10 Photoshop Tips for Surface Designers”, where I teach you some of the basics of Photoshop, specific for illustrators and Surface Designers.

Pre-requisites:

• Basic knowledge of Photoshop

What you'll need:

• Pencil & Eraser
• Watercolour paper
• Paints (e.g. Gouache, watercolour, etc)
• Paper towels, water & palette
• Scanner, camera or phone
• Adobe Photoshop

Resources:

The following classes may help with some of the technical aspects of the class that I don't cover.

• Create realistic mockups to showcase and promote your work
• Create Repeat Patterns with Adobe Textile Designer
• Create a half-drop repeat in Photoshop using Smart Objects
• 10 Photoshop Tips for Surface Designers

So are you ready?  I’m super excited to see your art as patterns so let’s get started.

• Introduction
• What you will need
• Inspiration Moodboard
• Sketch
• Paint
• Clean & Isolate
• Pattern
• Final Thoughts