May 28th, 2015 - New Textile Designs
One of the things on my bucket list has been to design unique fabrics. After a few years of playing with how its done, I finally hit on something that I like. I'm going to explain how I'm creating these designs and hopefully you can give it a shot too.
For me the process starts with taking some really good close up shots of something. In my case, I am using plants on the property for my content. It's wonderful the colors that nature gives us. Take a picture using the highest pixels you can.
In this example, the picture is of an azalea bush in our front yard. I think it's called Northern Lights. It has blooms that are a wonderful color pink/coral.
I then found a software program that creates repeat patterns really quickly and easily. It's called REPPERPRO (http://repperpatterns.com). They do have a free demo that you can try at their website. Below is a picture of the screen. It shows the complete picture, along with area I've blocked to create the pattern. There are tons of different settings to try. Then the last piece to is save a tile, or save the surface. Once you have a file you can then have some fun.
I am using SPOONFLOWER (http://www.spoonflower.com). They allow you to upload an image and create fabric, wallpaper, and wrapping paper from your design. They also have tools to create designs from scratch.
If that weren't enough, I can then take my file into another free program from Adobe (https://color.adobe.com) and it will analyze it and give me the colors it found in the design. I can use that to plan something complimentary like a different color on a collar, or waist band.
I've been having a blast with this! You can check out my designs on our website and it will take you to my Spoonflower shop. I'm visualizing a cute summer sleeveless dress with the print below. Now I just need to brush up on my sewing skills!
Who says you can't have exactly what you want these days!
I'm working on other ways to use these designs too.
Stayed tuned for more creative fun.
Cheers
