As a Photoshop-loving gal (and I might even go as far to say slightly Illustrator-phobic!) I must admit I am feeling quite a change of heart after seeing the work of Tracy Miller! With a thousand repeating patterns in her personal library, this prolific pattern designer is the veritable queen of Illustrator and her masterful use of the program is really inspiring me to give vector patterns another chance. In contrast to Illustrator designs that can feel somewhat “cookie-cutter” and lacking in depth, Tracy’s work is richly detailed and the longer you stare at it the more you are rewarded with subtle variations in color, layers of texture and other visual treats. Tracy writes:
“I always find it a challenge to choose which images define my style; I often say I don’t have style, as my preferences change from week to week. Whatever I am working on today is my focus, and needs to be since I work for, and sell to, a wide variety of clients, each whose requirements are unique. Of course, I create patterns that are commercial and have sold, through my agent, to some big names: Kleenex, Walmart, CVS, Target, Smashgal, Nordstroms, and Barnes & Noble, to name a few. But my passion – commercially viable or not – really lies with honing my technical skills in vector. How can I create repeating patterns with rich textures, depth and complexity in Illustrator without the use of any filters? (I do use transparency.) So, what I’ve shown here are designs that embody the excitement that vector inspires in me. Perhaps it is this excitement that defines my style!”
