As Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop have evolved over the years, both programs have added tools and features which allow textile and surface pattern designers to create repeats with more ease. While these features are much appreciated, we hear from designers that they are overwhelmed when deciding which technique to use for their artwork. We are receiving questions such as, “should I use Photoshop’s new Pattern Preview tool or the transform method in Illustrator?
As you probably guessed, there’s no easy answer to these questions. When deciding which repeat technique to use, it’s essential to consider the style of the artwork, the software it was initially developed in, and the processes that the designer is most comfortable using.
As we revamped our popular Ultimate Guide to Repeats course, we kept this common roadblock in mind and changed how we explored the various repeat processes.
Ultimate Guide to Repeats Schedule
We start the course with three lessons that lay the groundwork for deeply understanding repeats and why they are crucial to our industry. These lessons include:
- Lesson 1: Learn what agents, studios, and clients look for when reviewing professional repeats and the most popular repeat styles.
- Lesson 2: Discover why we create repeats, how textiles are produced, and how various production methods affect our work as designers.
- Lesson 3: Learn how to critique your repeats before sending them off to production.
Lessons Four through Eight explore various repeat techniques and discuss which pattern styles work best with each method. We focus on one process a week, allowing designers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the concept entirely.
During these weeks, designers are given one trend-driven brief a week. They are encouraged to design their pattern and put it into repeat using the technique of the week, or they can choose to use our exercise pattern. This course structure provides designers with a real-world experience, placing different repeat techniques to use while creating new artwork for their professional portfolio. These lessons include:
- Lesson 4: Illustrator’s Pattern Maker mode.
- Lesson 5: Illustrator’s Transform method.
- Lesson 6: Creating textural repeats in Photoshop.
- Lesson 7: Photoshop’s Pattern Preview mode
- Lesson 8: Chelsea’s method for creating motif-based repeats in Photoshop.
Our final week of the course consists of a repeat challenge! Designers are invited to submit their patterns to the Textile Design Lab team for a repeat demonstration. Our community manager, Chelsea von Hasseln, will choose three patterns and show the community how she would repeat them based on the pattern style and file organization. Chelsea is a repeat master, and it is such a treat to see how she approaches repeats for clients.
Get Started
The Ultimate Guide to Repeats starts on October 25th, 2021, and is a part of our Textile Design Lab online community. By joining our community, you’ll have access to this course, in addition to all of our Textile Design Lab courses, tutorials, and community events such as our weekly live art critique, guest expert presentations, and more. Learn more here.
