Hi there! Starting with my entry into the Spoonflower design challenge. The keyword for this design challenge was simply ‘pirates’. This is the first time I have entered any kind of competition and I thoroughly enjoyed working to a design brief. Spoonflower do these every week and you can see the whole month’s themes in advance. There are prizes, and another clear incentive to enter in the form of exposure. Voting is open now for this week’s challenge so head over to Spoonflower to cast your vote. Here is my entry:
You may recognise some of the elements from my other designs. I have learned this technique from other surface pattern designers. It might feel a little like cheating but it is a way of introducing consistency to your work, at the same time as finding your personal style. All of which leads neatly on to my tutorial of the week!
Tutorial
Oksancia‘s videos were the first SPD-focussed design tutorials I found when searching for digital pattern design lessons online. She has a very open and friendly online presence in her videos and on social media. She generously shares valuable tips on a range of themes from how to design on Adobe Illustrator to overcoming imposter syndrome.
Tip
Have you noticed that you aren’t seeing posts and stories from your ‘Following’ list? It could be because you need to update your notifications. This is quite straightforward:
- Click on the profile of the person you are following
- Click on the drop-down ‘Following’ tab
- Toggle down on the ‘Notifications’ tab and turn on Posts, Stories and edit your live video choices
I just did it on my Uncle’s page (he’s a super talented artist, check out his work at @drsandersonartist) and here’s a screenshot:
Spoonflower
And tip number 2 is to head over to Spoonflower to get 50% off fat quarters until August 11th! I am going to do this with their excellent recipe tea towel tutorial.
Listen
One of the podcasts I have listened to since its inception is the Love to Sew podcast. I am a keen sewist and love making clothes for my family and me, to the extent that I didn’t buy any clothing in 2018 and made 52 items (including for family). The particular episode that is relevant to this blog is Surface Design with Spoonflower. This was a really interesting and fun discussion with Spoonflower employees detailing the history of the Spoonflower business and their vision to enable everyone to design and use their own fabrics around the home or in their handmade clothes. The conscious sustainability of the company really resonated with me.
Pattern
Please go check out the Pirates Spoonflower challenge and vote for your favourite. Here are some that caught my eye:
beauties charcoal pearl by Scrummy
Pirate Queen Granuaile by Create my world
Lady Bones of the coast by brightsidedesignco
Magpie – the pirate of the sky by Heidi Abeline
That’s all for this blog post. See you soon and hope you have a lovely week!
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