Between worlds

The field of fabric design made me stuck between the analog and digital worlds.

I love to hold a pencil or a brush, touch the paper and perceive the process of creation with all my senses. However, the desire to show off to friends made it necessary to scan. And when I wanted to create a fabric pattern, much more was needed.

Being happy from the “crazy faces” fabric and jacket, the next path was clear to me. I will continue drawing and painting as before, scan the final images and then assemble them into a pattern on the computer. If I learn how to use graphics tools better, it can’t be that hard, right?

I put effort and time into this method, but I still ran into some limits, mostly because of resolution and file size. Look and judge.

Colored pencils origin:

Watercolor origin:

Because I wasn’t satisfied enough, I tried to create simple things digitally. The first success was the mandala, which I presented in one of the previous posts. Unfortunately, it was also the last success for a long time.

I realized that drawing and painting digitally is a completely different discipline that requires a change in mindset. I seriously doubt I can do it. Despite the fact that digital creation never attracted me.

Look at my early attempts.

Something inside tells me it’s too soon to give up and the desire to create fabric design is still strong. I would like to find a way to combine the best of both worlds and still be myself.

Be sure I will keep you updated on progress. In the meantime, I welcome your comments and recommendations.

Love and hugs,

Ivana

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Being digital

As I mentioned before, digital art is not my cup of tea. I don’t get it in general, although I like some of the pieces. It could be a matter of age or temperament.

Unfortunately I fell in love with creating seamless patterns from my traditional artwork, so a basic knowledge of digital graphics is essential. I am getting through step by step, using intuition as well as tutorials from internet. It’s like discovering a new universe that has long existed for many people.

For example, I was totally excited to discover a tool that adds a watercolor effect. As long as I followed instructions, I got an incredible result. But then I wanted to spread my wings and fly my own way. No, no, no!

I tried to vectorize my drawing of a rose and then apply the watercolor effect. Something strange happened, the rose became a kind of shiny candy instead of a loose watercolor flower. Even so, I put those candies into a seamless pattern. Am I a bit of masochist?

To be honest, not every day is awful. I met a great surprise inside of the tutorial how to draw a mandala. Another thing, which is not generally my cup of tea. But watching how every move of mouse is multiplied and symmetrically placed at the same time, was simply wonderful!

I have no use for mandalas yet, but for the great feeling I will definitely repeat this exercise. Probably combined with a “watercolor” background, as in the title image. What do you think about seamless pattern, based on something like this?

No worries, I still draw and paint by hand and still prefer it.

With love and hugs,

Ivana

Repeated pattern, part two

Thanks for the encouragement to make repeated pattern from my artwork, printable on fabric!

Since the hand-drawing tiles were demanding on patience, accuracy and time, I tried to dive into editing tools a bit deeper. Even free software contains a long list of them, under whose names I usually can’t imagine anything at all.

I’m a beginner, but I’m not a coward! Moreover, I was gifted by the nature of a discoverer. So I tested applying one tool after another until I met the right one. Hurrah!

So far I haven’t tried any modifications to the basic settings, instead I immediately applied this tool to a million of my existing artworks.

The results are not such repeated patterns I originally imagined, but some of them are damn interesting, what do you think?

Where available, they are linked to the posts with original images.

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Myrtle – colored pencils + liner, Aquarius – colored pencils, Alchemilla – colored pencils + liner

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Quo vadis – colored pencils + liner, Yellow bedstraw – colored pencils + liner, Hidden secret – colored pencils

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Iris – watercolor, Peony – watercolor, Rose – watercolor

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How to reach perfection – colored pencils, Water – colored pencils + liner, Fire – watercolor

Let me know if you found a favorite. It’ll help me keep improving. Thanks a lot!

Hugs and love,

Ivana

P.S. The featured image contains a part of the leaves with droplets, see In the middle of lockdown.