When you’re working with color and repeating patterns in Adobe Illustrator, it’s frustrating to feel like everything takes FOREVER! Chances are, you just don’t know the right Illustrator shortcuts for fashion. Learning these simple tricks will help cut your design time in HALF. Which is why I put together my best and top 23 shortcuts […]
Creating realistic knit repeating pattern textures in Illustrator is a PAIN! This tutorial will show you how to make it easy in just a FEW steps! Here’s what you’ll learn: How to create a realistic chunky knit texture for your fashion illustrations using a photo How to apply the knit texture to your fashion flats […]
Whether you’re a fashion designer, textile design, or surface pattern designer, you’ll need to spec your repeating patterns for manufacturing. This video will show you how to determine what size your repeat tile should be for printing based on print type (rotary screen, flat-bed screen, etc). You can also use this technique if you’re prepping artwork for Spoonflower.
It’s easy to create a mesh repeating pattern and add it to your fashion flat sketches – and I’ll show you exactly how in this video tutorial. You will learn: 00:33 Understanding the repeat of a mesh pattern 00:55 Building the repeat tile for your mesh 01:22 How to cut a hole out of your […]
With a few simple tricks, this tutorial will show you how to add dimension to your ruffle sketches and add a pattern fill to your fashion illustration: You will learn: 00:42 How to conceptualize drawing your fashion flat to fill it with a pattern swatch 01:40 Tricks to draw the ruffles with the Pencil Tool […]
This quick tutorial will show you how to take any image (from the internet, a photo, or a scan), crop it in Photoshop and turn it into a repeating pattern swatch in Adobe Illustrator.
With so many free vector graphics available for download, you don’t always have to start from scratch when designing. Think about how different elements can be remixed to get the results that you want. This video tutorial will show you how to edit free clipart (this one’s from Vector Arts Hub) to create a seamless repeating textile pattern in […]
If you fill your fashion flats with textile patterns, the result may not be what you want. The pattern will look very flat and straight, and not realistic at all. This video tutorial will show you how to bend and curve the pattern inside your fashion sketch so that it looks more natural on the sketch. In the […]
Working with repeating patterns for the first time? Plaids are quite simple to make and are a great starting point!
I’m partial to Illustrator for patterns, but sometimes Photoshop serves your needs better. Learn how to make repeating patterns in Photoshop using motifs from Illustrator.
Before the release of CS6 and the pattern making feature, repeating patterns were made manually (yes, it’s true, this used to be a DIY process!). Whether you’re working in CS5 or earlier, or you just want to know how to do it, this video will show you how.
Pattern making in Illustrator used to be a manual and sometimes frustrating process. With the release of a pattern making tool in CS6, this process has been drastically simplified and made accessible to all user levels.
A lot of the work I do is print/textile design based, so I’m constantly creating specs for artwork to send to factories. Here is how to prepare artwork in Adobe Illustrator for a tech pack (for fashion or surface design) to make sure your design is executed accurately. Many factories also love to get a printout of at least […]
Learn how to use the Pattern Making Tool for quick and easy repeating patterns in Illustrator CS6 and newer. Free support file to follow along included.
Using photoshop & Illustrator, we’ll create a see through / transparent lace repeating pattern swatch and apply it to our bra fashion flat sketch. You will learn: 00:37 How to crop one repeat of your lace pattern in Photoshop 01:20 How to make sure the edges of your repeat tile will seam up smoothly 02:11 […]
It’s simple to resize / move / transform patterns inside objects in Illustrator – and this video will show you how. You will learn: 00:19 What is an engineered pattern in fashion? 01:20 How to place a repeating pattern swatch on the chest of your fashion flat by drawing it manually or using a clipping […]
If you’ve ever wondered why your pattern swatch is see through, it’s because you don’t have a background color on it. This video will show you the easiest way to add a background color directly in the pattern swatch. You will learn how to: 00:29 Create a simple pattern with the Pattern Making Tool in […]
It’s very easy to recolor artwork in Illustrator – including pattern swatches, brushes, or just solid blocks of color – if you know the right tricks. This tutorial will show you exactly how to do all of that. Learn how to quickly make multiple colorways of your fashion flat sketches, repeating pattern swatches, or even entire […]
Using a seamless repeating pattern design in Illustrator (with WAY too many anchor points), I’ll show you how to clean up the edges of the surface / textile pattern tile so the repeat edges aren’t so blunt. Here’s what you’ll learn in this video tutorial: Tricks to make Illustrator run faster and speedup your workflow […]
There are a lot of tutorials about recoloring artwork in Illustrator, but I haven’t seen any that document working with tonal colors. This tutorial will show you how to recolor prints, heathers / melanges, and other textures or repeating surface / textile design swatches that you want to keep tonal. This specific example is demonstrated using a 3 […]