OnceuponpaperCo Etsy: Well that's the end of Part one..

Hello all,

Well, where to start... my lovely Surface pattern course has now ended for a five week break between modules..... :( feeling like I've really learnt a lot every week. Sorry for not blogging earlier, but I got quite far behind at one point - and sometimes life just takes over.. anyway, here is a little idea of what I've been up to.

So Pattens, where do they come from? what types are our there? which do you like etc... its a big learning curve, but I did really enjoy it...
Earlier on in the course, we were making up pattern books.. collecting photos, mag clips, cuttings etc and gathering them all in a pattern book.. seems a very basic exercise but its well worth it. It really gets you to notice what you are drawn to and what you find appealing... Obviously there is no point is trying to make patterns you wouldn't put on your own wall is there...

At this point I'm starting to miss the odd exercise, but one I did manage was to complete a mood board, either on paper in the traditional manor or in Photoshop. I chose the computer option - this is me in board form...
I picked up pictures from all over the internet and resized them to fit.. It was great fun and well worth the effort because you really can tell at a glance what you like and don't like.. interesting..
I think it would be beneficial to redo it in the future just to see if my tastes are changing..

So the next thing I find myself induced by colour - I've always noticed colours, but now I really do look at them. Part of the course is to engage with colours more, so how do they make you feel. Personally I hate lilac with a vengence, I think it came from that time when everyone painted their bedroom Lilac and purple with a moave border. Pink I love, Red, I love, Lilac I hate..

What do you do when you hate something.. hit is hard and try to work with it.. so I find a purple flower and get painting... now I'm back in my comfort zone...

Here's a bit more purple just so you know I was trying..

So - now the course is moving into Pattern creation.. This is where I started to fall behind with the excersises. Fortunately the classroom remains open for some time, so in the next five weeks break between modules I should have plenty of time to catch up.

One of the briefs was to make Mock ups of rooms with 'your' wallpaper design or cushions. This is my next task when I've mastered Photoshop. I did however manage to complete a presentation of my designs. This shows how it might be changed slightly to compliment a range or just simplified to show how the design was created.

So I now have lots and lots of things to catch up on. I'm reassured by the other students that I'm not the only one catching up during the break.

Well here are few pictures I've been playing with - and the placement print I made with them. Unfortunately when your using your own paintings it does take up quite a lot of computer power.. but I'll worry about that later..