12 Helpful Tips for Aspiring Surface Pattern Designers

From formation towels to schematic t-shirts, aboveground shape creation surrounds us. If you're eager to go a pro successful this section and flooded nan first challenges, these tips should thief get you started.

1. Use a Variety of Creative Techniques

Even successful a integer world, artists still usage accepted techniques, and aboveground creation is nary exception. Textures from nan existent world are a awesome summation to integer aboveground patterns—the canvas texture of a wall hanging, nan opacity of watercolor inks, aliases nan ripped edges of paper.

You tin create your full aboveground creation traditionally, and past usage integer methods to create patterns, move objects, aliases alteration colors. You tin operation and lucifer package and techniques to get unsocial results. Anything that results successful designs you're proud of tin beryllium created pinch immoderate method that useful for you.

2. Explore Various Software

Not each integer creation package is equal, and arsenic a aboveground designer, you should admit nan differences. Even among nan Adobe Creative Cloud software, you tin usage Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe Express, aliases Adobe Fresco each for different reasons, moreover if your creation style stays nan same.

Being a aboveground designer doesn't mean you must enactment loyal to 1 programme aliases company. Perhaps you for illustration to draw successful Procreate and vectorize successful Illustrator, aliases create vectors successful Inkscape and adhd texture successful Photopea—a free replacement to Photoshop.

Maybe you for illustration to use Photoshop to create seamless patterns moreover if you create each of your earthy designs successful different programs. Learn nan benefits of each package and thin into them for nan champion results.

3. Follow Trends

Conduct marketplace investigation connected Pinterest, manner blogs, aliases successful personification to spot upcoming trends, past incorporated nan trends into your aboveground designs. Trends tin see motifs for illustration animals, animal prints, kitsch items, definite colors, aliases trending phrases.

Hopping onto trends astatine nan correct clip tin get your aboveground patterns noticed and lead to shares and income for nan magnitude of nan trend—some trends tin past years. Don’t fto that extremity you from creating designs that aren’t linked to existent trends if it’s what you consciousness for illustration creating. You mightiness beryllium nan trendsetter.

4. Use a Limited Color Palette

The task of picking colour palettes tin sometimes beryllium overwhelming. Not only whitethorn it forestall you from getting started connected a creation if you’re overthinking astir colors, but it tin besides beryllium easy to get carried distant pinch nan infinite readiness of colors, leaving you pinch a garish result.

Begin your designs utilizing a mono-color palette. This helps you attraction connected your visuals alternatively than nan colors, which you tin adhd later.

Challenging yourself pinch a constricted colour palette is different awesome measurement to make harmonious aboveground shape designs. Most successful aboveground patterns person nary much than 5 colors; little is usually more.

5. Design From Challenge aliases Competition Prompts

There are respective design challenges that boost your creativity disposable online, and arsenic a designer—or aspiring aboveground designer—following prompts is simply a awesome measurement to practice.

As good arsenic imaginative challenges, you mightiness stumble crossed competitions calling for patterns aliases artwork. There’s thing preventing you from entering nan title pinch your ain designs aliases simply utilizing nan title aliases situation punctual for yourself.

Existing prompts tin beryllium utilized for inspiration, whether you use to nan title aliases situation is up to you. If you’re inspired to create, past you tin usage your creation successful your ain aboveground shape designs.

6. Turn Existing Artwork Into New Designs and Patterns

If you’re focused connected becoming a aboveground designer successful nan future, don’t discount immoderate erstwhile artwork you’ve created. You tin usage aged creation you’ve made and move it into caller patterns and designs.

Whether you usage an full portion of antecedently created artwork aliases simply return a motif and repurpose it is up to you. You whitethorn moreover usage your aged artwork aliases sketches for inspiration alone.

7. Set Up Online Shops

In nan integer era, it’s easier than ever to waste your aboveground designs without holding banal aliases opening a beingness shop successful your town. You tin group up galore online stores, trading nan aforesaid designs successful aggregate places.

For aboveground shape designers, nan champion online shops to group up are Soceity6 and RedBubble—although location are plentifulness of different places to waste your designs online. Both Society6 and RedBubble are print-on-demand models, truthful each you person to do is upload your aboveground designs and delegate them to products connected nan sites. When personification orders a product, nan website manufactures and ships it.

8. Watch Design Classes and Tutorials

Artists and designers should ever beryllium learning. Whether you’re learning nonstop skills astir aboveground design, adjacent skills for illustration these free Coursera courses for schematic designers, aliases deep-diving into package tutorials, your designs will only improve.

Surface designers for illustration CatCoq supply video and blog tutorials, sharing their individual techniques and resources. You tin find galore tutorials for aboveground creation connected Skillshare, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Sharing your activity allows you to build an audience. You tin stock designs connected a individual societal media page for illustration Instagram aliases Pinterest, but societal media isn’t nan only measurement to share. Gift created pieces to others, aliases deterioration aliases usage them yourself.

On societal media, you tin besides stock behind-the-scenes of making your products, first sketches, inspiration photos, aliases vanished pieces. This encourages much group to look astatine your work.

10. Collaborate With Others

Collaborating pinch different creatives aliases businesses helps animate caller ways of moving and pushes your designs into nan position of a caller audience. See our tips for a successful imaginative collaboration and study really you tin use these to aboveground design.

11. Start With a Niche

While nan options of products pinch aboveground patterns are endless, don’t consciousness for illustration you must create for each of them. In fact, uncovering a smaller niche of products will forestall you from emotion overwhelmed by nan limitless choices.

Do immoderate basal investigation connected your intended audience, nan products they would buy, and nan types of aboveground designs typically recovered connected those products. Focus your creation style towards 2 aliases 3 intentional products and group your goals connected designing for them.

Doing this to statesman pinch will build your assurance arsenic good arsenic your portfolio. You tin grow your merchandise categories arsenic soon arsenic you consciousness ready, conscionable guarantee your aboveground designs make consciousness connected nan caller products you create.

12. License Your Work

Licensing your aboveground patterns will thief push your designs into nationalist view. While you tin waste your designs without licensing them, it should beryllium thing to aspire to arsenic a master aboveground designer.

You whitethorn beryllium contacted by a licensing supplier if you stock your aboveground designs online, astatine markets, aliases person a successful shop already. But if that occurrence hasn’t recovered you yet, don’t beryllium acrophobic to cold-contact licensing agencies yourself.

Design Your Surface Patterns With Confidence

With these tips, you’ll beryllium a small much knowledgeable astir really to go a awesome aboveground designer. Practicing your creation and creation skills is only half nan battle. A successful aboveground shape creator needs to niche down astatine first, stock activity and behind-the-scenes images, and situation themselves pinch limitations successful color, software, aliases technique. The much you believe and effort caller techniques, nan amended your aboveground shape designs will be.