A pattern for July – Seashells

July 24, 2015July 23, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I really enjoyed creating this pattern. It brought me back to collecting shells as a kid and marveling at the patterns and colors. Oh wait, I still do that!

This pattern started with doodles in my sketchbook. I drew a lot of shells! I have jarfuls on hand for reference.

Then on watercolor paper I painted shells using different colors. I took creative liberties with this step.

I scanned everything in, and layered the outlines and watercolors together in Photoshop. I also added a textured background. After I had my arrangement set, I repeated it to see how it worked. I had to shift things a bit when the shells overlapped.

I truly felt inspired creating this pattern. It felt very nostalgic for me. And I can’t wait to get back down to the beach to collect more shells.

Shell doodles

July 20, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Today I was doodling some shells I found at the beach and one starfish that I bought :)! I was using my son’s gel pen which I love because it’s so smooth. (Unfortunately it’s not waterproof, which I previously found out the hard way.)
I really enjoyed studying the shells and drawing them. I promised a pattern every month, and I think it would be fitting to make a seashell pattern for July. Can’t wait to scan these in and play with color and layout. Stay tuned!

A Pattern for June – Echinacea

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Just in time for me to design a pattern for June – our Echinacea bloomed. They are one of my favorite flowers. Today I’ve been painting them like crazy! Yesterday I drew a few of the flowers with a really smooth Pentel gel pen in my super smooth Strathmore pad. Today, I scanned them in and arranged and painted them in Photoshop. Hope you like it! 🙂

See my past “monthly” patterns here:

Sewing project with my own fabric design

June 23, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I’m not much of a sewer, but I’m excited to try and make something with the pattern I designed. Seeing a pattern as a fabric is much different than seeing it on the computer monitor. You start to think about what you can make with it. If I printed this pattern again, I’d make the pattern much smaller, so it could be used as a band of detail on a bag, or something like that. At this size, I’m thinking of making a pillow or even a pillowcase. Any sewers out there? Any ideas?

I’m excited to have the sewing machine set up in my studio. My daughter has to show me how to use it. I’d love it if she would take the reins and start sewing tons of cute things with fabric I design. We’d be a great team. She seems to have other plans for the summer. Ah teenagers! 🙂

BTW – I didn’t win the “Sandcastles” Spoonflower.com contest. I still feel a sense of accomplishment – I finally uploaded a design and ordered fabric with my own pattern. I’ve wanted to do that for years!

Which pattern is your favorite? {Online poll!}

May 4, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I’m curious…here are the patterns I’ve designed so far this year. Which is your favorite? I’d love to hear! Just a simple click to fill out the poll below. Thanks for your input! 🙂

#1. Dahlia revised. I couldn’t help tweaking the Dahlia/April pattern!
See image above.

#2. Original Dahlia Pattern (April)

#3. Gardening Pattern (March)

#4. Love Pattern (February)
valentine'sdaypattern

#5. “Draw, Paint, Create” Pattern (January)

Thanks for participating in my poll!

Dahlia flower pattern {My pattern for April}

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Whew! Just in time! I’ve been contemplating April’s pattern for awhile now. I originally thought I’d use some of the flowers I created separately with watercolor and put them together in Photoshop. But it wasn’t working – too stiff looking:
otherpattern

So I went back to what has worked in the past. I sketched some flowers and leaves with Sharpie on Bristol (nice and smooth) and scanned them in. I pieced them together in Photoshop, added color, and repeated the pattern. I’m happy with how it came out. I love the loose sketchy feel.
dahliasketches

I tried to stay true to the colors of the plant I picked up at the supermarket. I think it’s a Dahlia. This little plant has been my inspiration all week! I do feel the color comes across a little Christmasy. Maybe it’s the shape of the leaves? I tried adjusting the hue in Photoshop and liked the results, especially the blue!

If you’d like to see my other patterns click here. 🙂

Gardening Pattern

March 20, 2015March 20, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Now that the snow has melted in the backyard, I have gardening on my mind. And painting outside! I can’t wait to have inspiration growing in the garden! My husband likes to call gardening “digging in the dirt.”

This gardening pattern, my March pattern, is the first I’ve painted in watercolor. The other two patterns (art/January and love/February) were painted in Photoshop. I limited the number of colors I used, so the items would be uniform. I scanned the illustrations and arranged them in Photoshop.

After I liked how the elements were arranged, I created a frame and duplicated the entire group several times. First, I checked how the items repeated left and right.

Then I checked how the elements repeated top and bottom. I had to make some adjustements when things overlapped.

I am happy with how it came out. It’s my favorite pattern so far. It’s amazing to see sketches turned into a pattern and looking so finished. Happy Spring! 🙂

“Valentine’s Day Love” Pattern

February 7, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I’m in the heart/love frame of mind this week, as I am posting a new Valentine’s Day inspired photo to Instagram, every day from February 1st – the 14th! (@mycreativeresolution) So, it’s no surprise that my digital pattern of the month is also Valentine’s Day inspired.

I’m getting into creating art in Photoshop, especially with doodles that originate in my sketchbook. The process is a lot quicker than I thought it would be. And the amount of different textured brushes is awesome. Where have I been?!

I’m excited to continue trying new brushes – last month I used a watercolor brush for my January pattern. This month I used the Soft Oil Pastel brush. I wanted the background to have texture – but that can be an issue when you repeat the pattern because irregularities won’t line up. I used a fade so that it wouldn’t be an issue, but I’d like to learn more about the technicalities of creating repeating patterns.

It’s ironic that two of the things I’ve been working on so far this year, are so different! Linocut seems like an old craft, and digital illustration is on the other end of the spectrum! Time will tell how things shake out and in what form I continue to work.

It’s been so fun, I may have to do another pattern before February is over!

Here is the pattern without the repeat:

“Draw, Paint, Create” Pattern

January 28, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Wouldn’t this be great on pajamas?! This pattern (my January pattern) is in honor of my creative resolution. I scanned some of my doodles, created the pattern in Photoshop, and painted it with one of the digital watercolor brushes. Creating this pattern hits upon several of my goals for 2015, which include doodling, creating patterns, and digital brushes. Three birds with one stone! My revised goal is to create a pattern a month.

I still have mixed feelings about using the computer to create my patterns. As a Graphic Designer, it feels less like fun creative time and a little more like work. But there are certain things, styles, etc. that I want to try, and the computer is the way to achieve these things. I do love that the pattern is hand drawn illustrations and I’m having fun learning things in Photoshop I’ve never used, like the watercolor brushes.

Click here to see the prior post on this subject and my sketchbook. Stay tuned for Febraury’s pattern – I’m very excited about it!

Here is the pattern without the repeat.