Designing for Wallpaper–Large-scale pattern and the influence of watercolour painting

Large-scale pattern and the influence of watercolour painting

Among the latest themes of the Spoonflower Design Challenges was designing for wallpaper. I then read the Spoonflower blog post with tips for designing wallpaper and large-scale patterns. Spoonflower recommends that your design should be a width of 24” (61 cm) that will repeat evenly.

For the Hidden Whimsy Wallpaper challenge, I went for an abstract architectural design. I started with a rough sketch on my iPad using the app Procreate and made sure my idea would repeat correctly. I then illustrated and created my pattern in Adobe Illustrator. When it comes to designing, I usually get a rough idea that develops and changes while creating. So, I suddenly felt like incorporating some hidden giant black cats among the houses, which makes the pattern more interesting and cute.

Illustration process of the design Between Houses showing Houses abstract houses and hidden black cats.

To give the pattern a more haptic and hand-drawn feel, I added a texture layer as a final touch. My design “Between Houses” placed 11th out of more than 1300 design entries. This design may also look nice on pillows, tea towels, table cloths, or aprons. Or maybe on your sewing project?

For the challenge theme Italian Villa Wallpaper, I decided to translate my experience with watercolour painting into a hand-drawn vector pattern. Italy reminds me immediately of the beauty of Tuscany landscapes. I have participated in watercolour painting courses in Tuscany twice lately, fascinated by the soft hills, strong nature, and warm colours. Originally, I intended to use a more earth-tone colour palette, but then my inner self took over, and I ended up with a quite vibrant landscape pattern in an abstract hand-drawn style. Sometimes, it’s just about following your gut and heart, as it is with watercolour painting.

Illustration process form sketch to the final illustration of an abstract Tuscany landscape

Also, for the Tuscany landscape wallpaper design, I did a rough sketch in Procreate beforehand, whereas the main art process happened in Adobe Illustrator. For the colours, I chose what I naturally felt drawn to and mixed it via the multiply function on my digital canvas as watercolour pigments would on your paper. When it comes to watercolour painting, there is almost no way to undo certain steps. You have to wait and see what happens, adapting and accepting during the process. With this design, I used a similar approach—not following a certain concept or rules but creating by trial and error. And sometimes you might be surprised by what is happening on your paper, as I was here on this digital canvas.

For my shop on Spoonflower, I turned the Tuscany Landscape design into a placement print to fit nicely on a tea towel or wall hanging.

Yours,

Priska

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PS 2: Find the mentioned blogpost written by Spoonflower here: Our Top Tips for Designing Large Scale Wallpaper on Spoonflower

PS 3: I am not sponsored to mention any of the names/programs above.