Surface Pattern Challenge: Part 1

Open to all levels!

Hi everyone!

Six months ago I took this Domestika class with Tatia Abburae about creating patterns for kids. She is an incredible teacher, and I fell in love with the pattern design process. Here’s the pattern I created, following her Woodland Animals prompt:

I was immediately hooked on creating patterns. Since then I have made tons of designs as I have worked to figure out my style and target market. Here are some of my favorite designs:

New newsletter topic + the first ever challenge that I’m hosting

Because I’ve been so passionate about surface pattern design, I am starting a new monthly topic all about it, and today’s post is the first in the series!

Today’s topic is about deciding on a pattern theme. And there’s a challenge, too, if you’d like to join. I’m hosting this challenge for two reasons:

1. Accountability so that I’ll keep creating new pattern work based on themes I love (not just trends and prompts from others)

2. I always enjoy creating alongside other artists!

The challenge will take place over a few months. It’ll be a nice, easy relaxed pace. This month you’ll just decide on your pattern theme and sketch some icons.

Getting started

The first step in creating a pattern is deciding the theme or “story” of the pattern. I also find it helpful to envision what product my patterns would be used for. For example, I could make a whole collection of patterns for fabric, or I could create a single pattern for a chocolate bar or the quarter bind on a book cover. The possibilities are endless! I’ve heard other artists say that they don’t think about the end product, because that helps them to be more free in the design process. Whatever works for you is the right choice :)

Patterns for a chocolate bar and the quarter bind of a book cover design

The first task in our pattern challenge is to decide on a theme. You get to choose the theme, but I’ll provide some guidance if you’d like. If you have created patterns before, you likely already have a list of new ideas! Your task is to draw lots of icons for one of those ideas in your list. If you’re new to making patterns and want to get started, feel free to follow what I do:

1. Research trends and/or make a list of patterns I want to create. Pick one trend or topic (ex: lemons in Italy or woodland animals)

2. Collect reference images and sketch as many as I can until I am tired of sketching. That way I have tons of sketches to choose from for the pattern.

3. Begin to arrange sketches into a loose idea for a pattern.

4. Draw the final elements.

The next steps are the more technical aspects of creating a pattern, so this month, just focus on a theme and sketch some icons for a pattern. That’s our first task. We’ll talk about composition next month too, so all you need to worry about is drawing icons based on a theme you love.

There is no specific prompt, because I want you to really think about something you would like to create. If you’re looking for ideas though, here are some popular ones: birds + florals, winter holidays, and birthday.

Share your theme in the comments! You could even share what you envision the pattern on.

For example: I will draw ___ icons for a ___ pattern.

Here’s my answer: I will draw tropical icons for a wallpaper pattern!

This is a real project that’s been on my list for a while, so I’m super excited to have you as accountability buddies for it. When it’s done, I want to print it for our small half bathroom to really make a statement in the tiny space. I’m really looking forward to intentionally carving out some time for a personal project, so I hope you’re feeling excited about doing it, too!

If you post your sketches on Instagram, use the hashtag #katiestackpatternchallenge and tag @katiestackillustrates so I can share and connect with all of you :)

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

- Katie