My Continuing Adventure in Surface Pattern Design

I was totally blown away by all the kind comments and words of encouragement from my blog post earlier this month about my Adventures in Surface Pattern Design.  If you missed the post, you can catch it here.  

A lot of you asked more about the class that I took.  It is the Surface Design Immersion with Bonnie Christine.  It is an online-only course that lasts 8 weeks but once you enroll, you can watch the classes over and over.  Yep - I have watched some of them at least 4 or 5 times, if not more. 

The important detail is that enrollment happens only ONCE A YEAR and it is going on RIGHT NOW.... February 19 - February 26 .... so you need to ACT NOW.  Click here to be taken directly to the course page, where you can enroll and see more details about the course modules. 

The class includes a comprehensive section on Adobe Illustrator - which I knew nothing about a year ago and trust me, if I can figure out Illustrator, then you can too!  Learning Illustrator was the primary reason I signed up for the class, but I learned so, so much more. 

So in my earlier post, I shared that I had been doing my homework and then deleting it.  Well I do want to share a couple quick cell phone photos (so ignore the bad lighting and camera angle) of a sketch I did at retreat and the repeating pattern that I created from it.   Much of my sketching relates to patterns that I free motion quilt, so lots of feathers, flowers and fauna.   So this is my original sketch of a curly feather with cross-hatch fill inside each feather that I drew last fall during the Immersion Retreat for class members. 

And this is what it looked like after I manually turned it into a repeating pattern.  I carried the cross-hatch design to the background and added a small curly feather in the center.   Is it perfect?  Heaven's no .....  but I am proud of it in a very "first step" type of way.

The class covers more than just Adobe Illustrator.  Pattern design and the business of how to become a licensed artist is also extensively covered - which was important to me, because I needed to see the big picture of how surface pattern design could fit into my income streams.  

I am blocking time during March and April to retake much of the course again this year.  Yes, it is that important to me!  I hope you join me in the class. 

Remember, enrollment is open until February 26th and then it closes for the year - so don't delay in enrolling.  See you in class!