Tag Archives: surface design

Snippets: Chats With Creatives – Series 1, Snippet 1

Snippets’. Chats with Creatives. Here at Digital Fabrics we love everything print, pattern and colour and we love to know what makes designers tick. This series is all about asking some fun and different questions and learning about the inspirations and ideas behind the artist and their work. We hope to inspire others by sharing snippets of these creative stories. We gave the artists and designers featured a varied list of questions to choose from so we will learn something new from everyone involved, should be fun!

Today on Snippet’s we are talking to Shyanne Clark, the swimwear and textile designer behind ‘Printsea’ a print design brand who love to spread sparkle and magic and inspire others to do the same.

The Snippety Snips:

Tell us a bit about yourself and what your creative practice is, how and when you began:

I’ve been a textile fabric designer for the past 5 years. My style is very mermaidy and I love tropical florals, so my business PRINTSEA has naturally progressed to helping bikini designers find their signature style and launch beautiful labels.

I am such a cheerleader for people doing what they truly love, the things that make them all sparkly inside. I was always that kid that didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, I didn’t fit in one of the boxes. I think it’s because I didn’t know this job existed or how all my talents could come together to be something. I adore what I do so much and its always growing and changing me. I feel so grateful that I listened to my heart and followed its windy path, you learn so much along the way and I would love that for everyone. I get giddy just thinking about it.

At the moment I’m creating a signature range of beautiful hand designed, high vibrational pieces. There is such magic in colour and creativity. My hope is that each piece will add a little extra sparkle to your day and that owning a piece will feel like a precious treasure that brings you many heart swelling, quiet smiles and inspires your soul.

What would your dream creative project look like?

I’ve actually got a bit of a fascination with creating a print that would cover a whole aeroplane. Could you imagine a giant bunch of gorgeous flowers flying through the sky. Instant happiness I reckon. I wonder if Richard Branson would let me print wrap a Virgin plane for fun?

In another life what natural talent would you wish for?

I’m pretty much tone deaf, sometimes I’ll sing + scare myself with how out of tune I am. I have always admired people that can make your heart swell with emotion from their singing voice. I’ve secretly wished that I could do this, but in saying that, I wouldn’t want to trade my talent of drawing flowers. Can I have two natural talents?

Which part of the creative process is your favourite and why?

I absolutely love the moment when the inspiration strikes + your imagination goes all bright + sparkly. You can’t wait to birth this creation that’s swirling around inside. It’s just such a rush of ecstatic excitement. I love that part. The finished piece is pretty amazing too, but the journey is the best.

Which other Australian designers, artists or creative people are you enjoying at the moment?

I adore Annie Everingham. Her paintings evoke so much feeling. They are so happy and beautiful. I could stare at their gorgeousness for hours.

Love your Locals:

City/Town/Village where you currently reside:

I live on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, some people say, it’s like what Byron Bay was 20 years ago.

Favourite spot for a bite:

There is a gorgeous cafe at Rosemount called ‘GURU Life.’ The brother sister team roast their own beans + it truly is enlightenment in every cup, they have delicious raw treats and the staff are super friendly.

Secret Inspirational spot:

Well if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret! … I actually adore the Noosa National Park, it’s a stunning feast for your eyes and soul (and a good workout if you walk all 8kms.) On a great day you’ll see turtles, whales + koalas.

Feeling inspired by Printsea to start a swimwear brand? You can buy her E book here. AND she is currently running a promo where you can purchase 1 print and get one for free with the code: PRINTME until August 17^th, then you can print it onto lycra here at Digital Fabrics and start YOUR creative journey.

You can follow what Printsea is upto: Website, Instagram, Facebook.

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Colourful Bunch by Sharon Wilson

Not going to lie it’s very nice getting sweet notes of appreciation from our customers, but more than anything we love receiving photos of makes and completed projects. We just love seeing what fabrics that we have printed has become. Sharon Wilson surprised us recently with images of her amazing colourful creations, box pleated skirt & boxer shorts, she used her photo to create this beautiful floral fabric. Her honest feedback and tips and tricks on working with Aerocorp fabric are truly appreciated and we are sure will be really helpful and inspiring to other sewers. Here is what Sharon wrote:

About 7 years ago I took a digital photo of this colourful bunch of flowers in Switzerland. After seeing what Digital Fabrics could offer with their range of fabric types, I couldn’t wait to order the Aerocorp fabric and make a knee length box pleated skirt with waist yoke. It turned out beautifully and there was even enough remnant to make a pair of boxer shorts .

I found the Aerocorp not difficult to work with. As the website said, it did have a soft handle and cotton look and feel, however it was resilient, as 100% polyester is, but with a good press, it is easy to tame into place or make a crisp line where necessary.
Aerocorp fabric has a tendency to unravel immediately after being cut. So don’t over handle it, and make sure that raw edges are tamed as soon as possible.
The skirt has a lovely drape and swing to it.
I probably would not make a top out of it unless it was for a cooler climate and a dressier look.
If the print is very busy (as this one was) you could even possibly get away with not ironing it – great for traveling.

The fabric order delivery was on time and well packed. Inside was also a sample pack which I really appreciated because sewers really need to feel a fabric to gain good judgement on what to use. I would definitely recommend this service and am tempted to order again some time in future.

If you are like Sharon have a creative project in mind and would like to print your own fabric, you can upload your design and start creating right away here.

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How to prepare a layout legging pattern for fabric printing in Photoshop

Garment making and production can be daunting and a complicated process especially placement or engineered printing. A lot of time and effort goes into research and understanding where to start. We have put together tutorials on how to design, work with and prepare legging pattern for digital placement fabric printing. For this tutorial you need to be proficient in Illustrator or at least have basic knowlage. Our tutorial is based on industry standards. This technic can be applied to printing other products such as bikinis, t-shirts, singlets , dresses etc.

How to prepare a layout/mark up legging pattern for fabric printing in Photoshop

Once you’ve completed the steps in the tutorial ‘How to use legging pattern in Photoshop’ You may want to print more than 1 design or more than 1 size, the most economic way to do this is to create a mark up/placement layout to have printed.

The following are instructions on how to set up in Photoshop, but could easily be done in Illustrator.

Start off by renaming the pattern layers to insure that you always have a pair of leggings.

If you are only wanting the same size with different designs you can just Duplicate the leg layers. If you’d like to bring in different sizes you will need to repeat the steps in ‘How to use legging pattern in Photoshop’

In this tutorial we will be using the same size 10 but printing in new designs.

On the same artboard move files to the left hand side. you will notice that you can only comfortable fit 1 pair within the 147cm width with the current orientation; however there is a lot of wastage as illustrator below.

Like a Jigsaw puzzle you will now need to start moving the patterns, you will need to make sure that you keep in mind that your grain line is parallel to the selvage. To do this, select the leg you’d like to rotate (select both layers) press Ctrl+t to open up the transform tool and while holding down shift rotate the image 360′ and make sure to move the pattern piece as close as possible to other leg (zoom in to make sure it is not overlapping)

You can now start bringing in the other size 10 designs and play around with the layout. It’s best that you make the art board slightly longer than needed and once you’ve set up all the designs crop the excess.

Make sure you zoom in and double check that you haven’t overlapped any areas, when you are happy with the layout save as a JPG, TIFF or PDF.

You’re now on your way to have custom printed fabric which you will be able to make into comfy leggings.

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Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Full Drop Repeat in Illustrator

Get your math skills ready for this fabric repeat pattern tutorial in Illustrator. We would recommend to start with repeating simple objects first to understand the concept of repeating pattern in Illustrator, once it is understood nothing will stop you to create!

Full Drop Repeat in Illustrator

Either open up an existing illustrator file or begin by developing your vector image that you desire to repeat. We have started with a basic spot, varying the size and colour to add variety and this will form the base of the repeat.

Set up your art board to your desired repeat size. This depends on your end product, but to start off with, work with squares to help with calculations. We have set up my repeat to be 32 x 32 cm. For interested sake, this is a standard rotary repeat set up. Place your initial artwork to the top left corner of the art board, letting it hang over the edge.

Select all objects (sometimes helpful to group them so you don’t miss any when duplicating). Double click on the black selection tool in the tools panel and a dialogue box will appear.

This is how you can move objects an exact amount i.e. the repeat size and know that all objects within that repeat will align perfectly.

First duplicate the selected objects the repeat size down or vertically. This repeat is 32 cm, so they are moved 32 cm vertically.

Make sure the horizontal value is 0. Click COPY.

Now repeat horizontally by selecting both groups of objects along the left side. When in the move dialogue box make sure the horizontal value is the repeat size and the vertical value is 0. Click COPY.

Now is the time to fill in the blank space in the middle with additional objects.

Tip: Lock the three extra sides of the repeat or put them on a separate locked layer so they can be easily deleted in a following step. This may require some more advance knowledge of illustrator, but don’t let this deter you if you are new, it could be helpful in mastering the program! The level of difficulty here will greatly depend on the style and type of original artwork you are using and will call into play several design elements and principles such as space, balance and unity. Watch out for anything that forms a definite line or track mark through your design. You may need to shift or adjust parts of your original artwork to make the repeat work, in which case is can be a good idea to work in layers (with a copy of the original locked) in case you want to jump back to the beginning.

Work towards filling in the edges, duplicating them down/across to the repeat edges, till all you have is the middle to fill.

Continue until you are happy with the flow and feel of the design.

Now delete the three extra sides that were locked or moved to another layer. Then repeat the duplicating sequence with all the added areas/dots of the design. This will help you check anything that may have doubled up or just doesn’t look right in the repeat.

When you are satisfied with your repeat tile, you can set it up for digital fabric printing. Position two repeat tiles (vertically) so they hang over the left side of the art board. Increase the artwork WIDTH to the width of the fabric (in this case 147cm), keep the height of the art board as the repeat size.

Duplicate the selected objects across the width of the art board so it is covered completely. Tip: Once you have used the move tool to move the exact repeat size and clicked copy, ctrl D to duplicate the exact last action.

Save As a PDF. Even though there are objects hanging off the edge of the art board, because they have been moved the exact repeat size, they will all meet up when printed seamlessly. This is now your Full Width Repeat Tile which repeats top and bottom you can use it for digital custom fabric printing.

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Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Half Drop Repeat in Illustrator

Using Illustrator for repeats can sometimes be quicker and less labour intensive than using Photoshop, but it all comes down to the type of file you start with or the style of artwork you’re after. Stick to illustrator for vector files and images with a very “graphic” orientation, bearing in mind how the artwork was originally generated. Avoid using a jpg, tiff, psd or Photoshop eps you will lose the inherent quality of the original artwork.

Half Drop Repeat in Illustrator

To practise your fabric design skills you can use an existing illustrator artwork. Open up an existing illustrator artwork or create a new vector graphic to your specifications. Set up your art board to the repeat size that you’d prefer. Here I’m using a 64 cm repeat. Starting off with squares can be easier to work out half measurements at a late step.

When you are happy with your artwork, move it to the top left corner of your art board so it hangs off the edge. Double click on the move tool to duplicate (click copy) the object the exact repeat size vertically.

Now with all objects selected, use the move tool again. This time you will duplicate the objects across the full repeat width but down by HALF the repeat size, in this case 64 x 32 cm. Click copy.

At this stage you can adjust the scale of the original object or add in additional motifs. This is not always necessary and depends on your individual artwork but it has the potential to add variety and interest
in the overall design.

N.B. Don’t forget that what happens on the top ‘line’ of your artboard must happen on the bottom i.e. repeat

When you are happy with the layout for your half drop, delete any duplicated objects (across the right side and bottom of art board) so that you only have one group of objects.

Adjust the artboard dimension to to be a full print width, in this case 147cm and proceed to duplicate the objects so that it fills and over hangs the artboard. Remember that it is a half drop, so follow the previous steps for duplication.

A colour overlay was added purely for aesthetic purposes. Save as pdf as previous tutorial.

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Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Full Drop repeat in Photoshop

For this tutorial we have choose Full Drop pattern repeat. It is not an advanced technic, mostly for those who is not very proficient in Photoshop yet like to be creative and play. This fabric pattern repeat tutorial mainly suitable for photographic and abstract images.

Full Drop repeat in Photoshop

Full Drop Repeats can also be referred to as Square repeat.

Open your artwork file in Photoshop. It’s always a good idea to check the resolution quality before beginning, a minimum of 150 dpi is recommended. Crop/alter the image as desired till you are happy with an artwork that will be tiled to repeat seamlessly.

Original image – all four corners of image are relatively different and this is what will need to be fixed to create a seamless repeat.

Original image with no fixing of the seams, looks mismatched.

Take note of the pixel size of your image (Image – Image Size)

As well as HALF this amount. An easy way to do this is let the computer decide, halve the resolution amount (150 dpi in this case), and re-note the new pixel dimensions. Click cancel as you don’t want to actually change the resolution, just take note of it.

Now cut (OFFSET) the image in half both length and width ways. This will give the edges or seams that need to be fixed for seamless repeating. It is ideal to do this step with a flattened layer. (Filter – Other – Offset) Now put in the HALVED horizontal and vertical values determined in step 2 and make sure that Wrap Around is selected. Click OK.

It is clear to see where the image needs to be fixed to create a seamless repeat, where no harsh contrasting lines can be seen as in the above image. There are several tools to use in photoshop that you can use to do this including (but not limited to) stamp, blur, patch, clone…enjoy the play!

It is a good idea to offset the now fixed image, just to check the four points that you haven’t missed anything and nothing is looking odd.

This now forms your Repeat Tile and this is the tile/image that is required when sending artwork to a printer or uploading it for fabric printing online.

SAVE! Save file as (Artwork Name)_Repeat Tile
You must now check your repeat and to see it duplicated across the width and down the length of your fabric. An easy way to do so is to define your reworked artwork as a pattern. Menu>Edit>Define Pattern>Save as preferred name.
Open a new blank document with a set up reflecting something similar to a roll of fabric i.e. 145 x 100 cm depending on you repeat tile dimensions.
Menu>Edit>Fill>Select your saved pattern from the drop down box>OK

(shown below is only 50 x 50 cm)

Now you can use your repeat pattern or repeat tile for digital custom fabric printing.

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Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Mirror Repeat Tutorial in Photoshop

Mirror repeat technic is one of the easiest way to make a repeat pattern with any digital image, photographs, graphic artwork or painting. Mirror repeat creates an interesting effect, simple and quick, doesn’t require great Photoshop skills. To design your own fabric you can either use our Photoshop tutorial or Fabric Uploader with an instant Mirror repeat option.

Mirror Repeat Tutorial in Photoshop

Open your artwork in Photoshop, make any adjustments to the dimensions (width/height) at this stage.

Double click (press OK) the background layer in your layers panel so it is no longer locked.

Increase your artboard size, go to Menu > Image > Canvas Size > double the width of the canvas size making sure to click the left arrow so the increase only happens to one side.

Now duplicate the original layer by clicking and dragging it to the second from the right icon at the base of the layers panel.

With the duplicated layer selected go to Menu>Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontally>OK. Drag the flipped layer across (holding down SHIFT key) so the layer slots into place in line with the original layer. Make sure to zoom into mirroed join beetwin the images to double check that no pixels are out. Merge layers by sellecting them both, right click and choose Merger Layers option.

Repeat this step again, but mirroring the length/height of the image. When you transform the duplicated layer, make sure to flip VERTICALLY before dragging into place.

Flatten the layers, right click on one of the layers, select Flatten Image option. This is now your mirrored repeat tile that repeats
seamlessly on all four sides! Now you can use your design for digital custom fabric printing.

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Tag Archives: surface design

Snippets: Chats With Creatives – Series 1, Snippet 1

Colourful Bunch by Sharon Wilson

How to prepare a layout legging pattern for fabric printing in Photoshop

Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Full Drop Repeat in Illustrator

Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Half Drop Repeat in Illustrator

Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Full Drop repeat in Photoshop

Designing Fabric: How To Make A Repeat Pattern – Mirror Repeat Tutorial in Photoshop

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