Coastal Range

I have been having some problems with ISSUU so I have had to compromise the quality and size of some of my images in order for the files to be small enough to be uploaded.

I think making the images and patterns for this range will be the most time consuming as it is the first one and it is where I am making all the decisions. By completing these designs I have made a path to follow with the other two ranges, so if I just make changes when necessary it shouldn't take too long to complete the others.

I have included some reference images which is something I have not been doing consistently in my blogging. I have been using reference images found online or my own photographs for the majority, if not all of my drawings.

The process of making patterns was enjoyable, I like doing it. I would put a few images together, switch the top and bottom and the left and right so that the designs were pushed to the edge of the pattern square, and then I would fill the internal space to complete the pattern square. When I tested it by repeating it I could see where there were spacing issues and I could tweak the pattern square accordingly until I was happy with it. I have shown a few of the tweaks I made in this presentation, some of them probably so small that they are barely noticeable but I didn't want to settle for anything that I felt was unbalanced. Continuing along the theme of calmness and relaxation, it can be off-putting to have an image that isn't satisfying to look at so I wanted to do my best to avoid this.

I went through a few options for adding colour and decided on a multicolour design for the pattern that includes all elements, and three single colour designs for the pebbles pattern. This is what I will carry through to the other ranges to keep them consistent. I also played around with single images made from the same elements which I could use as postcards or notebook covers or gift tags, etc. I created numerous options but I think five would be a good number to narrow this down to.

I have chosen to use images found online to mock my designs up onto because I struggle to use the mockups you can get online and I feel I have more control over my designs if I do it this way. In an ideal world I would have had enough time to make some products and take photographs but I have not given myself enough time to do this.

I am really pleased with how well this is going so far and I hope it continues for the other ranges. I am going to take these outcomes to the crit tomorrow and see what feedback I get, I will show in the work I display that I intend to produce the same kind of thing for two other ranges. It has been challenging and I am learning a lot about patterns and applications, the technicalities of photoshopping designs onto images is something I am continuing to get better at.