Big Art Update~Part 2

Make It In Design Summer School: Advanced Creative Brief 1

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I would post art from the MIID Advanced Track. The first assignment was to design a water inspired/water ray pattern using only 4 colors, plus black and/or white if we chose. We were also asked to include a textured layer (such as fabric, ink splatter, peeling paint, etc).
Reflecting on this assignment, I feel it should have been completed before the Intermediate challenge because it was tough (it wouldn't be an advanced assignment otherwise!) We were encouraged to mock up the pattern onto a set of cushions. We were also provided a list of other great product options to apply the pattern to. The pattern could also be repeating or non-repeating.

Final submitted to the MIID Advanced Gallery 1.

Watercolor painting which I turned into a pattern on the throw pillows. This was also my 'texture'

This piece was the definition of the 80/20 rule, sometimes said as "80% of the work you do is done in 20% of the time." I did this assignment at the last minute, probably in a few hours before the deadline. I feel it came out well but I would have loved to have done a more transparent, "watery" pattern. I also had another idea to do a pattern inspired by pool tiles. If you look up 'pool tiles' or 'Roman pool tiles' in Google Images you get some great inspiration. I happened to type in 'paisley pool tiles'  to see what would happen and I got this cool image:

I still would like to try these pattern ideas but for now I am looking forward to the next 4 weeks for the Intermediate and Advanced tracks!

In Part 3 I will post about the July assignment from Make Art That Sells Assignment Bootcamp. :-)

Big Art Update~Part 1

I haven't updated my blog in a few months but I've been working on (and continue to work on) a lot of different projects. A lot of things have been happening outside of art, including one major life event...

I'm engaged! :-)

You may have seen my fiancee's work, he does a lot of stuff for the fantasy and sci-fi art industry. Very different style from what I do but it is a fun genre.

I recently finished Make Art That Sells Assignment Bootcamp. The class was a lot of fun and way more challenging than I thought it would be, which is a great thing though because the idea is to stretch oneself. Fortunately it is being offered again next winter. I definitely saw improvements in my work taking this class- and I would love to take it again next winter and see how much farther I can go! I will be posting work I did for the May, June and July assignments in another post. All the student work from the MATS Bootcamp has gone live over the past several months, including also the July gallery!

I am currently taking Make It In Design Summer School, which is a 5 week class on surface design run in three tracks: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The class is currently in session and is being offered for FREE (don't know if they will continue to offer it for free in the future) but I felt it was a great opportunity to take advantage of. I am in the Intermediate and Advanced tracks.

The first assignment for the Intermediate track was to design retro geometric patterns for swimwear. The finished piece could be submitted as a repeat or non-repeating pattern, though we were encouraged to create a mockup of the pattern on swimwear (which was optional). I feel it is important to create mockups because it is a great way to see how your art can look as a product concept and if you submit work to a product/fashion design related industry the art director may want to see your art applied to a product concept.

This was my final submitted to the MIID Intermediate Gallery 1. (I accidentally left out the orange swatch...oops).

This design I feel would be better suited for wallpaper or a curtain possibly.

I generally work in thumbnails first. Most of the time I do thumbnails in pencil but lately I have been into drawing in pen, which is a lot of fun and I enjoy working with different types of pens from a 005 Micron, to a calligraphy pen, to a brush pen.

In Part 2, I will be posting my final for the first Advanced creative brief for Make It In Design Summer School (the design has something to do with water).... :-)