Surface Pattern Design and Adobe

I am currently working very hard to update my old school art and design skills by learning how to digitize and create in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Procreate. My previously published art on Spoonflower and Redbubble is the result of trial and error, a lot of mistakes and flailing around, and a great deal of angst. I’ve recently pulled down most of my designs on RedBubble so I can rework old designs or create entirely new ones. Over the years online education has evolved and become incredibly accessible, and that has created some wonderful opportunities for me.

New Schooling for Old School Art

I am thrilled to have found Bonnie Christine and her Flourish Community in 2021 for some terrific education and support for being a Surface Pattern Designer. In 2022 I took her course for Surface Design using Adobe Illustrator.

Likewise, I am thrilled to have found Sarah Watts, and in 2022 I signed up for both her From Paint to Pattern course and her School for Misfit Makers community for fantastic education and support for Surface Pattern Design using Adobe Photoshop. I took again in 2023, and in 2024 I was honored and thrilled to be an Alumni Mentor for the From Paint to Pattern: Taming the Pixel Dragon class of 2024! It was so great to be able to assist and cheer on students and appreciate just how much I’ve learned and continue to learn from Sarah Watts and her fantastic team over the last few years. As I’ve continued to practice my sketchbook practice and bring art in to Photoshop to see what I can do there, I’ve become a real fan of Photoshop as a way to bring my art to a more finished state for potential professional work.

In 2023 in was delighted to discover Mike Lowery and his Getting Paid to Draw illustration course, which has really given me a pathway to combine old school art skills with a new way to use them and think about them.

In the Fall of 2023 I signed up for Stacie Bloomfield’s Leverage Your Art course, and I periodically return to the lessons to keep motivated to take my art our into the world more.