Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge: Day 3

Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge: Day 3 - Abstract
Today's Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge is brought to you by abstract art and Tina Vey (known at Ottomanbrim in the Spoonflower Marketplace). Today, Tina gives us a closer look at how abstract art inspires her design process. Be sure to follow along on theblog and in your inbox until March 15 as we feature a new Design-A-Day technique, presented to you by members of our talented community of designers!
Sophie Tauber-Arp - abstract art
Tina: Whenever Spoonflower announces a new contest theme I think, "oh no, not another cute animal theme! How can I interpret this theme and design a fabric I would want to live with?" Whatever the subject of the contest may be I always try to convey the essence and rhythm of the object without it looking representational.  This can be quite difficult, so I study photos and write down words that convey the essence of the object. Then I draw and redraw simple shapes until I get something that looks fresh and appealing.  And as my husband’s art teacher Harvey Kurtzman said, "If you like it, push it even farther."
nouveau_bohemian details how her design Birch Bears (blue) comes to life through simple pencil sketches
Tina: I usually push myself to work and rework a composition hundreds of times. Of course I throw a variety of textures into everything I do trying to make Illustrator do what Photoshop should be doing. Illustrator reluctantly does eventually do what I want but the color wheel spins so long I have ample time to do all my online shopping waiting for my changes to save.
Funky Jazz by Ottomanbrim
Tina: One of my favorite Spoonflower themes was ‘History of Jazz’ where I got to play with a lot of my favorite shapes inspired by a few of my favorite artists.

Inspired by Tina's tips and tricks for pencil drawings? We want to see! Be sure to tag your designs influenced by today's SpoonChallenge technique with #SFDesignADayon Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!


These abstract designs started with a little doodle in a corner of my sketchbook. I made one version straight from the sketch, and a second that got tidied up a bit when recreated digitally. I added my favorite linen look to make them more complete.


Design A Day Abstract Sketch
Design A Day Abstract
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog #12: Rice Sock Tutorial

Image
Rice socks are probably the best things ever for me because of my migraines. Just pop it in the microwave for a minute or so. Put it on your hurt, and presto you have wonderful soothing warmth right where you need it. So with the ever present question of what to make with all my Spoonflower swatches, this was the first thing I thought of. Top view A quick and simple swatch project: rice sock! 1. Measure swatch into thirds. Be sure and only measure the patterned portion. 2. Fold one end to the middle along measured line.( The doubled portion of the swatch will be on the outside at the end, and the bit hanging off the top will not be visible.) Sew along the line that you have measured above, or if you can see through the fabric just sew along the end of the design. 3. Fold the small white portion down and iron. Then flip it over and fold the large portion down an iron the same way. 4. Cut off any of the large portion that hangs over the edge. 5. Fold in raw edg...
Read more

Contest Entry: Otter Lace

Image
Significant Otters Design Challenge If you’ve ever watched two otters holding hands (oh yes, it exists!) it’s safe to say this mammal has won the hearts of viewers with their otterly adorable appearance. This week we challenge you to win the hearts of the community with an otter-inspired design. There wasn't much direction on this contest. So I went in my own direction and finally ended up with Otter Lace .  The lace was a fairly simple thing to create. The design is mirrored, which means I only had to draw the one half before the computer did the other side. The plan for the scalloped edge was to have it much wider in the middle section, but I decided the single flower between the otter couples looked better in the main motif. The fancy edge was digitally trimmed to match, and the rest of the computer work was spent on the colors. I also played around with a soft teal color with warm gray for a second version of the lace.   ...
Read more

Project Photos: Undercover Maker Mat

Image
I originally found the pattern for the Undercover Maker Mat on Pinterest, and have finally managed to finish sewing my own! It comes from the blog lillyella by Nicole Young and you can see her post and get free pattern HERE . The mat doubles as both a sewing machine cover and a pocket filled organizer to keep all your notions et cetera at hand as you work. This was a bit of a stash busting project, which required a bit of editing from the pattern. This was almost entirely made up of test swatches which are approximately 8" x 8". The obvious thing  to do was try and break each swatch down into blocks of 4" x 4", but since they end up being slightly less than that, I decided to do a bit of fussy cutting to make 2 slightly larger blocks using the unprinted white space to remain attached in the seam allowance. Here is my rough plan of how to assemble my new pattern. The dimensions changed to 20" x 28" for each side before sewing and seam ...
Read more