Hello and welcome to Secret Formula Repeat Plaids and Twills. You will not believe how quick this is; quick and simple. I think this is the shortest class I have produced. In this class you will learn how Tartan or Plaid Patterns originated with ancient clans to represent their tribes. We will talk about the entire history of plaid and when it made it to North America. We’ll look at traditional plaids, and then I will show you that by updating colors and shapes you are able to create modern and trendy new plaids. In this class, you will learn how to create a simple tartan or plaid pattern as well as learning how to create a twill weave that gives your plaid such a tactile quality.

Creating these patterns is a fun and meditative experience, and once you get the feel for the overlay pattern layers, the possibilities are endless! Plaid patterns make great art statements by themselves, but they can also be used to in collections as a great and simple coordinate.

This new class Secret Formula Repeat Plaids and Twills, will show you some of my pattern design methodology, and ways to use pattern overlays in the layers palette. We will also create a custom color scheme in the first lesson. In the class, I take you from start to finish in creating a full and original plaid pattern with an alternate twill pattern as well. I use this method to be sure the pattern swatch that we’ll be creating is completely editable. One of my goals is to show you how we’ll be able to recolor it once the plaid is complete. I will also show you how to replicate a traditional plaid pattern.

In this class I’ll walk you through:

my step-by-step methodical method for making seamless patterns
tips for creating compositions for a really varied and appealing plaid
my workflow for use of layers and other great features like pattern overlays
methods for keeping the swatch fully editable for later adjustments and recoloring

If you’re an aspiring pattern designer with a good basic knowledge of Photoshop, you’ll be able to go through all the steps. This class will benefit anyone who wishes to simplify creation of seamless plaid patterns with methods to improve efficiency.

This is an ideal class for you, even if you are not sure what you will use the pattern for, whether it be for fabric design for sites like Spoonflower, scrapbooking paper, custom web graphics, or whatever! Learning new Photoshop workflows is always desirable. I guarantee you will create something really appealing, and it’s so much fun, once you get the hang of it!

Intro to Secret Formula Repeat Plaids and Twills

This short intro will give you an overview of the class.

Lesson 1: The History of Plaid and Class Overview

In this lesson, I will show you the objectives for class and explain the origins of plaids, twills and tartans (I will explain the difference). I will show you what our objectives are for this class.

Lesson 2: Setting Up the Base Document

In this lesson, I will break down the complete process of creating your initial base document. We will use a reference photo to create a color scheme, and we will make the 2 layers of stripes we need. I share tidbits of wisdom along the way.

Lesson 3: Creating the Patterns to Use for Conversions

In this lesson, I will explain the creation of the pattern overlays which will allow us to convert the base document we created into a plaid and then into a twill.

Lesson 4: Pattern Overlay for Converting to Plaid

Creating the plaid is a quick and easy process when we use the re-usable pattern overlay technique. I will also show you a couple of ways to make universal adjustments using the adjustment layers.

Lesson 5: Adding Texture with the Twill Overlay

In the first 30 second of this lesson, we produce a pattern with a twill overlay. I then begin another quick version of a plaid with lighter colors which we will finish in the next lesson.

Lesson 6: More Color Experiments

Again, in this lesson, we play around with the color a little, and I show you a quick layout I did for scrapbook paper.

Lesson 6: More Color Experiments

In this lesson, we will grab a sample tartan from online to use as our starting point. The challenge is to replicate and existing pattern. We will also look at additional color adjustments.

Lesson 7: Conclusion, Mockup and Next Steps

We will conclude everything in this lesson. I show you a couple of quick mock-ups with the pattern, and we end with a chat about next steps.

Lesson 8:

Here I will show you a couple of mock-ups and bid you adieu until next time.

Concepts covered:

Concepts covered include but are not limited to Photoshop pattern design, Photoshop layer effects, Photoshop adjustment layers, Photoshop pattern fill layers, adjusting patterns, Photoshop color picker, setting up color swatches, using patterns to make patterns, color adjustments, Photoshop color adjustment layers, and much more.

You will get the bonus of…

a quick and efficient 25 minutes of direction from an instructor who has been in graphic design business and education for over 40 years
knowledge of multiple ways to solve each design challenge
a list of helpful online sites to further your education into surface pattern design

Penny Taylor

Artist + Illustrator + Author

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