7th Digital Arts: Print and patterns

Designers create patterns and prints for all kinds of things: clothing, accessories, curtains, wallpaper, stationary, furniture, sheets, blankets, fabric... think of all of the places you could find a decorative pattern.

Your next project will be to design your own original pattern. By designing one original section, you can repeat it over and over to create a pattern.

Vocabulary
Let's start by learning some important words for this project.
Go to the Scholastic Word Wizard Dictionary to look up the following words, then complete the activities by following the links to the websites.

Symmetry
     Now try this symmetry activity
     Go to this link about symmetrical and asymmetrical balance


Decorative

Geometric

Organic
     Learn more about organic and geometric shapes

Pattern
    Go to this link to learn about pattern

Research
Now lets look at some examples of print and pattern designs.
1. Go to: Print and Pattern
 Look through all of the examples (you can also go through the archives). Pick 3 and describe them. What do they look like? What colors are used? What product are these patterns on?

2. Here are examples of patterns created in Adobe Illustrator (just like you will use)

Design
Now it is time to design. Sketch your design on your worksheet. If you choose to design by hand, you will need to know how to make your pattern repeating. Read through this tutorial.

If you want to go straight to designing on the computer, open Illustrator and follow the directions on your worksheet.

1. Make a tiled pattern.

Ms. Vermeer will give you a demonstration on designing a "tile" to create a symmetrical pattern. 

2. Make some other pattern.
It could be animals, shapes, plants, monsters, abstract... whatever you would like!