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PATTERNS A ND DIG ITAL WORK 7 1
(Text)
TIP
• Thinkabouthowtheendsofyourinitialdesignwillcometogetherasa
pattern.Youmightdosomepencilsketchesbeforeyoudoanypaintingto
besureyoulikethewayyourelementisjoiningonceitistiled.
EXERCISE 24
Paint an element in one color and its different values. To create a tint of a
color, you can add a little white. To create a shade of that color, add some
black. Adding a little of the complementary color will give you a graying-
down effect.
Create a square pattern, and then “tile” it, which means to repeat it in some
way. For this exercise, let’s do a simple repeat: Flip it horizontally across,
and then copy and flip those two squares vertically down. If you look at
Eddie’s example (left), you’ll see how one element has been manipulated to
create a pattern.
You can do this digitally in Photoshop or Illustrator, depending on your
computer skills. If you choose to do the entire exercise by hand, a piece of
vellum, a translucent paper sturdier than tracing paper, can be used to flip the
image and trace it several times. Paint it once you’ve got it all drawn out.
Anything can be used for your initial design for the repeat. Here, Eddie has
taken inspiration from African textiles. You can use anything: cultural
elements, familiar elements such as fruits and flowers, or something personal
to you.
Single element, four times, watercolor
Single element tiled, watercolor
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