After choosing a design theme with Baroque influences it was time to make these patterns a reality! For this project I had to develop different 5x5 test swatches to print. I created one half drop pattern and one fill pattern to fabric designs that would match my over all theme of classic baroque art.
Half Drop Pattern
The first pattern I developed was my half drop pattern. Using a motif found in French Baroque molding.
I took the image to Photoshop and quick selected the pattern which outlined the shape that I wanted to keep in my final product. I then copy and pasted the selected area and saved the motif into my library for future use. I then added the shape into my pattern swatches and filled the area with the design in a block fill. I created a new layer and repeated this process to create a half drop fill in the pattern.
After the fill layers were to my liking I then added a background texture and played with the color of the image and added filters to create a unique look that was similar to worn velvet.
Motif Layer Fill
For my next pattern I decided to create a pattern from my favorite layer fill method, the symmetry fill. I found this to be my favorite way to create patterns because it makes a seamless and interesting pattern from every motif or texture you can design.
For this particular pattern I took the main motif from the original image and used the same method from the first pattern. I quick selected the image, copy and pasted the shape and saved it to my library. Although to change the color form black to red I simply adjusted the color of the by clicking image> adjustments> hue/saturation before I saved the motif to my library.
Changing the background layer to red and creating a new layer for the pattern fill I used the symmetry fill to create the pattern seen on the left.
The Printing Process
After the patterns were developed it was time to send them off to the digital printer! The fabric printer was surprisingly similar to an average inkjet printer but on a much larger scale.
Once the full sheet of fabric was printed out it was time to take the top sticker like sheet off the fabric to reveal the printed designs. The colors were not completely visible just yet though due to the fact that the printed fabrics must be steamed to activate the dyes and make them permanent.
I had one print that turned out as expected and one print that did not come out the way I was anticipating. My half drop pattern printed much darker than what appeared on my screen with little to no green appearing before and after steaming. Although my half drop pattern might need some adjustments my symmetry fill did turn out quite nicely and it showed the intricate detail of the design. Thus far I believe I am leaning towards using my symmetry fill pattern for my final project.
