e-Interview with Laura Escalante, Surface Pattern Designer/Illustrator from Columbia

This month I'm grateful to Laura Escalante, a Surface Pattern Designer from Bogotá, Colombia, for giving us her time to answer some questions about her life as a designer.

Laura on Twitter: 

Laura on Facebook: 

Laura on Behance: 

I asked Laura: When did you first realize that you were an artist?
Since I was little I loved to draw and paint, especially with colored pencils. My parents always gave me for Christmas and for my birthday art supplies, boxes full of crayons, colored pencils, pastels and watercolors. Later on, as I grew up, I took painting classes and then I specialized in art during high school.

Laura, I'm always interested to know whether an artist has had formal art/design/illustration training?
Yes, I have an undergraduate degree in Product and Visual Communication Design from la Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

That sounds fascinating! And what do you think was the most important thing you learnt from it?
The most important thing I learned at college is that you have to work, work and work to achieve your personal and professional goals, thus dedication, effort and persistence are the way to do so.

Apart from at University, what is the most important thing you have learnt on your journey as an artist and from whom did you learnt it? 
I have learned incredible things from all my colleagues who have graduated from the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. I learned that although we all work in the same environment and have similar goals and aspirations, there is enough room in the world of design for all of us and that it is a great satisfaction to help others achieve their dream. In other words, even though people always pursue individual goals, there is a great sense of collaboration amongst designers.

Which artists/designers/illustrators inspire you?
I am inspired and amazed by a lot of things in my everyday life, such as packaging designs, stationery, giftwraps, colorful scarves, prints, wallpapers, swimwear fabrics, tableware and kitchen textiles. But I really love the beautiful and detailed work of two Colombian designers, Ximena Escobar and Wallnut Studio by Cristina Londoño.  I am also fascinated by Tara Donovan's unique installations, Vera Bradley´s colorful patterns, lovely floral and organic designs by Claire Coles, Marcel Wander’s amazing delicate interior design products and Tim Walker´s magical and enchanted photographs.

What is your favorite medium, Laura?
I love colored pencils, but for my pattern designs I use ink as my primary medium for my motif drawings. Then I scan them and use a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator techniques for the final details.

How long has your business been up and running?
My business is just starting. I recently graduated from the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, so I am taking time to build my portfolio, webpage and business stationery in order to get my business up and running.

Are there any particular pitfalls that have caused difficulties for your business that you would like to warn others about?
I haven’t had a particular pitfall in my business but I had one as a designer that I would love to share with all of you. I am 25 years old and have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on both of my hands. I know it sounds weird that I have it on both of them, but since I started feeling pain in my right hand, I switched to my left hand and both were affected; thus I had to quit my fulltime job. My advice to all of you out there: take good care of your hands, take small 5 to 10 minute breaks every hour or so and stretch your hands, and use a design tablet instead of the regular mouse. Most of us are so fascinated by what we do that one might get carried away thus time flies by and our hands are being slowly injured and overused.

Thank you for that great advice, Laura - and I'm sorry to hear about your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

Do you enjoy the business side of things?
As I am just starting my business I haven’t experienced the business side of things so much, but what I least like about selling my products and designs is giving them a price. I am afraid that if I charge too much they won’t be bought, but if I their price is to low I am afraid I might be underestimating my work. I find it a tough job, but I know that is something that I will learn in my journey as a self-employed designer.

Yes, that is tricky - you don't want to charge too little because customers do tend to think that the higher the price, the better the product! But on the other hand, we don't want to price ourselves out of the market! Have you had any training in the art business?
No, not really, but fortunately my father has his own business and has helped me in the business side of things.

Why did you decide to specialize in Surface Pattern Design?
I decided to specialize in Surface Pattern Design because, since I was little, I have loved colorful patterns. I can say I am obsessed in a certain way with colors and patterns. Everywhere I go I find amazing details that most people would never notice.

So I decided not to be a spectator in this beautiful world made up of colors, details, patterns and illustrations, instead I decided to dedicate myself to what I love and contribute to this amazing world.

Are you working alone or do you have help?
Yes, I work alone.

How do you feel about that?
I really enjoy working alone; It is much easier for me to concentrate and to be inspired in a quiet and calm space at home. I also love managing my own time and organizing my day as I feel it is the best way to get all things done. When I have some kind of creative block or feel I need some feedback I ask for my family´s opinion, I find their opinion very valuable since none of them are in the artist environment I love to know what someone out of the artistic scenario thinks about my work and listen to their thoughts and ideas.

Do you have regular contact with other artists?
In my daily life I am not surrounded by many artists, since most of my family members and friends are not in an artistic environment. But I have the good fortune to be part of two online groups of pattern designers and illustrators who have been a great inspiration and support since I started my journey. All the help, advice and feedback I have received from all of these wonderful ladies amaze me.

Do you paint/draw regularly?
I currently draw almost every day, since drawing is essential for my designs.

Laura, are you still doing what you originally set out to do?
Yes, I have always dreamed of designing and being immersed in an artistic creative job and that is what I am actually doing.

What is your biggest achievement – or the one that pleases you most – so far? 
I believe my biggest achievement is designing what I always dreamed of and seeing how my portfolio is becoming stronger and bigger in the design industry I love. Another great achievement was being shortlisted as one of the Top 5 Finalists of the Ideal Home Show Wallpaper design contest of 2013 held in company of Wallpapered.com and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, who chose my design to be in the top 5. It was a great boost of confidence and satisfaction seeing one of my first pattern designs being in the top five designs of an international contest, and I was so happy to see my work reaching places that I had never imagined I was going to be capable of. That's wonderful, Laura, and well-deserved!

Do you have a favorite quote, art-related or otherwise?
I love this quote from Andy Warhol ¨ they always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.¨ I think life is too short and you are the only one who is able to change it and do what you wish for. I believe that our biggest obstacle in achieving what we want is ourselves.
I'm sure you're right, Laura, and it takes some of us a lifetime to realise that.

Finally, what are your plans for the future?
I would like to have my own design collection of room decorations for babies and children. I am focusing my pattern designs and artwork into the wallpaper, stationery and homeware textile industry. I plan to design the whole brand image of special clients, who need business stationery, packaging, wallpapers, giftwraps, and other products to create a great image.

I'm sure we all wish you the very best of luck with that, Laura. I love your work and I'm sure that others will too!

Laura, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

I feel sure your replies will interest and inspire others who, maybe, are wondering whether to pursue the career of their dreams.

Thank you! 

Ten Fabulous Floral Notepads or Jotters to Personalise . . .

. . . on

Mugs, Mousepads & More

Custom Notepad or Jotter, Pink Japonica on Blue by helikettle

Can YOU wear Pantone Colour: Lemon Zest Yellow

What is the first thing you think of when YELLOW is mentioned? 

Is it the colour of dying grass and leaves or white pages, ‘yellowing with age? Or worse still, the medical condition known as ‘jaundice’ (the French word for yellow is ‘jaune’)? The flag flown on a quarantine ship is yellow. And even more negative - ever since mediaeval artists portrayed Judas Iscariot wearing yellow, the colour has been associated with cowardice and treachery!

But I feel pretty sure that most of us won’t think of these things. 

We’re far more likely to think of the ‘yellow’ of the sun or, in springtime, of Easter Chicks and the many yellow spring flowers! Primroses, crocuses, forsythia, winter jasmine and of course the many varieties of the daffodil family.


Because pure yellow is a very cheerful colour. 

Of interest to artists may be the fact that

yellow has the highest reflectivity of all the

colours, appearing to advance, 
in contrast to blue, which recedes. 

Some delicious foods are yellow, for example, butter and cheese. And many of the foods that are good for us are yellow too, containing Vitamins A and C and sometimes iron as well: plums, grapefruit, melons, lemons . . .

Interesting pattern too!

As a fashion item, Lemon Zest yellow first came to my attention when it was worn as a jacket by one of our BBC Wales newsreaders. And it seemed so bright that it certainly grabbed my attention!

According to my big book about Colours, yellow is ‘not as universally flattering to most complexions as, say, blue.’ I think I would agree with that on the whole, though our newsreader does have the right complexion to wear it. I just think it made perhaps too much of a statement for a newsreader, detracting from the content of the news!

But that is what yellow can do – like its cousin, orange, it can grab our attention and that quality is put to good use in warning signs and visibility jackets.

Yellow cars have been shown 

to be involved in fewer accidents,

 probably due to their

high visibility. 

So yes, yellow serves to warn us of danger but at the same time it can seem to radiate sunshine, happiness, even joy!

But although I have painted some of the walls in my house a kind of yellow ochre, and I love the golden yellow of sunflowers, buttercups and cornfields, I tend to avoid lemon yellow.

To me, lemon yellow seems tart and brittle. In fact, once, in a life drawing class, I really didn’t like the model and afterwards I found I had instinctively used a lot of lemon yellow pastel in my painting – a colour I rarely use at all! It was only later that I read Kandinsky's words, quoted in a book about the Bauhaus: 'Yellow advance, exceeds limits, is aggressive, active, volatile . . . ' - a pretty close description of the model I'd taken a dislike to!

How do you feel about yellow? 

Do you use it much in your artwork?

Do you wear yellow or use it to decorate your home?

Abergavenny Market Hall - Full of Surprises!

When I go shopping, I'm usually in a hurry to get what I need and back home again as quickly as possible. But when I went into town with my camera to take the photos for an earlier post, for once, I wasn't rushing from one shop to another and I'm glad I looked up as well as around me as I took a shortcut through the indoor market . . .

The Market Hall is always decorated beautifully for the Food Festival in September but I didn't realise that the decorations stay up for the rest of the year!

I've no idea who makes these marvellous models or what happens to them once they are taken down. 

These photos don't really do them justice because the market was very crowded and people kept bumping into me while I was taking them!

But I think they are works of art. And to think they've been there since September without me noticing them says rather too much for comfort about the way I usually rush around! 

Surfacing Pattern Designers 'Spring' Showcase -

This month my fellow graduates of the Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design course have worked on patterns for spring.

Once again, I'm struck by the variety of interpretations, though the pastels we associate with the springtime do seem to link them. Here they are in alphabetical order of first name:

Andrea Rincon

Anchobee Designs

www.anchobee.com

Papalote

Carol Robinson

Daisies

Chloe Wood

www.chloe-wood.co.uk

Bunnies

Daniela Butonoi

http://ohsocreative.blogspot.com/

Spring is here!

Jan Shepherd

https://www.facebook.com/thepatternlab 

Spring

Judy Adamson

http://www.zazzle.com/helikettle*

White Rabbits and Primroses

Julie Ansbro

Sky Blue Spring

Laura Escalante Diseno

https://www.facebook.com/lauraescalantediseno

Paper Flower Garland

Lisa Deighan

Spring Chicken

Liz Minton

http://www.lizminton.com

Spring

Mel Pope

Spring has Sprung

Mi Jung Lee

http://www.mijungdesign.com/

Tulips

Natacha Devaud

www.theLazyGiraffe.com

Big Spring Flower

Trina Esquivelzeta

http://surfacehug.com/

Spring

A big 
THANK YOU
 to all the artists who have contributed to this post!

Next month's themes are 'Vikings' and/or 'Pantone's Poppy Red'
(Low Res images to me by Sunday, May 5th, if possible,
but I'll do my best to accommodate any 'stragglers')

Repeating Patterns for Painters #2

Last time, we looked at examples of the various categories of repeating patterns -

It’s not usually at all difficult to sort patterns into these categories. 

But there are other ways of grouping patterns that may not be as easy to see at a glance. One way is to look for the way the motif is repeated. Sometimes it’s easy to see how the repeat has been worked out. Other times you really have to search for the repeat. And making a repeating pattern like that requires a certain amount of skill and practice.

So what are the main ways of organising the repeats?

There are Block repeats, Half-drop repeats, Brick, Diamond, Ogee, Mirror and Tossed repeats . . . And the simplest of these is the BLOCK repeat.

A BLOCK repeat is made by positioning the motifs side by side and directly above and below one another.

It can lead to a very regular, regimented, even, effect and works well with geometric patterns. You can make a simple Block repeat quite successfully by dragging your motifs across to the work area manually but using Photoshop's 'Define Pattern' button will ensure greater accuracy and probably saves a lot of time in the long run.

The BLOCK repeat arrangement can also be used for the most complex patterns and this is where many hand-painted designs are likely to feature.

Whether your motif is simple or more complex, the method for making a BLOCK repeat is the same. But when your pattern is more complex, there will be some additional steps at the end.

So we’ll begin with preparation instructions that will apply to all types of repeats –

PREPARATION

1. Scan your motif and clean/tidy it, using either the eraser or a paintbrush with your background colour (often white).

2. Make the background transparent: making sure that the layer is unlocked, use the Magic Wand to define the background area. (If there are light colours in your pattern, make sure the Tolerance of the Magic Wand is set low enough that it doesn’t select the pale colours as well as the white background!) 

Press Delete – this should give you a transparent background which appears as a chequerboard effect.

3. Adjust the size of the ‘tile’ if necessary.

4. Save either as a .png or a .psd and name it as xxxxx _tile.

bluebunny_tile.png

1. A REALLY SIMPLE BLOCK REPEAT

1. With your saved ‘tile’ file open, click on Edit > Define Pattern. You can give the pattern a name when the dialogue box appears or simply let Photoshop name it for you with something like Pattern 45.

2. Open a new, much bigger file, at least four times as big as your ‘tile’.  Click on Edit > Fill. Choose the pattern you just defined: > OK

And, as if by magic, you should have a ‘sheet’ of repeating patterns.

HOT TIP! I filled the background with green before I added the rabbits as I've found from experience that it comes out more even that way.


2. A MORE COMPLEX BLOCK REPEAT – where the pattern fills most of the ‘tile’. 

This is the 'tile' for the pattern below

For this we need the help of the very clever
OFFSET FILTER.

1. Prepare your ‘tile’ as steps 1 – 4 above.

2. Image > Image Size: write down the dimensions of your tile in pixels. Close Image Size.

3. Go to Filter > Other >Offset, make sure that ‘wrap around’ is ticked.

4. Halve the dimensions that you wrote down and enter them in the appropriate boxes > OK

5. What you will see are the horizontal and vertical seams as they will be when you repeat your tile and they will probably look an awful mess, something like this:

Now you need to spend some time tidying up the seams. There are various ways to do this:

a) Use the clone stamp and/or smudge tool and I’ve read that in CS4 ff. the ‘Content Aware’ fill is useful for this task.

b) Prepare some small individual motifs on a transparent background and ‘place’ them at intervals over the seam to hide the join.

6. When you are happy with your repairs, use the Offset Filter again to check them and if necessary, repeat steps 3 –5 until you are satisfied.

7. Layer > Flatten.

8. Steps 3 – 4 as above, in PREPARATION

9. Repeat Steps 1 – 2 above, in SIMPLE BLOCK REPEAT.

When I made this pattern, I didn't really know how to repair
the seams and you can still see faint lines where the tiles joined.

Good luck - and don't forget, if you have any difficulties following these instructions, please say so in the comments and I will try to find a solution for you!

Happy Pattern-making!

Click

HERE

to download a .pdf of this post, 

condensed into 4 pages

 in case you want to print it out.

E-interview with Mary Beth Cryan, Illustrator, Paper Engineer

This month's e-interview is with 
illustrator and paper engineer,
Mary Beth Cryan from Rhode Island.


Mary Beth's Blog

Mary Beth's Portfolio Website





Mary Beth, when did you first realise that you were an artist?

I was born an artist.  I can't remember a time when I didn't consider myself an artist.  My mother was an elementary art teacher turned stay-at-home mom. She started teaching me art as soon as I popped out of the womb.  And I loved it.  There was never a year when "more art supplies" was not on my Christmas wish list.

Although, my love of art may have started before that.  On my last business trip to New York City, I struck up a conversation with a woman in a boutique who claimed to be a spiritual healer. She sensed I had "been creating art for many lifetimes."  When she told me that my first thought was, "I am putting that on my resume immediately!"

Have you had formal art/design/illustration training?
Yes, I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University with a major in Illustration.

What was the most important thing you learnt from it?
The most important thing I learned was in a Communications design class.  The philosophy of that department was that a good idea must be at the core of every design.  At the time I didn't realize the importance of the lesson.  But over the years, real work experience has proven the point true.

What do you consider the most important thing you have learnt on your journey as an artist and from whom did you learnt it?
The most important thing I've learned is an artist must think of themselves as a business person.  My father taught me this.  He is a professional children's photographer.  He has taught me almost everything I know about running a small business.  I owe my success to him.

Which artists/designers/illustrators inspire you?
I am influenced by every piece of art I ever see in every discipline.  I follow about 200 different art blogs.  I have a constant thirst to see new art that can't be satiated.  It's annoying actually.  Right now I'm most inspired by fashion designers.

Some of my favorites are Dries Van Noten, Manish Arora, Prabal Gurung, Marc Jacobs, Mary Katrantzou, Miuccia Prada, Prabal Gurung, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough (Proenza Schouler), Thakoon Panichgul,  Tsumari Chisato, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren and the list goes on and on.

I love fashion because of its fast pace and ability to be worn.  I consider it the front trenches of the art world.

What is your favourite medium?
Adobe Illustrator is my favorite medium.  I know that's weird but I love it.  I think it's cool that it's a new medium that only artists from the present time have had the opportunity to use.  Let's face it, I can't compete with Degas at painting but I can kick his butt at vector art!

How long has your business been up and running?
 I quit my full time toy design job almost eight years ago to start my own business.

Are there any particular pitfalls that have caused difficulties for your business that you would like to warn others about?
I would just warn people that they should expect to work really, really hard.  There is nothing easy about running your own business.  I work harder now than I've ever worked before and I'm the worst boss I've ever had.  But it's the most rewarding job I've ever had.  I could never go back to working for someone else's dream.  Life is too short.

Do you enjoy the business side of things?
No.  But I'd rather do it myself than hire an agent.

Have you had any training in the art business?
I'm a business school dropout.  A few years after I graduated from Syracuse University I went back to school as an MBA student at Bryant University (then Bryant College) at night while I worked full
time at my toy design job.  I knew I wanted to start my own business and needed to learn about business.  The program was geared toward corporate business.  So it wasn't as relevant as I had hoped.  I left the program after a few semesters.

But I learned a ton about the "business mindset."  Ironically, I had to take a class in geometry that eventually ended up being invaluable when I started doing paper engineering.  I've also taken all of J'net Smith's art licensing classes.

In addition, my husband is gifted sales person. He is forever teaching me sales techniques.

Mary Beth, I see that you specialise in 'paper engineering, surface pattern design, and product concepts'. How did that come about?
The common thread between them is they are all 3 dimensional product based.  I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE consumer product.  I want to make lots of it.  I find nothing more satisfying than seeing my illustrations on a 3 dimensional product (books included).


Do you find that the business side of things takes up more time than you would like?
I don't feel that the business side takes up that much of my time.  I do a lot of books which are long projects.  The longer the project, the less projects fit in a year, the less needs to be recorded, the less business there is.


That sounds good! Are you working alone or do you have help?
I work by myself in my home studio.  I have a few freelancers that help me from time to time.

I really enjoy working alone.  I need complete silence to work.  I don't know how I ever worked in a design studio with many designers chatting and playing music.  I could never go back to that.  I really like people and was afraid I would be lonely when I went freelance.  But I'm not lonely at all.

Do you paint/draw regularly?
I get to draw everyday for work.

It has taken me a while to arrive at where I'm happiest, designing repeating patterns, via screenprinting,  painting in soft pastels, then Greeting Card design . Are you still doing what you originally set out to do?
Yes.  I consider when "I set out" the time when I left home to go to college to become a professional artist and that is what I'm currently doing.  I "set out" again when I left my job to start my own illustration business and I'm still doing that too.

Do you have some idea of how many hours per week you work?
It depends how busy I am.  I try to only work 40 hours a week because I work very intensely and have to be careful not to burn myself out.  But I probably work closer to 50.  When I'm really busy, closer to 60.  If you count all the time I'm researching on the internet, shopping the market, talking about business, and thinking about work, I work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

I know the feeling! Do you have regular contact with other artists?
Yes.  Almost everyone I know is an artist including my dad, mother, and one of my two brothers.  In Rhode Island you can't throw a stone without hitting an artist.  I need to work on finding some friends that aren't artists.

Thank goodness my husband is not one. Otherwise I would talk of nothing but art all the time.

What do you consider your biggest achievement – or the one that pleases you most – so far?
I'm most proud of the work I've done for the MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art in New York City) and the books I've done.  I'm one of the regular contributing artists for the MoMA's line of holiday greeting cards.  If I have a bad day, that fact makes me feel better.  I currently have 7 paper crafting books out on the market. I am very proud of them.  I have 5 more coming out this year.  I love books and consider it an honor to be able to create them.

Wow - that is quite an achievement! But is there anything you would like to change about your art business?
I would like to have more time to spend with my family which is going to involve working less.  This is hard for me.

Do you have a favourite quote, art-related or otherwise?
I have a bunch of art related quotes on the left hand column of my blog .  Right now my favorite is "She wasn't where she had been. She wasn't where she was going…but she was on her way. " - Jodi Hills  It's not specifically about art but it's how I've been feeling about my art career lately .

And finally, what are your plans for the future, Mary Beth?
I plan to create many more books and to get deeper into art licensing.  I'm currently working on a body of
work with a style appropriate for women.  I have plans to unleash it on the art licensing world soon.

I am sure all our readers will join me in wishing you every success with that. It sounds intriguing and I hope you'll come back and share it with us once it's 'unleashed'!


Thank you so much, Mary Beth, for finding the time to give us the opportunity to get to know you and your work better. I'm sure your insights and your success will encourage and inspire anyone who reads this!

Mary Beth's Blog

Mary Beth's Portfolio Website

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