PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This gorgeous paisley pin was handmade in the UK by the fabulous Jackie Cardy of Dog Daisy. You can find more in her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/ JackieCardytextiles
Textiles. We live our lives in them, decorate our homes with them, and wrap up our loved ones in them. We wear our hearts on the outside in all the colors of our soul, and revel in our tactile natures with various textures, weaves, and threads. One of the things that drew me to this theme was the need and desire to design my own fabric. Technology, and companies like Spoonflower that empower artiists to create beautiful things, has helped it to become a reality. Just like publishing a magazine. Playing muse, encouraging other creatives in their evolution, has always been what brings me joy. Being digitally-analog, I have been blessed to cross paths with some amazing creatives; but what does it mean to be digitally-analog? Tech heads who refuse to give up their hands-on process, and analogs who typically utilize tech as a part of their arsenal of tools, we constantly face the challenge of balancing them so that they work together harmoniously and allow us to weave a life that is whole. If you find yourself happily caught between the digital and the analog, or just creative in general, the Muse is meant to be a compilation of favorite people, places, and things - essentially everything that inspires us - but also as a collaboration; it is everything that inspires you too! So tell us what makes your heart race and your mind churn with ideas! The Muse is about you.
Ria :)
WHAT’S INSIDE Vintage/Modern Take a stroll through time and learn about Paisley, then follow it up with a tutorial on page 32.
Analog Goes Digital Take an analog moment to learn how to draw a paisley pattern, then design your own and create a seamless pattern in Photoshop.
Open Calls Check out what calls are currently open to artists on Art for Cures.
Art Therapy, an Exercise Five minutes is all you need.
Interview: Stephen Fraser KPM goes behind-the-scenes with the co-founder of Spoonflower, then entices you with some of our favorite fabrics!
Paper Princess Our resident muse spins a paper toy for your toy making pleasure.
Spoonflower Favorites Check out our favorite Spoonflower designers, then learn how to make a pattern of your own on page 35.
Supporting Handmade Browse through some of this issue’s favorite textile-related Etsy shops.
Drawn Butter The illustrated art of food. This month’s entree is Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Garlic Pasta from Renmeleon.
Our Mobile Arsenal At the end of the day it comes down to tech for this issue. Plug into some of our favorite apps and tools.
KPM interviews illustrator extraordinaire, Brian Kesinger, the man behind the Steampunk-o-licious Otto and Victoria comic.
CONTRIBUTORS
ERIN THURSBY has jumped out of a plane, but that doesn’t mean she’s crazy. She also engages in more pedestrian activities like going to museums, eating, and sleeping. When she does those things, she nearly always has a good time. Erin loves her husband Sean and her dog Flynn, which is excellent because they all live in the same house. Currently the Food Editor for the entertainment newspaper, EU Jacksonville, Erin also freelances for other publications.
MYS.COLEOPTERA is our resident mascot and sculptor. Freehanding incredibly detailed 3-dimensional paper scultpures is her thing. Our Paper Princess, she will be sharing a handmade toy each month for your download and crafting pleasure. When she is not playing with paper, she is knuckle-deep in paint, clay, or glue. When she is not crafting, she’s got her nose in a book. She is currently reading Tolkien, Harry Potter, and Little Women. Constant muse to the Muse, she has an infectious laugh and a sweet heart of compassion.
COLOPHON Publisher & Staff Ana Maria Selvaggio Print & Digital Distribution MagCloud Printed on FSC-certified, acid-free and fully recyclable paper. Fonts Used Helvetica Light and Light Oblique Renmeleon and Adelaide’s Skinny Jeans (both by Renmeleon)
ANA MARIA SELVAGGIO is an old soul addicted to Bohemian fashion, children’s books, doodling, and her husband Val. Though she wears many hats - illustrator, student, traveler, painter, crafter, journaler, author, screenwriter, avid photographer, and paper artist - her most favorite is mother. When she does not have a pen or pencil in her hand (check and make sure she’s breathing), she loves to cook and avoid housework. Living a truly digitally-analog life, Ria is a full-time student and Full Sail University alumnus planning to start work on her Public Relations MFA in 2013; so far she has earned her Creative Writing MFA (2012), as well as a graduate certificate in Education Media Design & Technology (2013).
VINTAGE/paisley
8
An example of the tjaps that can be found online at www.etsy.com/shop/charancreations
Tjaps, like the one pictured above, have been used for centuries in textile surface design. Used like modern day rubber stamps, tjaps are typically made of wood or copper and have been used in batik.
paisley/MODERN
9
Clutch Wallet in Very Berry Paisley (SKU 10444063 $44.00) available at www.verabradley.com
In addition to donating in-kind resources, Vera Bradley contributes approximately $1 million each year to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.
THE AGE OF PAISLEY | Erin Thursby The Victorian Era was an age of contradiction. Today, when we think of the era, we think of stiff and moral conservatism, but those times also bore the seeds of woman’s liberation, of equality for homosexuals, and the dawn of industry. So much was changing so quickly that it’s hardly surprising that conservatives and moralists felt the need to loudly object, to draw lines where none had existed before. The radical Aesthetics of the time argued that beauty was the only truth and morality only got in the way of that. Searching for beauty through materialism was the one aspect of the avant-garde Aesthetic movement that even the more staid ladies journals could promote. They both agreed that one of the most laudable goals was to create “a house beautiful.” Here paisley boomed. While there were many motifs found in Victorian design, paisley was the backdrop: a shawl draped over a chair, swirling wallpaper or around the lady of the house herself. Paisley took a circumspect route to Victorian England. For centuries it evolved in the India and the Middle 10 East, first as a more floral pattern and then, probably because of Muslim influence, it often took on a more geometric aspect, finding its way onto rugs. We really know very little for sure about the advent of the design, but scholars from the Paisley Museum posit that the distinctive cone shape can be traced back to an ancient Babylonian pottery design, representing the growing shoot of the date palm. The shape began as a rather squat cone, changing eventually to the more recognized cone with an elongated curve. Persian men wore the design tied in a narrow waist band and in India they wove wide shoulder mantles. By the 15th and 16th century, the motif had bounced from culture to culture in Russia, Asia, throughout the Middle East and India. While it made its way intermittently to Europe, it was in the 1770s that European travelers,explorers, members of the military and traders from the East India Company began bringing the iconic Kashmir shawls home. At the time, the motif wasn’t called paisley. That wouldn’t happen until after 1805. A Scottish town called Paisley began to copy shawls in the Kashmir style to meet the heavy demand. In the meantime, the most fashionable woman in Europe fell in love with the real thing. Her name was Josephine and she would soon be the Empress of France. As the story goes, Napoleon brought Kashmir shawls back from his campaign in Egypt. Josephine reportedly owned hundreds of these shawls. We know from portraits that she had the intricate designs worked into
VINTAGE / MODERN the edges of her dresses, mixing simplicity and opulence in the Empire style she was responsible for from the 1790s through her death in 1814. Thanks to the East India Company, paisley and Kashmir shawls were in England by the late 1770s. Seeing the design on French fashion plates just heightened an already growing demand. By the 90s, even though the shawls were costly (some costing as much as a modest town home) it was impossible for Kashmir to produce as much as England wanted. So they began making their own. The towns of Edinburgh, Norwich and finally Paisley began producing imitations. It was the Paisley factory that cracked the code of mass production, with their advances in industrial looming and piecing techniques. Though the shawls they sold were not as soft as the Kashmir versions (they used wool and silk instead of the softest fleece of Himalayan goats), they knocked off the design quite efficiently. Eager agents of the Paisley factory haunted the docks of London, waiting for a glimpse of the latest Kashmir shawls. Rushing back to Paisley with drawings, they could have imitations on the streets of London in a mere eight days. The average cost of a real shawl was about 80 pounds. Theirs cost just 12. Why did paisley become so ubiquitous in the Victorian Era? There was a thirst for the exotic, which was, like the spices of India, a spoil of Colonialism for the conservatives of the age. For the radical Aesthetes, it was something else. In what was ostensibly a book review, by the chief Aesthete of the movement, Oscar Wilde expressed not just
Previous page: Josephine, Empress of France by Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, 1808. At left: Fashion plate from Le Moniteur de la mode,1855.
a love for the paisley (which was not widely called so at the time) but defined the attraction: In Byzantium the two arts met—Greek art with its intellectual sense of form and its quick sympathy with humanity; Oriental art with its gorgeous materialism, its frank rejection of imitation, its wonderful secrets of craft and color[...]They had, indeed, met once before, but in Byzantium they were married; and the sacred tree of the Persians, the palm of Zoroaster was embroidered on the hem of the garments of the Western World.
By 1900, the world was starting to tire of paisley, though you can still find it in every department store. When you read of its periodic re-emergence in the fashion world, it begins to take on chameleon-like qualities. In a duller palette it smacks of the English countryside and librarians. In the 1960s and 70s, the hallucinogenic patterns were a touchstone of the psychedelic and radical. Today, you’ll find paisley on the bandanas of the working-class and gang members. Elsewhere, it graces the tie of a well-heeled Wall Street banker and the dusty
VINTAGE / MODERN paisley shirt of a rodeo rider. In a suburb, one woman stops another to ask about the bright paisley on her quilted Vera Bradley bag. Somewhere in Indonesia, a silk scarf is hand-stamped with a paisley tjap to be sold to tourists bringing home the exotic. The Aesthetes sought to educate the world in the matter of good taste, which for them was the highest form of morality. Industry and the establishment of England tolerated this education of the public because it enabled them to sell goods, creating a demand for quality products. Paisley was a success in Victorian England because it stood at the crossroads of the bourgeoisie, the exotic, the elite and the radical. It still does today. ________ If you like paisley, take a look at these books for inspiration: Paisley Designs Coloring Book, Dover Design. Paisley Designs (CD-ROM and book) Dover Design. Paisley: A Visual Survey of Pattern & Color Variations, Tina Skinner. Creative Haven Crazy Paisley Coloring Book.
13
ART FOR CURES | Part swap. All benefit. The HOPE POSTE Project is an ongoing benefit for the Red Cross. Participants submit handmade postcards that are sold online as a fundraiser with 100% of the proceeds for the postcards go to the Red Cross. Ongoing. To participate, visit hopeposte.wordpress.com for guidelines.
14
In The Colors of Freedom, participants are asked to create monotone inchies in red, white, and blue to be used to create American Flags for a printed poster series. A digital presentation book featuring the project will be made and sold to raise money for Wounded Warrior Project. The original inchies will be made into thank you cards and mailed to Wounded Warrior Project for distribution to their members. Registration extended until 05/01/13. To participate, visit www.artforcures.com/2013/04/open-call-the-colors-of-freedom-inchies/
OPEN CALLS FOR ARTISTS PINK@HEART is a benefit for Susan G. Komen. The first project in the @Heart series, Pink@Heart seeks to create a support book for those newly diagnosed with breast cancer, provide a creative outlet for survivors through art as well as the written word, and raise funds through book sales and an exhibit of 100 selected pieces of art ending in an auction. Signups close May 11th. To participate, visit www.artforcures.org/pinkatheart
CURRENTLY IN THE PLANNING STAGES Coffee Cartel II - Back by popular demand, this caffeine-themed project will be launched along with the publication of the book from Coffee Cartel I later this year. Proceeds benefitting Coffee Kids. Dia de los Muertos Collaborative Shrine Book - Celebrating the lives of those loved ones who’ve gone on before us, this book is based on a custom template for an interactive final project. Benefitting Rainbows International Grief Support Organization for Children. ________________ To donate your support to Art for Cures for these and other projects, visit them at www.artforcures.org.support for more information. They are currently fundraising for their 501c3 application in May, as well as for projects such as The Colors of Freedom that requires a registration fee.
15
Interview | Stephen Fraser, Spoonflower With the integration of digital technology into our everyday lives came empowerment and the ability to create the world around us. Being creatives, this meant the opportunity to brand our selves across multiple venues. Based in Durham, NC, Spoonflower brings us not only the ability to beautify our worlds, but to increase our branding ability. Stephen Fraser, partner and co-founder, chatted with us a few minutes about the behind-thescenes workings of the Spoonflower. Fraser had worked previously with print-on-demand publishing for Lulu, but was admittedly unaware of many of the differences when he and his business partner started the project. “We thought it was pretty straight forward to take a business model like Lulu and apply it to textiles.” The front end that needed to be created for Spoon16 flower designers was similar in that users could create their work, upload it, then order and share it all through the site. “Apart from learning the basics, we really were starting from scratch.” Fraser and his partner soon realized what they didn’t know. “We had to learn how to source and order the fabric, and all of the technical aspects.” Learning how to operate the printers, which was much less straight-forward than they had thought, was a challenge. Spoonflower uses inkjet printers that had to be specifically modified to handle and run fabric. Fraser cites that, “True inkjet printers allow a high resolution print, but fabric is innately unstable and, as an organic material, is varied. It is not manufactured in the same way that paper is, and the modifications are very important.” Fabric also isn’t coated to standardize the surface texture. Four and a half years into the project, Spoonflower has a very active R&D department that constantly works to reduce waste, increase the print quality and speed of their printers. There is nothing like Spoonflower in the textile industry. The Spoonflower website itself is an epic-sized software application that took years to write. Their online application is constantly evolving, “Managing the print end of a user-generated content website is challenging.” The “Holy Grail” of goals became to successfully inte-
Spoonflower grate the web application with the software that runs the printers. In the end, print jobs are run through the Spoonflower site itself. Spoonflower has branched out into wall decals and wallpaper, and may be testing other mediums in the future to be included for their community of creative. “We haven’t seen a new character designer for wallpaper and decals. What we have are some of the many talented artists, probably best described as surface designers, who are taking their talents and applying 17 them (to the new mediums).” Fraser says that Spoonflower has seemingly become the American Idol of repeating surface design. “There is not a month that goes by that I don’t hear from someone that was picked up, getting contracts with other companies.” All of the fabric companies have started to notice and Fraser remains humbled by the feedback he receives about Spoonflower. When asked for possible tips for anyone interesting in textile design as a career, Fraser let us in on a reality check: Being a surface designer isn’t an easy gig. Fraser warns that most well-known textile designers don’t generally make a good living at it, not enough to quit their main sources of income. Being picked up by a large company or major designer doesn’t happen very often. “To make a living as a surface designer, you have to have many pots in the fire all the time, be working to license your work and process the right products to different companies. It takes a lot of hustle as well as talent to make a living at it. For a lot of people, surface design is a side thing.” Spoonflower’s community is integrated with Facebook , Twitter, and Flickr, building up a huge, interwoven
Interview | Stephen Fraser, Spoonflower creative community that participates in weekly themed contests, discussions, and voting for their favorite designs. Many of Spoonflower’s designers have shops on Etsy as well. Hobbyists and even professional designers in other fields, such as packaging design, have tried their hand at designing textiles and become part of the Spoonflower community. Providing opportunities for their creative community through Partner Contests - such as their 2011 Project Selvage with Michael Miller and this year’s Fabric8 with second-time partner Robert Kaufman – has also been a big draw. Custom fabric giveaways, gift certificates, and other product reveals also sweeten the deal for users. New to Spoonflower and the idea of designing for textiles? Check out the Spoonflower Welcome Packs. We ordered one and it was like Christmas morning. Not 18 only did we get their fabulous Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design hard cover (covered in fabric, of course) and a $35.00 Spoondollar credit that we promptly used to purchase two yards (separately) of user Happysewlucky’s adorable Retrotastic Camera Bag pattern. We also received a swatch book, a Spoonflower pencil, and a small Designs & Doodles dot-quad notebook to jot down our ideas. In fact, this issue’s paisley design will be available on Spoonflower soon. ______ Many thanks to Stephen Fraser for taking the time to talk to us, and to Allie and Caroline for their all their help.
SOME OF OUR FAVORITE SPOONFLOWERS We could honestly get lost surfing all day on Spoonflower, there are so many incredible designs, but here are a few of the Spoonflower users who inspire us the most. Enjoy! • • • • • • • • • •
Spellstone, freelance British designer Alex Morgan. We especially love Alex’s Bronze Kingdom collection. bora, Dutch designer and illustrator Deborah van de Leijgraaf. Who could resist her Coffee Rings Can Be Fun and her plushie toy set, Kawaii Kitchen. leanne, designer Leanne Hatch’s fun patterns like her “Little” Night Owl and Watergirls (also available in large scale) won us over. heidikenney, author and the artist behind Kidrobot’s Yummy line, caught our eye with her fabulous Tattooed 19 Together plushie pair and her cameo-style Christmas Carol (which we’d love to see on wrapping paper). seschenk, and Who (pun intended) could resist Shannon Schenk’s Doctor Who Toile. verycherry, Dutch children’s illustrator Nancy Kers is addictive. Plushies, skirts, zippered change pouches, and our very favorite...well, too many to name. happysewlucky, we mentioned Canadian Berene Campbell‘s Retrotastic Camera Bag earlier, but we are also hooked on her Geeky Owl Bag, in pink of course, though you can also get it in teal. ceanirminger, we love Cean’s sense of humor and fell for the Ro-co-co and a Bottle of Rum in The Deep Deep Depths. The most intriguing, though, was their interpretation of a story we grew up with: Foo! sammyk, Samantha Khaja’s plushie Toothy the Tooth Fairy and her wonderfully inventive (and fun) Chefalopod! Culinary Companion Collection are great mom projects. We love her Mexico Springtime Duotones too. studiofibonacci, never lose again with this Rock, Paper, Scissor, Lizard, Spock cheat sheet as well as some great sci-fi pieces. ...for more inspiration, take a wander through Spoonflower’s Flickr folders too!
20
DRAWN BUTTER | The Illustrated Art of Food I am constantly taking photos of food. In fact, I have as many “Can I eat now?” shots of my family as I do of our meals. When we go out, if the food is beautiful, my friends automatically pause because they knows it’s coming. Every meal is an experience, a memory held on the tongue. I especially enjoy incorporating these memories into my love of journaling where I can capture the meal and the experience surrounding it. If you have a favorite recipe to share, and love to doodle or draw, here’s your chance. We are accepting illustrated recipes for our quarterly pages. This month’s recipe is from Renmeleon. Open to digital, hand-drawn or hybrid illustration, email us your work to drawnbutter@kraftpapermuse.com, subject “Butter”. We will let you know if your piece is selected prior to publication. Submission guidelines can be found on our site. Please also include your name and a link to your website or email address for credit.
25
AN INTERVIEW WITH ILLUSTRATOR
BRIAN KESINGER
INTERVIEW | Brian Kesinger KPM: You caught my attention with your recent post about drawing/inking Otto for the first time by hand. A lot of your fan base was taken aback, having assumed everything was hand-rendered. Looking back on your evolution as an artist, do you think you would have had the same enthusiasm or result if you had gone a more traditional route and how do you think this newfound, hand-inked joy is going to influence your future work? 26
BK: That was an interesting situation. I have been drawing on paper long before digital drawing was an option. My first love is pencil and paper. I always considered myself more of a draftsman than a painter. I visualize form and perspective more than color. It’s just what comes easier to me. What I enjoy about a program like Photoshop, is it allows me to take my work to a level of finish that I would not have before. But I would argue that even if you use Photoshop, you are still drawing by hand. I just use a stylus instead of a micron pen. I would say that, nowadays, my work is split about 50/50 between drawing storyboards on the computer and using traditional me-
At right: Librarian, cropped
dia for personal work. Regardless, all the ideas start on paper in my sketchbook, which is always by my side. KPM: You mentioned that your mom is also a talented creative. How did she encourage or influence your own growth as a visual artist? BK: Both my mom and my dad are musicians. In fact, for a long while they were both music educators. They saw an importance in the arts and, fortunately for my brother and I, supported our artistic endeavors; which in my case meant driving me to three different schools around Orange County for different art classes all through high school. I think they were encouraged to support me, because it was the early 90’s when Disney was really at its peak, so they saw a potential career in my dreams and for that I am forever grateful. KPM: You have a couple of events coming up this weekend on the 9th, feel free to give a shout out to them and tell us more about the events and your involvement. (Geek Chic in LA with Clockwork Couture and the Ste-
At left: Sketckbook exerpt,The Intrepid Molly McGuinness
ampop Show at the Rothchick Art Haus in Anaheim, CA) Will you be in attendance at both and how can people find you? BK: Ha! Yes, I will be very busy that day. First off, I will be at Clockwork Couture selling calendars and prints, including my latest Otto and Victoria piece that I did just for this event. Also, I will be doing tea portraits for those of you looking to turn your self into a tea girl or boy. That night I will be at the opening of the Steampop show, which features a steampunk take on pop culture. Both promise to be amazing events. I look forward to meeting a lot of new friends and hopefully inspire others with my work. KPM: I am in awe of the comic book pages you posted on deviantArt for The Intrepid Molly McGuinness. What was your inspiration for her storyline? BK: Thank you, the book is out now and it is a self-published comic anthology by the story artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios. The title is Where is Dead Zero. Each artist has eight pages to tell their own unique story based on that title. With
INTERVIEW | Brian Kesinger my story, featuring The Intrepid Molly McGuinness, I wanted to create a strong female role model for my daughter. I wanted an adventure story that didn’t require guns or explosions, but instead featured a character using unconventional ways to get out of sticky situations. Molly is armed only with a telescope and field journal as she treks through a dangerous jungle island to return a wayward butterfly to its natural habitat. I am very inspired by French comics, so it was a fun challenge to try to emulate that style. Also, any resemblance to a certain fedora-wearing archeologist is intended. I often joke that Molly is a steampunk Indiana Jane. KPM: I know you must get this a lot but, do you have any plans for an Otto and Victoria comic? What do you see their storyline growing into? 29 BK: Actually I have a book coming out featuring those two in May. It has truly been my passion over the last year! I both write and illustrate the book. It’s not your typical story book, and I can not wait to share it with everyone when it is done. It is being published by Baby Tattoo and they are doing a fantastic job putting it together. KPM: Imitation is supposedly the sincerest form of flattery, but as an artist I have found it anything but when I see someone else replicating my work without permission. This happened to you recently and the community helped you stop it. How do you think the Internet has both helped/hurt the creative life and will this change how you share your work online? Do you have any tips for creatives who want to put their work “safely” out into the world? BK: I was so touched that only after a few hours of posting they bootlegged version of my work that the fans rallied together and help get the items removed. It is a great reminder of what good comes from having the world so con-
INTERVIEW | Brian Kesinger nected. I am a huge supportor of fan art. Goodness knows I have done my fair share through out the years. Nothing makes me happier than see people draw Otto and Victoria let alone when people have tattoos done of my work. I only take issue with it if someone is making money off it, but I’m happy to say this was the first incident of its type. KPM: With sites Do you have any pointers for creatives trying to get their work out, like self-promotion tips or views on using a traditional vs. digital portfolio? BK: deviantArt has worked great for me. It’s such a great community and that is what you as artists need. You can’t
30 be a great artist by working in a bubble. I strongly recommend that if you are getting into art as a career that you
find a group of peers to share your work with and encourage honest critiques amongst yourselves. It is the best advice I could give. KPM: Thank you Brian for taking the time to talk to us! I look forward to catching up with you, Otto, and Victoria for our Automata-themed issue in November and wish you all the best in every endeavor. ___________________ If you would like one of Brian’s fantabulous prints, you can find them at Clockwork Couture. Brian’s rubber stamps (adorable) can be found at Viva Las Vegas Stamps.
Otto’s Sweet Ride, our favorite rubber stamp.
Make sure to visit Brian’s site at www. bkartonline.com as well as on Facebook. ________________
And there’s MORE! Brian has a wonderful little book on preorder over at Clockwork Couture! Go check out Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod. Congratulations Brian, we wish you the best of luck with it. We’re looking forward to seeing it!
ANALOG GOES DIGITAL with Renmeleon
32
STEP ONE
STEP TWO
STEP THREE
DRAW TWO CIRCLES, ONE HALF THE SIZE OF THE OTHER AND OFFSET.
CONNECT THEM AND DRAW AN INK YOUR BASIC PAISLEY INNER “MARGIN” LINE. SHAPE.
HOW TO DRAW A PAISLEY BY HAND
33
STEP FOUR
STEP FIVE
STEP SIX
ADD SOME CHARACTER AND DECORATE THE OUTER EDGE. IT CAN BE LEAFY, LACY, SPIKEY, ANYTHING.
ADD ANOTHER INSIDE MARGIN LINE IN THE BELLY OF YOUR PAISLEY TO GIVE IT SOME DEPTH.
ADD ANOTHER INSIDE MARGIN AND DRAW STRIPES. ADD SOME SMALL CIRCLES OR DOTS INSIDE.
ANALOG GOES DIGITAL with Renmeleon
34
STEP SEVEN
ACCESSORIZE!
CONTINUE TO ADD TO THE CENTER. PAISLEY ARE VERY BUSY PATTERNS. FLORAL, GEOMETRIC, PLAY!
IF YOU PLAN TO MAKE YOUR DESIGN INTO A REPEATING PATTERN, CREATE SMALL DESIGNS TO COMPLIMENT AND FILL IN GAPS.
CREATING A SEAMLESS PATTERN IN PHOTOSHOP Now that we have our pattern, let’s go digital! We can make our art into a seamless pattern that can be used on Spoonflower and other product sites like Zazzle. The process is fairly easy and only involves minor tweaking; usually on the analog side, adding in more details to fill in the gaps. I’m using Photoshop CS6, but there are plenty of tutorials online for anyone needing help with any version of the software as well as others. I’ll give you a basic tutorial for a bit of fun before we get serious. Please do not use this design outside of this tutorial. Step 1 - Create a new document in Photoshop that is 10cm wide by 10cm high at 300dpi CMYK. If you are doing this design strictly for online viewing, you can set it at RGB. Step 2 - Save the document. For this one, I’ll name it “seamless_paisley_v1” and save it as a Photoshop format. Step 3 - Go to File > Place > then select your elements. You will repeat this step for each element that you add.
ANALOG GOES DIGITAL with Renmeleon Note: To edit a Placed layer, you will need to Rasterize the image first. To do this, right click the layer and choose Rasterize Layer from the list. Step 4 - Resize your image if necessary, by doing “Free Transformation” by doing CTRL+T and clicking on the “Maintain Aspect Ratio” button between your width and height measurements to keep scale the image down. Step 5 - Repeat patterns and do CTRL+T to align them into a pattern you like. For this one, I duplicated my paisley pattern by right clicking on the layer and selecting “Duplicate Layer”. I repeated till I had four of them and then did Free Transform on each until they were where I wanted them. Make sure to keep your pattern away from the edge and give it an equal amount of white space all around it. More advanced steps are next for those wanting to blend the edges of their designs. Step 6 - Once you have everything where you think you want it, save your image as a Psd file. Atfer it’s saved, go to Layer > Flatten Image. Before you go any further, resave your file with “_flat” on the end as a Psd file. Do not save your original file again until after you Undo flatten. This ensures you can make changes to it as necessary without losing your layers.
CREATING A SEAMLESS PATTERN IN PHOTOSHOP Step 7 - Go to Edit >Define Pattern. This adds your image to the pattern library. Save it something you will recognize. Now let’s test it. Step 8 - Make a new document, 300dpi CMYK, Letter size, and save it as “seamless_paisley_testv1” in Psd format. Step 9 - Select Layer > New Fill Layer > Pattern and (if you did it right) your pattern will fill the page. Save it. Now let’s take this one step further and make it so that the edges blend seamlessly. We are going to backtrack a little and reopen the image I had you save as “_flat”. We want this image to be able to fill a large area, like fabric, and match up seamlessly no matter what size it is printed at. Step 10 - Go to Filter > Other > Offset and type in 1000 for both Horizontal and Vertical fields. Make sure “Wrap Around” is selected. Save the file with “blend” in the file name (so you know which one it is) and there you go! Spoonflower has their own pattern generator, so all you need is your “flat” file.
37
ANALOG GOES DIGITAL Our final design (with a bit of added color and tweaking) can be found on Spoonflower as “Paisley Pink”. We would love to see what you’ve created with this tutorial! Post your final project on Twitter or Instagram using @kpmzine with #anadig and 38 we might add you to our site! As an added bonus for our readers, and to help us get the word out, buy this issue in print format and receive a copy of Renmeleon’s paisley coloring book! We will post more information on our site, so make sure to drop by and check out the details. This is our first Spoonflower design, and we have a lot to learn, so we welcome input from veteran Spoonflower designers. We’ve posted this to the KPM site here, so feel free to post a comment!
ART THERAPY | Exercise No. 1, the Doodle Destress The power of art as a healing tool is not a new idea. Art has been used in healing practices worldwide long before “Art Therapy” became an actual profession in the 1940s. What is it about art, though, that soothes the soul? Is it the act of creation, of bringing something tangible and permanent to anchor us in an impermanent world, or is it simply our need for an expressive outlet, a pouring out of the soul, a reminder to ourselves or a leave-behind for those who come after us? Take a moment, get out your tool of choice whether it is a sketchbook and pen, pencil, or a tablet stylus, and join us for a bit of art therapy... No day is so busy that we can’t at least doodle. Almost all of us did it in high school - notebooks, lockers, desks - and, now, we often find ourselves absentmindedly doodling while on the phone. Ground yourself and look down at your feet. Breathe deeply and draw them for the next five minutes. Just five minutes. When you’re done, Tweet or Instagram your work with @kpmzine #artpower and we might just post your work on our site! _____________ One of our favorite challenges comes from Danny Gregory’s Everyday Matters group. Need inspiration in your everyday? Head over to their list of over 300+ drawing challenges that you can post in their Flickr group or via Facebook. And don’t forget to check out Danny’s journals.
39
PAPER PRINCESS Spinning Wheel Paper Toy Our Paper Princess, Mys.Coleoptera, designed this paper toy just for our Textile issue. She will be sharing a new paper art piece each issue. Her courage, inventive spirit and ingenuity keep us in constant awe. Cut out, add a brad, and spin away! Check out @renmeleon on Instagram for more of her work.
41
42
INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK FOR YOUR TOY MAKING FUN
OUR FAVORITE ETSY SHOPS We love handmade, so each month we will be sharing our favorite Etsy shops with you. Show your love of and support of handmade by visiting these shops. Tell them the Muse sent you!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/stellacreations
http://www.etsy.com/shop/waterrose 43
http://www.etsy.com/shop/shopkobieta http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatyPillingerDesigns
http://www.etsy.com/shop/frompastopresent
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ATLIART
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nuffnufftoys
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PatchworkPottery
AT THE END OF THE DAY | The Mobile Arsenal Most of us are constantly on the move, whether by choice or by occupation. Being able to work on the go can free up precious time for family, friends, and the other things we love. Here are some of the tools that we have found to be indespensable. Evernote. On all our devices, syncable. Used for everything from magazine layout to project planning. CamScanner. Perfect for contract signings. Sign one copy, scan and keep, email it to your client on the spot. 44
Asana. Portable brain and to-do list of choice, sync with all your devices. Flipboard. Stylish reading, custom to your feeds and interests. QRDroid. A super useful tool for any promotional media as well as events. Pocketbooth. If you love old photobooths, this one even drops your photos out like the old machines did. Final Draft Writer. Screenwriter? We were ecstatic with the mobile release. Viewer also available free. ArtRage3. Our artistic tool arsenal of choice. Multiple tools with customizable settings on all of them. Bamboo Paper (Wacom). Draw, write, share and more in virtual notebooks that can be converted to PDF. Square. Turn your tablet into a cash register and accept credit card payments on your devices with a swipe.
OUR EDITORIAL SCHEDULE May 2013 | Sustainability Ad Close: March 10 / Live: May 1 August 2013 | Education Ad Close: June 10 / Live: August 1 November 2013 | Automata Ad Close: September 10 / Live: November 1
SUBSCRIBE to our mailing list to get the latest updates!
www.kraftpapermuse.com
45