Patterns are everywhere. Look around and you’ll probably see one right now. It might be a pattern on a tie, a shirt, pants, a paper cup, bathroom tiles, an umbrella, on a bag, a sofa, wrapping paper… the list goes on and on.
Patterns add decoration and beauty to many consumer products. If you look closely at a true repeating pattern you can see the ’repeat square’, the area of the image that repeats along vertical and horizontal seams where one section flows into the next.
In this tutorial we will use vector elements to create a four-way repeating pattern swatch in Adobe Illustrator and then mask the pattern into several mock products. So, let’s get started!
01. The key to a four-way toss are the seams of the ’repeat square’. By arranging elements within a square making sure the top/bottom and left/right seams match, Illustrator can generate a flawless repeat pattern swatch.
Basically, anything that overlaps each side (I’ll be calling the sides ’seams’ from now on) of the square must also cross the opposite seam of the square in the exact same spot. I’ll refer to these doubled elements as ’mates’. The file included with this tutorial shows the seams of a repeat square with basic shapes. You can use that square and the shapes as a guide for creating your own repeat with your art.
02. The success of this project has everything to do with exact precision, so take a deep breath, try to remember all those geometry lessons from school and say to yourself "the grid and guides are my friends". You’ll see that this is very important in a few steps. In Illustrator choose File > New. Pick a size you feel comfortable with, I like 44cm so I have space around the square. Turn on the Grid and unlock the guides.
03. I have a funky floral pattern in mind so I have created the individual elements and brought them into Illustrator. You can scan your own art and redraw it in Illustrator or use LiveTrace. Use whatever methods you are most comfortable with to create your elements. The only requirement is that your elements are vectors.
04. Select the Rectangle from the toolbar and double click to see the size dialog box. Use a whole number size (so the square fits in the grid) such as 30cm. Select View > Snap to Grid and align the background square to the grid. Drag guides to all four sides and allow them to snap to the grid.
05. Decide on a colour palette. Take inspiration from the season, colours around you, and colours you love. Try out a different palette from what you would normally use. Many surface-design clients have restrictions on the maximum number of colours that can be used, and depending on what surface the pattern will be printed on, they might already have a background colour in mind.
Make sure to take all of this into account, but don’t ever feel limited by restrictions. The challenge of surface design (and any creative work for that matter) is to work within restrictions in creative ways and make the project look great in the end. However, since this is for fun and we’re going for looks with this pattern, I will be working with 12 colours plus black and white. Start colouring your elements.
06. Colour your elements and start arranging them in the centre of the square. The layout should have a rhythm so areas flow together. You can layer elements, play with size, layout, colour – this is where you can get very creative and experiment.
07. Continue arranging elements until you reach the edges, but do not let your elements cross the seams yet.
08. As you get near the seams, you will need to be very careful. Remember the geometric example I showed at the beginning. An element that crosses the top seam of the square will also need to cross the bottom seam of the square in the exact same place.
The ’mates’ must align perfectly for Illustrator to create the repeat. A good way to do this is Select the horizontal guide and the element and copy both. (Edit > Copy > Paste). Now drag the element and guide to the bottom horizontal seam and line up the guides. Use the Align dialog box to centre the elements. Now they are mates, perfectly aligned!
09. Do the same thing for the left and right side seams, making sure everything line up exactly. Select the left vertical guide and the element, copy, paste, and align as described in Step 8. Do this for all elements that cross the vertical seams.
Make sure the layering is exactly the same along the left and right seams. It can also be helpful to Lock (Object > Lock > Selection) each item as you align them so they do not accidentally get moved. Even if even just one element gets nudged it’s going to haunt you in Step 13!
10. Now that you have copied and pasted your elements so the mates along the seams match you are almost ready to create the swatch. Just keep in mind that once you’ve created the repeat swatch you can only alter its scale, not the colours or composition. Now is the time to make any layout adjustments and colour changes. Select all elements and group them.
11. Make a copy of the white background 30 cm square. This should have no fill and no stroke. This will define where the seams of the pattern are when Illustrator generates the repeat swatch. Send this invisible square to the back using Object > Arrange > Send to Back. Use the Align palette to make sure it is perfectly beneath with the white background square in the pattern.
12. Select > All (both the grouped pattern and invisible square). Go to Edit > Define Pattern. Give your swatch a name in the dialog box.
13. It will now appear on the Swatches palette, just like a colour swatch. Move your grouped pattern aside and draw a large rectangle with the shape tool and fill it with your swatch.
14. Check along the edge of the repeat to make sure everything is aligned perfectly. A misaligned element will look partially or totally chopped in half because it will misaligned from its ’mate’. If this happens just ungroup your elements, adjust their positions, and try again.
15. You can change the sizing of your repeat with the Scale box. Double click the Scale tool on the toolbar. Make sure the ’Patterns’ option is checked and select a percentage. If you need to change a colour, make your change to the grouped pattern and re-make the swatch giving it a new name.
16. Now that you have a repeating Illustrator Swatch, you can fill any shape with the pattern. Here I have used the pattern to fill type and created a t-shirt graphic. You could also mask the pattern into a circular template for a plate, a mug, or a rectangular shape for a section of wallpaper. The possibilities are endless!