Shards Mini Pattern Design
Introducing Shards
Shards is another idea taken from my pattern sketchbooks. Odd, four-sided, slender, shapes in eight of my favourite colourways.
Aiming for Random
I feel it is vital to make the shards appear to be random – but equally spaced. It’s a painstaking job to keep adjusting the design so there are no gaps or rivers (where elements of the pattern makes a line through).
Shards Mini and Midi
I often try the reversed out version of my pattern designs. The Midi version of Shards is the pumped up version – with some adjustments. The two designs can then be used together. The Maxi version is on the drawing board too, but this time rotated by 90° so that they look like strips, or tabs.
Defining the Pattern Repeat
I put all the Shard shapes on one layer in Illustrator, then create a transform which defines the horizontal distance and the number of repeats. This layer is then placed inside another layer which I define as the vertical distance. I type the transform details on each of the layers for reference. These are the vital part as the two numbers define the actual dimensions of the pattern repeat.
Adjusting The Pattern Repeat
The actual area of the pattern repeat can be adjusted with accurate precision. I like to make sure there isn’t a tiny part of any of the elements that goes over the boundary of the pattern. This tends to be the place where there are flaws in the pattern repeat, leaving perhaps one or two pixels not aligning and causing a thin stripe in the pattern. This is especially obvious with dark backgrounds.
Testing The Pattern Repeat
These full-screen versions of Shards use actual pattern repeats, set to repeat and scaled using my CSS style sheet. This is the ideal way to test if a pattern repeat works.
Different Colourways
Both versions of Shards can be printed with just one colour for each. I use white as either the background or the pattern to create each pair of combinations.
