Paying Dues

Will I ever be an overnight success? How long does it take?

If it takes ten years as a graphic designer to really start making a living wage, then I've still got a couple of years to put in.

When I arrive, though, I'll have a great hardluck story. It will be filled tales with all the days and weeks I sat making beautiful repeats without any money coming in except for that which I made as a seamstress.

I'll tell about all the graphic design jobs I took that were just beyond my abilities, and then watched tutorials online to figure out how.

My bio will include how I paid my rent with the proceeds of the sale of my house, rather than put that money back into a new house. Determined, yet watching my savings diminish, I seldom gave up hope that one day, my designing skills would finally pay the bills.

Today is one of those days that will be included in my story, a day among so many that finds me creating, learning, striving ... dreaming.

And putting together designs that make my heart sing!

Working at What I Do

Designers of surface art and repeating patterns are kinda like writers; we sit in front of a computer for countless hours. We can't sell what we do until it's out of our heads and made manifest.

As a working graphic designer, I spent a large percentage of my time creating patterns for others. In the last month, I've designed patterns for Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, an African duvet manufacturer, an Australian bed linen manufacturer, a kitchen goods company, and a needlepoint company.

For all of this work I am uncredited, but consider myself lucky to be making a sort of living from what I LOVE doing. And I'm helping others get where they want to be.

My plan is to stay seated in front of this computer for countless more hours until I get where I want to be as a designer.

I love Art Nouveau and

18th Century French fabrics and

Mid Century florals.

When it comes to designing, no wonder I can't decide which style is "me."

Designing and Work

I want to work as a graphic designer and make money at it! Really, I do! 

I look for work at Elance almost daily, and do find jobs there. I've worked with and for some great clients who are passionate about their companies. It thrills me to please them and see my designs show up on their products.

And my work is represented by a very proactive design studio ... my work along with a couple hundred other designers.

Alas. As much as I want there to be enough work to go around, it seems there are dozens of designer vying for the same job, and *thousands* of designers hoping to sell their designs to just a handful of clients.

We soldier on. 

Meanwhile, as I hustle for work and complete the jobs I do manage to get, time for my own design work falls short. So, it is on the days when I am completely free, I design, design, design!

Here's a group I put together during a recent "free" time. 

Dear Universe, May someone out there see it, love it and buy it.  Such is the prayer of every graphic designer.

Developing a Style

From the inside of my design world, I can't see what my style is.

It seems to change from week to week, depending on what I've fallen in love with.

Perhaps it's the approach I take to each design that defines my style. 

But, whatever it is, this week I'm loving subtle colors and quiet vintage.

Distressed

I'm still really digging the grunge/distressed look. It's been around for a long time now, and I see it everywhere, mostly on advertising fonts.

Working in vector, my favorite way to achieve a distressed effect begins in Photoshop. I create a 12" x 12" transparent 300 dpi document and use a wide variety of free web grunge brushes in black. Saved as a png, I open it in Illustrator, use Live Trace, then work it into a seamless tile. 

It is now a vector grunge repeat that I can lay over an existing design. 

Here's a recent example:

I love it!

19th Century Fabric

I LOVE this floral!


I basically redrew an image of a 19th century fabric, simplified it, and added a textured background.

A bright, more contemporary color palette was also in order.

It really is stunning, if I do say so myself.

It's available to purchase in perfect repeat.