Now that your sketches are scanned in, we're ready to move on to the next phase: vectorizing and coloring!

Lesson #2: Vectorize + Color

What's a motif, you say? That's illustrator language for, well, illustrations. The definition of a 'motif' is a decorative design or pattern. So, a pattern is generally made up of several motifs.

Lesson Objective

Vectorize your sketches and leave them as black and white illustrations in Illustrator. Clean up any stray bits and make sure each individual illustration is grouped together for ease of moving around.

Create a custom color palette (or several) in Illustrator. Use them to color up your illustrations and start dreaming of your repeating pattern. That's what we'll cover in the next lesson!

TIP: A color palette should have around 8-10 colors and move them to your swatches panel. Be sure to include some lights, some darks, and a few neutrals.

Keyboard Shortcuts

You'll soon see, I love incorporating keyboard shortcuts into my workflow. As with anything, there's a bit of a learning curve, but once learned, they make things so much faster!

To help you get acquainted with them, I've put together this printable PDF for you to reference. 

▶ CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

During the lessons, you'll also be able to see what keyboard shortcuts I use as I use them. For now, just print this handy guide out and keep it close to reference as you need to.

Here's a list of common shortcuts downloadable for both iOS and Windows. And this interactive keyboard display allows you to choose the program you'd like and the operating system you're using. There's even a search feature!

Class Tools + Supplies

• A pencil, pen and/or paint
  • Uni Pens
  • Palomino Blackwing Pencils
  • Black Ink
• A few found items like leaves or strings - anything that will scan in flat will work!
• White paper
  • Sketchbook
• A scanner (Note: If you don't have a scanner, you can take a photo of it with your phone!)
  • Canon Scanner
  • iScanner
• Adobe Illustrator (Note: You can start a free trial here.)

▶ Share your progress! Use the hashtag #learnwithbonniechristine to share your work with us on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you create!

Hey there, I'm Bonnie!

My biggest goal is to help give you the tools and resources you need to be successful at doing the work that lights your soul on fire.⁣⁣

I'd love to have you join me here. We're waiting to welcome you with open arms! This mini class is filled with the necessary tools you need to get started simply in designing your own fabric. I can't wait to see what you create!