Design development

This is the scanned in drawing without any rendering, however the live trace tool on illustrator has been used to achieve a more prominent stroke. This does not have the desired effect that intended, it needs to be developed much further to give me the final angular shape that is needed. 

In order to do this I will use the pen tool on illustrator to draw the shape over my original hand rendered version. To keep the design symmetrical the best option would be to complete half of the design, then flip it to keep each shape in line with the opposing side. The screen shot below shows en example of this, however where the anchor points join in certain places, it does not give me a clean line as the anchor points extend too far to create these sharp points shown on the image. If the size of the stroke is changed, this may prevent this happening when joining the anchor points. 

This design shows a much cleaner and refined version as the anchor points meet perfectly and there are no sharp edges extending further than they should. The stroke size used is 1pt. however, depending on how the shapes will be filled either with colour or left alone, a thinner stroke may also work. 

Half of the design completed, then duplicated and mirrored on the other side. The stroke size is still slightly too big, and the centre line needs to be removed. 

This version is fully refined and the centre line has been removed, I am pleased with the final vector and can now being creating the wallpaper design. 

I started playing around with some repeat ideas that I could possibly use, neither of these two work, as it was just to get an idea of placement with the cat.

Undecided on colour or how I would fill the individual shapes, I just played around with using the fill tool so that each shape was a separate block colour, this could work nicely when used as a repeat design. 
Two examples I created using block colours for the shapes, I don't think they create much impact and they appear to be rather childish. However I do like the monochromatic tones of the bottom one shown, but I don't think the block colours inside each individual shape work. 

The monochromatic tones work nicely, but to make it slightly more interesting to be used as a wallpaper 

Testing the repeat

 Final design

Idea development

Initial ideas:
From my research, I know I want to create a geometric image to be used for my repeat. With some of the artists I have looked at, animals influence their work and I want to take this idea on board, I started sketching out some shapes on my gridded paper, which started to resemble something that looked like a cats head, and I quite liked this idea, of creating a repeat for wallpaper that is slightly different with a quirky element which will appeal to the specific target audience. 

From this, I want to create a drawing using the centre line so that my drawing will be symmetrical. I think that geometric shapes could create something nice to be repeated as a wallpaper.

This is the first outline of my geometric cat head, I studied an image of a cat and tried to represent the features onto the squared paper, which gave me a cat made up of angular shapes. It was much easier drawing something like this out on squared paper as I know that I can create a perfect line of symmetry. 
From this sketch, once I was happy with the lines and balance, I then traced over it more accurately on some tracing paper so I could create a finalised drawing to scan in and use on illustrator. 

This shows the more refined line drawing that I will use to scan in and manipulate. I have altered the shape of the face slightly, which is the only change I have made to the line drawing. I will draw over this using the pen tool on illustrator to create a clean digital version of the drawing. 

Development:

This shows my original drawing then using the live trace roll on illustrator. I am pleased how the shape will look, however certain points where the lines join are not clean enough, I feel it would work better if I was to create a vector of this using the pen tool. This would give me a much cleaner finish, as the design must be symmetrical also, this would be the best way to create the shape as I can do half of the cat then duplicate and repeat it. 

 Using a ruler in the centre its easier to mark off where I need to work from. For this I used the original drawing as a guide.

Feathr

Brief:
Make wallpaper into art. We want you to lift wallpaper out of the decoration ghetto and turn it into art. Decoration matches the carpet. Art inspires love.
We want your fresh and original take on wallpaper. 

Target audience
Stylish young homeowners that want something unique on their walls, they want something they can love and talk about. 

Design specs and tips
Create an artwork that can be used as a repeating design for a 53cm x 10m wallpaper roll.
The roll width is 53 cm. This is the horizontal repeat of the artwork.
The roll length is 10m, so your vertical artwork repeat has no other limitations than looking good on a wall.
Repeats can be: straight matches, offset matches (half drop) or mirrors. (half drop) or mirrors.

For initial artwork submission apply one tile of the repeat:
Width 1560px
Length: one vertical repeat of your design Format: PNG or JPG
72 dpi

Given this brief, I want to create something that is unique and stands out from other existing wallpapers. My initial thoughts were to create something vibrant and floral, as I tend to look at work with feminine elements which are aesthetically pleasing, however floral repeat patterns are very common within the wallpaper spectrum as there are so many variations of floral style wallpapers. Therefore I need to do some research and look into alternative wallpaper designs, and something that stands out instead of just looking like a pretty floral background. The brief has no specific regulations as to what needs to be produced, therefore I can create something that reflects me as an individual making the project personal to me and my interests. 

Research

Baines and Fricker

I really like this quirky style wallpaper that this design duo creates, I feel like this is the type of design that would fit the briefs target market. The funky illustrative repeat patterns are simple yet innovative, the designs suggest something that is not just to cover the wall, however they have the ability to be an individual piece of art, whether it is on the wall or not. These designs are worth keeping, and this is the ethos behind the designers creations. 

On pinterest I found some interesting geometric inspired repeat patterns, for this brief I want to create something more angular for my repeat pattern, to try and steer away from my usual hand rendered approach to design. 

With the brief requiring any design of your choice, I wanted to experiment with something playful, combined with a geometric angular effect. The work of Alison Kunath illustrates a soft watercolour background, contrasting with the angular geometric image of the animals.

Stpehyds creates a similar aesthetic with her work, combining watercolour wash with angular shapes. 

I definitely want to experiment with the idea of creating a geometric repeat made from animals, or maybe an animal that has been created purely from angular shapes and a linear design.