#How to add a watercolor texture to your logo with Photoshop

[greyssustainable]

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When you need a font that won't put your audience to sleep, try Insomnia. Use it when you need SVG monogram fonts or a display font for your next project. This 3D SVG color font is all sorts of awesome. Here's another SVG font example that you need for your library. Add it to your SVG font library and pull it out when you need realistic handwriting with an artistic feel. Morriles is a beautiful handmade font with a brush style that's also offered in TTF and OTF. This is a great collection for creating monograms, wedding invitations, titles, etc. There are two versions of this gorgeous font: one with watercolour texture included and the other a solid version. Ciera Watercolor SVG Calligraphy FontĬiera Watercolor SVG Calligraphy Font is a dreamy collection of four SVG fonts, 23 floral illustrations, and six pre-made logos. Guaranteed to catch the eye, this is definitely one for your SVG font library. This awesome display font offers complex and stylish geometric shapes that include gradients and multiple colours in a single SVG font glyph. Looking for cool SVG monogram fonts? How about Futuristico SVG Color Font. 12+ Premium SVG Fonts From Envato Elements Futuristico SVG Color Font Let's dive into some of the best SVG fonts you can find at Elements.

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Today we're featuring over 25 of the best free SVG fonts around, as well as a selection of premium SVG fonts from Envato Elements. When you need premium SVG fonts, Envato Elements should be your first stop. The plugin will be using always the latest fontawesome-picker relase, as it is using now the external css and js files from the docs pages.SVG fonts are a cool addition to the world of fonts that can add new life to a tired design. Fix: The plugin stopped working because the project changed the repository name. new: added a footer with a link to the repository and the original author refactor: Cache parsed icon class list for better performance (requires local storage) Use rawgit CDN to deliver the extension js and css files at a locked project version (3.0.0) so breaking changes on master won't affect the plugin anymore. Fixes issues of the extension not loading You can even copy the sample HTML and also the icon Unicode character for using it in Word, Photoshop, etc (it requires the Font Awesome font installed in your computer). This extension allows to find and copy Font Awesome icons easily in your day-to-day. Font Awesome Icon Picker extension for Google Chrome Font Awesome Icon Picker is a fully customizable plugin for Twitter Bootstrap, with a powerful base API,

[byheartmade]

How to add a watercolor texture to your logo with Photoshop

The blog post How to add a watercolor texture to your logo with Photoshop is from heartmade.es.

I just received a message from a client who bought my Watercolor Texture kit in Creative Market asking how could she add my watercolor texture to her logo with Photoshop.

There are multiple ways to apply watercolor textures with Photoshop, and although in the package there are 7 seamless patterns ready to be used as it, I decided to record a video showing another technique that can be very useful for all of you who want to add a watercolor texture to your logo with Photoshop

Ready? Here you have it!

Please feel free to write me any comments or questions you may have. I’m always happy to get new ideas for video-tutorials to help you and your business

The blog post How to add a watercolor texture to your logo with Photoshop is from heartmade.es.

from How to add a watercolor texture to your logo with Photoshop

[nasirparwazthings]

To finish off every year I enjoy taking a moment to look back at my content from the past 12 months to compare how all my articles, tutorials, freebies and videos performed in terms of view counts. This is my greatest hits collection for 2018, broken down into individual top 10 roundups for each category. Did you miss any of these most popular posts? Which one from the list was your favourite? Or was there a particular piece of content you found really useful that didn’t make the cut?

My Most Popular Content From 2018

Total view counts are down overall compared to last year’s greatest hits, but my most popular piece of content for 2018 was my Illustrator tutorial showing how to create an Isometric Type Effect. With a similar number of views, my 30 Free Film Dust Textures come in second place. Despite the single most popular post being a tutorial, free resources appear to be the most sought after content type on Spoon Graphics, although video tutorials do get regular attention over on my Spoon Graphics YouTube Channel as well as being embedded as blog posts.

My Top 10 Freebies From 2018

32,082 Views: 30 Free Film Dust Textures to Add Dirty Effects to Your Work

29,397 Views: 10 Free Textures To Simulate Holographic Foil Print Effects

28,819 Views: 24 Free Dirt Textures in High Resolution JPG & PNG Format

27,571 Views: Free Watercolour Text Effect Smart PSD for Adobe Photoshop

20,871 Views: 10 Free Ink Splatter Photoshop Brushes and PNG Textures

18,798 Views: 10 Free Abstract Stripes Backgrounds with Distorted Lines

17,533 Views: 30 Free Vintage Shading Brushes for Adobe Illustrator

17,452 Views: Free Pirate Vector Graphics & Logo Templates Pack

17,294 Views: 10 Free Winter Blues Photo Effect Actions for Adobe Photoshop

16,000 Views: 10 Free Floral PNG Graphics of Flowers & Bouquet Illustrations

My Top 10 Tutorials From 2018

36,791 Views: How To Create an Isometric Type Effect in Adobe Illustrator

17,276 Views: How To Create Vector Avatar Characters with Adobe Illustrator

16,299 Views: How To Create a Line Art Badge Logo in Adobe Illustrator

15,566 Views: How To Add Heavy Rain to an Image in Adobe Photoshop

15,283 Views: How To Create a Shaded Type Effect in Adobe Illustrator

13,713 Views: How To Create 80s Style Retrowave Art in Adobe Photoshop

12,565 Views: How To Create a Retro 70s Style Striped Logo Type Effect

10,923 Views: How To Create a Color Font in Photoshop Using Fontself

10,778 Views: How To Cut Out Hair in Photoshop (Even Difficult Backgrounds)

10,357 Views: How To Create an Animal Fur Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

My Top 10 Articles From 2018

16,211 Views: 40 Stationery Mockup Templates You Can Download for Free

13,430 Views: Fantastic “Color Fonts” and Where To Find Them

11,484 Views: 45 Doodled Portrait Illustrations in the Style of Grime Art

9337 Views: 30 Vector Line Art Illustrations with Detailed Patterns & Geometric Shapes

7739 Views: 30 Legendary Chinese Dragon Illustrations and Paintings

7599 Views: 40 Clever Ambigram Logo Designs That Work Upside Down!

7497 Views: Art of the Ampersand: 35 Creative Examples of The ‘&’ Character

7334 Views: 50 Vintage Type Designs with Detailed Decorative Flourishes

7284 Views: Showcase of 40 Creative Embroidered Patch Designs

7,077 Views: Amazing Inception Style Drone Photos by Aydin Buyuktas (and how to make them!)

My Top 10 Videos From 2018

26,370 Views: Abstract Pixel Sorting Effect Photoshop Tutorial

25,543 Views: Neon Sign Effect Illustrator & Photoshop Tutorial

24,824 Views: Dripping Slime Custom Type Effect Illustrator Tutorial

20,988 Views: Tiny Planet Effect Photoshop Tutorial

16,831 Views: How To Create a “Fauxsaic” Mosaic Text Effect

14,618 Views: 5 Ways To Create a Matte Photo Effect in Photoshop

14,462 Views: How To Create Vibrant Gradient Orbs in Adobe Illustrator

13,765 Views: How To Create a Watercolor Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

12,344 Views: Text Portrait Effect Photoshop Tutorial

11,202 Views: How To Create a Surreal False-Color Infrared Effect in Photoshop

The post Spoon Graphics Greatest Hits: My Most Popular Posts of 2018 appeared first on Spoon Graphics.

from graphics http://bit.ly/2SrSNbX

[catherinesnyder]

Dig into digital illustration with Procreate

While there are plenty of digital painting and illustration apps out on the market today, one that regularly rises to the top amongst the creative crowd is Procreate. With an intuitive interface and (let’s be honest) a cheap price tag, this iPad app is on of my favorites and it empowers artists everywhere to take their digital sketches on the go.

In this article, I’ll go over Procreate’s key features, recommend some of my favorite Skillshare classes to familiarize you with the app, and introduce ways to incorporate it into your workflow.

Web banner illustration by Fe Melo

So, what is Procreate? _

Procreate is a digital painting app designed exclusively for mobile, which means it’s been optimized for you to start sketching whenever the mood strikes. To use the app, you’ll need to have access to an iPad and an Apple Pencil and download the app from the Apple Store.

The app is most known for having an intuitive workflow, where designers navigate through brush libraries, layers and effects using finger gestures and customized Apple Pencil strokes. You can easily save, organize and export your artwork in a variety of file formats. I use Procreate for most of my designs.

Here’s a look at a few of the key features:

Import & export files

Procreate can easily be incorporated into your existing workflow. The app supports most major image formats, so you can bring in photos and existing design files to tweak within the app.

If you want to finish your piece up on a desktop computer, you can export it as a layered PSD file and make the final touches in Photoshop.

If you need to vectorize your drawing (maybe you’re working on a logo, pattern or hand lettering), you can switch off the background layer in Procreate and export the artwork as a PNG. Then simply open the file in Adobe Illustrator and convert it into a vector using Image Trace.

Experiment with brushes

Mix and match the Shape and Grain to create your own custom brushes. Image via the Procreate Artist Handbook.

Procreate has a well-stocked library of more than 130 brushes, so you should be able to find some brushes that suit your style.

Each brush is split into two elements: Shape and Grain. The Shape is the container that houses the Grain. The Grain is what’s rolled onto the canvas (anything from a basic pattern or texture to an imported image or photo).

Once you get comfortable with the default library, the real fun starts. Each brush is comprised of 52 editable settings, including dynamic settings based on things like the speed of your stroke and your applied pen pressure.

From there you can customize the way you want to blend paint colors and build up opacity, charge your brush to naturally run out of paint, and experiment with other techniques.

Save time & design faster

Experiment with an isometric perspective in your next design. Illustration by Maxim Andreev.

Like most digital painting apps, Procreate alleviates many of the common issues you typically hit when putting pencil to paper.

Mistakes can be fixed by simply hitting “undo” or deleting a layer. Small inconsistencies can be manipulated or wiped away using a variety of filters. The StreamLine feature ensures your strokes are smooth and stabilized (this is great for designers who want their lettering to look flawless).

You can also ditch the time-consuming process of building out vanishing points and complicated guidelines by hand. If you switch on the Drawing Guides mode, you can build out snappable grids for all kinds of perspectives. The QuickLine feature lets you snap your strokes into straight lines with your finger, while Drawing Assist will constrain your strokes to the 2D, isometric or perspective guide you’ve created.

Show off your creative process

Let’s be honest… This feature is the crowd favorite by far.

A recorded timelapse of digital wallpaper by Fe Melo

You can switch on Time-lapse recording to create high res, time-lapse videos of your process from initial sketch to final piece. If you want to make a few fixes discreetly, just pause the recording and turn it back on when you’re ready.

Once it’s ready, import your time-lapse into a video editing app to add music, edit the clip and add your personal branding. Then share it with the world!

If you’re building out a professional brand or looking to gain more exposure, consider making these kinds of videos a staple on social channels like Instagram and YouTube. It’s always inspiring for fans (and prospective clients) to see how the pros create their artwork.

Ready to dive in? _

I’ve rounded up some of my favorite Skillshare classes to get you up to speed, with the hope that you’ll learn some new styles and skills that you can apply to your own work.

Illustrating in Procreate: Drawing a Shareable Time-lapse

Most excited about the Time-lapse feature? Learn how to create “magical” time-lapses from sketch to finish.

Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Procreate

This course was definitely one of my favorites. I’ve always liked Jarom Vogel’s style, so it was awesome to see his illustrations come to life—and to see how he uses Procreate as a tool to do that.

Intro to Procreate: Illustrating on the iPad Pro

Learn how to use the app tool-by-tool and achieve some really cool effects by using different layer modes. Brooke’s background is in children’s apparel and greeting cards—and I love her cutesy style.

Ink and Color in Procreate® for Illustrators

If you love pen and ink, this class is for you. You’ll create a decorative monogram, while learning how to set up your canvas, create basic shapes and outlines, and how to color it in with added details and shading.

Mastering iPad Lettering with Procreate 4

Learn hand lettering basics and how to achieve trendy effects including watercolor brush and ombré lettering. You’ll also be introduce to some of the new tools added in Procreate’s latest update.

New to Skillshare?

Get two months free access with the promo code 99designs2Months

Start learning

About the author

Fernanda Melo Stark is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, with a background in textile and fashion design. You can find her in the 99designs community as Fe Melo. Read more about Fernanda in our blog interview.

The post Dig into digital illustration with Procreate appeared first on 99designs.

via https://99designs.co.uk/blog/

Dig into digital illustration with Procreate syndicated from https://www.lilpackaging.com/

[helenpattersoon]

Dig into digital illustration with Procreate

While there are plenty of digital painting and illustration apps out on the market today, one that regularly rises to the top amongst the creative crowd is Procreate. With an intuitive interface and (let’s be honest) a cheap price tag, this iPad app is on of my favorites and it empowers artists everywhere to take their digital sketches on the go.

In this article, I’ll go over Procreate’s key features, recommend some of my favorite Skillshare classes to familiarize you with the app, and introduce ways to incorporate it into your workflow.

Web banner illustration by Fe Melo

So, what is Procreate? _

Procreate is a digital painting app designed exclusively for mobile, which means it’s been optimized for you to start sketching whenever the mood strikes. To use the app, you’ll need to have access to an iPad and an Apple Pencil and download the app from the Apple Store.

The app is most known for having an intuitive workflow, where designers navigate through brush libraries, layers and effects using finger gestures and customized Apple Pencil strokes. You can easily save, organize and export your artwork in a variety of file formats. I use Procreate for most of my designs.

Here’s a look at a few of the key features:

Import & export files

Procreate can easily be incorporated into your existing workflow. The app supports most major image formats, so you can bring in photos and existing design files to tweak within the app.

If you want to finish your piece up on a desktop computer, you can export it as a layered PSD file and make the final touches in Photoshop.

If you need to vectorize your drawing (maybe you’re working on a logo, pattern or hand lettering), you can switch off the background layer in Procreate and export the artwork as a PNG. Then simply open the file in Adobe Illustrator and convert it into a vector using Image Trace.

Experiment with brushes

Mix and match the Shape and Grain to create your own custom brushes. Image via the Procreate Artist Handbook.

Procreate has a well-stocked library of more than 130 brushes, so you should be able to find some brushes that suit your style.

Each brush is split into two elements: Shape and Grain. The Shape is the container that houses the Grain. The Grain is what’s rolled onto the canvas (anything from a basic pattern or texture to an imported image or photo).

Once you get comfortable with the default library, the real fun starts. Each brush is comprised of 52 editable settings, including dynamic settings based on things like the speed of your stroke and your applied pen pressure.

From there you can customize the way you want to blend paint colors and build up opacity, charge your brush to naturally run out of paint, and experiment with other techniques.

Save time & design faster

Experiment with an isometric perspective in your next design. Illustration by Maxim Andreev.

Like most digital painting apps, Procreate alleviates many of the common issues you typically hit when putting pencil to paper.

Mistakes can be fixed by simply hitting “undo” or deleting a layer. Small inconsistencies can be manipulated or wiped away using a variety of filters. The StreamLine feature ensures your strokes are smooth and stabilized (this is great for designers who want their lettering to look flawless).

You can also ditch the time-consuming process of building out vanishing points and complicated guidelines by hand. If you switch on the Drawing Guides mode, you can build out snappable grids for all kinds of perspectives. The QuickLine feature lets you snap your strokes into straight lines with your finger, while Drawing Assist will constrain your strokes to the 2D, isometric or perspective guide you’ve created.

Show off your creative process

Let’s be honest… This feature is the crowd favorite by far.

A recorded timelapse of digital wallpaper by Fe Melo

You can switch on Time-lapse recording to create high res, time-lapse videos of your process from initial sketch to final piece. If you want to make a few fixes discreetly, just pause the recording and turn it back on when you’re ready.

Once it’s ready, import your time-lapse into a video editing app to add music, edit the clip and add your personal branding. Then share it with the world!

If you’re building out a professional brand or looking to gain more exposure, consider making these kinds of videos a staple on social channels like Instagram and YouTube. It’s always inspiring for fans (and prospective clients) to see how the pros create their artwork.

Ready to dive in? _

I’ve rounded up some of my favorite Skillshare classes to get you up to speed, with the hope that you’ll learn some new styles and skills that you can apply to your own work.

Illustrating in Procreate: Drawing a Shareable Time-lapse

Most excited about the Time-lapse feature? Learn how to create “magical” time-lapses from sketch to finish.

Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Procreate

This course was definitely one of my favorites. I’ve always liked Jarom Vogel’s style, so it was awesome to see his illustrations come to life—and to see how he uses Procreate as a tool to do that.

Intro to Procreate: Illustrating on the iPad Pro

Learn how to use the app tool-by-tool and achieve some really cool effects by using different layer modes. Brooke’s background is in children’s apparel and greeting cards—and I love her cutesy style.

Ink and Color in Procreate® for Illustrators

If you love pen and ink, this class is for you. You’ll create a decorative monogram, while learning how to set up your canvas, create basic shapes and outlines, and how to color it in with added details and shading.

Mastering iPad Lettering with Procreate 4

Learn hand lettering basics and how to achieve trendy effects including watercolor brush and ombré lettering. You’ll also be introduce to some of the new tools added in Procreate’s latest update.

New to Skillshare?

Get two months free access with the promo code 99designs2Months

Start learning

About the author

Fernanda Melo Stark is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, with a background in textile and fashion design. You can find her in the 99designs community as Fe Melo. Read more about Fernanda in our blog interview.

The post Dig into digital illustration with Procreate appeared first on 99designs.

via https://99designs.co.uk/blog/

[pamelahetrick]

The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it

Design by La Chicana

No matter how old you are, chances are when you were a kid, watercolors were your jam. But watercolors have been a staple for artists for hundreds of years. Their distinct look and feel has made them a beloved favorite of everyone from preschoolers making a mess during craft time to seasoned artists looking to create their next masterpiece.

Watercolors are a timeless classic—but in recent years, they’ve also become one of the hottest trends in the design world for everything from illustrations to logo design to text effects.

But what, exactly, is it about the watercolor trend that has designers hopping on board? Why are watercolors so hot right now? And how can you incorporate watercolors into your designs in a way that’s going to feel on-trend and make a lasting impact on your audience?

First things first: defining the watercolor trend —

Image via The Great Courses

Before we dive into how to incorporate the watercolor trend into your designs, let’s talk about what, exactly, the watercolor design trend is.

Watercolor design is—well, exactly what it sounds like. It’s incorporating watercolors into your designs—which you can do by a) creating digital designs (in a program like Photoshop) that mimic the look and feel of watercolor paint, or b) actually using watercolors to paint on paper, scanning in your finished products, and then using them to create digital designs.

There are a few key characteristics that define the watercolor style, including:

The water effect

Design by Xenia Ericovna

Remember when you used to dip your paintbrush in water, then dip it in paint and brush it across the page? That “water” effect—where the color seems to bleed into the page—is one of the key characteristics of the watercolor trend.

The water effect can happen when you have one color (where the color bleeds into the page or background of the design) or multiple colors (when the colors seem to bleed together). The point is, in order for something to be considered a watercolor design, it needs to actually look like it was created with water.

Texture

Design by T o n k a

Another characteristic of watercolor design? Texture.

That water effect we were just talking about? It creates some super interesting and unique textures that you won’t see with any other kind of design. The water changes the saturation of the color, how it spreads across the page, how it interacts with the other colors in the design…and all of that comes together to create depth and interest that scream “watercolor.”

The imperfect-on-purpose look and feel

Design by by extrafin

One of the coolest characteristics of the watercolor trend—and one of the reasons it’s having such a moment right now—is the imperfect-on-purpose look and feel you get with your final design.

The handmade vibe that’s inherent of watercolors (whether the design is painted by hand or created digitally) lends itself to a certain unique, one-of-a-kind quality that’s hard to find with more streamlined, color-inside-the-lines designs. It looks imperfect, but on purpose—which creates a cool, laid-back, hand-crafted effect that people (and brands!) love.

Where (and how) is the watercolor trend showing up? —

Alright, so now that we’ve covered what the watercolor trend is, let’s talk about how and where it’s showing up.

One of the reasons the watercolor trend is so popular is because it’s incredibly versatile. You can use a subtle watercolor effect as an accent in a design, create a more elaborate pattern for a background that has a real “wow” factor, or incorporate it as a detailed focal point in your design.

And where is it showing up? In a word—everywhere.

Here are a few design categories where the watercolor trend is clearly having a serious moment:

Logo design

For logo design, incorporating the watercolor trend as an accent—like in the text or as part of a graphic—can be a great way to add visual interest and a handmade feel to your logo.

Logo design by ananana14

Business cards

For business cards, the watercolor design trend makes the perfect background—that way, the effect is subtle and doesn’t take away from the contact details on the card.

Business card design by Julia Panchenko

Web design

There are a lot of different ways to incorporate the watercolor trend into web design. You can use it as a subtle background, a more bold pattern, or in small accents (like on a graphic). There’s no right or wrong when it comes to watercolor and web design, so go wild!

Image via Collette Dinnigan

Book covers

If you want your book to jump off the shelf, you need to grab people’s attention—and the watercolor trend is a great way to do that. Use bold or soft colors, a variety of colors or a few tones of the same color, a subtle background or a more prominent accent—whatever you choose, it’s going to make a statement by adding some personality and flair.

Book cover design by BeniceSebass

Packaging

With packaging, it’s the same principle as with book covers—the watercolor trend will give your product packaging a touch of one-of-a-kind uniqueness. You want your product to catch the eyes of your ideal clients, so incorporate watercolors in whatever way feels true to your brand and use them to tell your clients who you are.

Product packaging design by bow wow wow

Apparel

With apparel, the key to successfully using the watercolor trend? Less is more. No one wants to walk around looking like a set of watercolors exploded all over their sweatshirt, so if you’re going for a background effect, keep colors subtle. If you want to use bold, strong colors, keep it to a small accent for maximum impact (without creating visual overwhelm).

Apparel design by Konstantin Kostenko for Dog Bright

How to incorporate the watercolor trend in your designs —

Ok, so now that you’ve seen what the watercolor trend looks like in action, let’s talk about how to incorporate it into your designs.

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind to make the watercolor trend work for you:

Use colors that work together

Design by Strijkdesign

The watercolor trend is a great opportunity to get creative with your color choices—but you can’t throw color theory out the window.

If you want your final design to look visually appealing, you need to choose colors that work together. Try different shades of the same color (like a light and dark green), colors next to each other on the color wheel (like purple and blue), or similarly shaded colors (like pastels) for the best effect.

Limit your design to three colors

A defining characteristic of the watercolor trend is the way the colors bleed together. And it’s a great look—as long as you keep the color count to a minimum. If you’re using real watercolors and are going for the “bleed together” look, stick to just a few colors with your watercolor design—three or less is best. Anything more and your colors will look like a muddled, brown mess when they bleed together. If you really want to use all the colors of the rainbow in your design, make sure to keep them separate or wait for the first layer to dry before going in with the next.

Choose a focal point

The watercolor design trend works best when it’s limited to one focal point, whether that’s the font in your logo, a patterned background for your website, or as the style framework for your illustration. If you try to incorporate it in too many ways—like in the background, text, and graphic of your logo—it can start to feel visually overwhelming.

Don’t get caught up in trying to make your design look perfect

Design by Rebecca Reck Art

Like we mentioned earlier, one of the biggest appeals of the watercolor design trend is the “imperfect-on-purpose” feel—so don’t get caught up in trying to make your design look perfect.

The best watercolor designs are a little unpolished—but that just adds to their visual interest. The imperfect, slapdash lines and splotches are exactly what makes watercolor designs looks so unique and natural. So go ahead, live a little—(water)color outside the lines.

Hop on board the watercolor trend —

As you can see, watercolor is one of the most versatile design trends right now. You can use the watercolor trend to add flair and personality to almost anything—and if its recent popularity is any indicator, it’s not going anywhere for awhile. And now that you know how to make the watercolor trend work for you, all that’s left to do is get designing!

Ready to bring your watercolor design vision to life?

We’ve got designers waiting to make it happen. Get in touch with them today.

Yes please!

The post The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it appeared first on 99designs.

via 99designs https://99designs.co.uk/blog/trends-en-gb/the-watercolor-design-trend/

[myongfisher]

The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it

Design by La Chicana

No matter how old you are, chances are when you were a kid, watercolors were your jam. But watercolors have been a staple for artists for hundreds of years. Their distinct look and feel has made them a beloved favorite of everyone from preschoolers making a mess during craft time to seasoned artists looking to create their next masterpiece.

Watercolors are a timeless classic—but in recent years, they’ve also become one of the hottest trends in the design world for everything from illustrations to logo design to text effects.

But what, exactly, is it about the watercolor trend that has designers hopping on board? Why are watercolors so hot right now? And how can you incorporate watercolors into your designs in a way that’s going to feel on-trend and make a lasting impact on your audience?

First things first: defining the watercolor trend —

Image via The Great Courses

Before we dive into how to incorporate the watercolor trend into your designs, let’s talk about what, exactly, the watercolor design trend is.

Watercolor design is—well, exactly what it sounds like. It’s incorporating watercolors into your designs—which you can do by a) creating digital designs (in a program like Photoshop) that mimic the look and feel of watercolor paint, or b) actually using watercolors to paint on paper, scanning in your finished products, and then using them to create digital designs.

There are a few key characteristics that define the watercolor style, including:

The water effect

Design by Xenia Ericovna

Remember when you used to dip your paintbrush in water, then dip it in paint and brush it across the page? That “water” effect—where the color seems to bleed into the page—is one of the key characteristics of the watercolor trend.

The water effect can happen when you have one color (where the color bleeds into the page or background of the design) or multiple colors (when the colors seem to bleed together). The point is, in order for something to be considered a watercolor design, it needs to actually look like it was created with water.

Texture

Design by T o n k a

Another characteristic of watercolor design? Texture.

That water effect we were just talking about? It creates some super interesting and unique textures that you won’t see with any other kind of design. The water changes the saturation of the color, how it spreads across the page, how it interacts with the other colors in the design…and all of that comes together to create depth and interest that scream “watercolor.”

The imperfect-on-purpose look and feel

Design by by extrafin

One of the coolest characteristics of the watercolor trend—and one of the reasons it’s having such a moment right now—is the imperfect-on-purpose look and feel you get with your final design.

The handmade vibe that’s inherent of watercolors (whether the design is painted by hand or created digitally) lends itself to a certain unique, one-of-a-kind quality that’s hard to find with more streamlined, color-inside-the-lines designs. It looks imperfect, but on purpose—which creates a cool, laid-back, hand-crafted effect that people (and brands!) love.

Where (and how) is the watercolor trend showing up? —

Alright, so now that we’ve covered what the watercolor trend is, let’s talk about how and where it’s showing up.

One of the reasons the watercolor trend is so popular is because it’s incredibly versatile. You can use a subtle watercolor effect as an accent in a design, create a more elaborate pattern for a background that has a real “wow” factor, or incorporate it as a detailed focal point in your design.

And where is it showing up? In a word—everywhere.

Here are a few design categories where the watercolor trend is clearly having a serious moment:

Logo design

For logo design, incorporating the watercolor trend as an accent—like in the text or as part of a graphic—can be a great way to add visual interest and a handmade feel to your logo.

Logo design by ananana14

Business cards

For business cards, the watercolor design trend makes the perfect background—that way, the effect is subtle and doesn’t take away from the contact details on the card.

Business card design by Julia Panchenko

Web design

There are a lot of different ways to incorporate the watercolor trend into web design. You can use it as a subtle background, a more bold pattern, or in small accents (like on a graphic). There’s no right or wrong when it comes to watercolor and web design, so go wild!

Image via Collette Dinnigan

Book covers

If you want your book to jump off the shelf, you need to grab people’s attention—and the watercolor trend is a great way to do that. Use bold or soft colors, a variety of colors or a few tones of the same color, a subtle background or a more prominent accent—whatever you choose, it’s going to make a statement by adding some personality and flair.

Book cover design by BeniceSebass

Packaging

With packaging, it’s the same principle as with book covers—the watercolor trend will give your product packaging a touch of one-of-a-kind uniqueness. You want your product to catch the eyes of your ideal clients, so incorporate watercolors in whatever way feels true to your brand and use them to tell your clients who you are.

Product packaging design by bow wow wow

Apparel

With apparel, the key to successfully using the watercolor trend? Less is more. No one wants to walk around looking like a set of watercolors exploded all over their sweatshirt, so if you’re going for a background effect, keep colors subtle. If you want to use bold, strong colors, keep it to a small accent for maximum impact (without creating visual overwhelm).

Apparel design by Konstantin Kostenko for Dog Bright

How to incorporate the watercolor trend in your designs —

Ok, so now that you’ve seen what the watercolor trend looks like in action, let’s talk about how to incorporate it into your designs.

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind to make the watercolor trend work for you:

Use colors that work together

Design by Strijkdesign

The watercolor trend is a great opportunity to get creative with your color choices—but you can’t throw color theory out the window.

If you want your final design to look visually appealing, you need to choose colors that work together. Try different shades of the same color (like a light and dark green), colors next to each other on the color wheel (like purple and blue), or similarly shaded colors (like pastels) for the best effect.

Limit your design to three colors

A defining characteristic of the watercolor trend is the way the colors bleed together. And it’s a great look—as long as you keep the color count to a minimum. If you’re using real watercolors and are going for the “bleed together” look, stick to just a few colors with your watercolor design—three or less is best. Anything more and your colors will look like a muddled, brown mess when they bleed together. If you really want to use all the colors of the rainbow in your design, make sure to keep them separate or wait for the first layer to dry before going in with the next.

Choose a focal point

The watercolor design trend works best when it’s limited to one focal point, whether that’s the font in your logo, a patterned background for your website, or as the style framework for your illustration. If you try to incorporate it in too many ways—like in the background, text, and graphic of your logo—it can start to feel visually overwhelming.

Don’t get caught up in trying to make your design look perfect

Design by Rebecca Reck Art

Like we mentioned earlier, one of the biggest appeals of the watercolor design trend is the “imperfect-on-purpose” feel—so don’t get caught up in trying to make your design look perfect.

The best watercolor designs are a little unpolished—but that just adds to their visual interest. The imperfect, slapdash lines and splotches are exactly what makes watercolor designs looks so unique and natural. So go ahead, live a little—(water)color outside the lines.

Hop on board the watercolor trend —

As you can see, watercolor is one of the most versatile design trends right now. You can use the watercolor trend to add flair and personality to almost anything—and if its recent popularity is any indicator, it’s not going anywhere for awhile. And now that you know how to make the watercolor trend work for you, all that’s left to do is get designing!

Ready to bring your watercolor design vision to life?

We’ve got designers waiting to make it happen. Get in touch with them today.

Yes please!

The post The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it appeared first on 99designs.

The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it published first on https://www.lilpackaging.com/

[susaanrogers]

The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it

Design by La Chicana

No matter how old you are, chances are when you were a kid, watercolors were your jam. But watercolors have been a staple for artists for hundreds of years. Their distinct look and feel has made them a beloved favorite of everyone from preschoolers making a mess during craft time to seasoned artists looking to create their next masterpiece.

Watercolors are a timeless classic—but in recent years, they’ve also become one of the hottest trends in the design world for everything from illustrations to logo design to text effects.

But what, exactly, is it about the watercolor trend that has designers hopping on board? Why are watercolors so hot right now? And how can you incorporate watercolors into your designs in a way that’s going to feel on-trend and make a lasting impact on your audience?

First things first: defining the watercolor trend —

Image via The Great Courses

Before we dive into how to incorporate the watercolor trend into your designs, let’s talk about what, exactly, the watercolor design trend is.

Watercolor design is—well, exactly what it sounds like. It’s incorporating watercolors into your designs—which you can do by a) creating digital designs (in a program like Photoshop) that mimic the look and feel of watercolor paint, or b) actually using watercolors to paint on paper, scanning in your finished products, and then using them to create digital designs.

There are a few key characteristics that define the watercolor style, including:

The water effect

Design by Xenia Ericovna

Remember when you used to dip your paintbrush in water, then dip it in paint and brush it across the page? That “water” effect—where the color seems to bleed into the page—is one of the key characteristics of the watercolor trend.

The water effect can happen when you have one color (where the color bleeds into the page or background of the design) or multiple colors (when the colors seem to bleed together). The point is, in order for something to be considered a watercolor design, it needs to actually look like it was created with water.

Texture

Design by T o n k a

Another characteristic of watercolor design? Texture.

That water effect we were just talking about? It creates some super interesting and unique textures that you won’t see with any other kind of design. The water changes the saturation of the color, how it spreads across the page, how it interacts with the other colors in the design…and all of that comes together to create depth and interest that scream “watercolor.”

The imperfect-on-purpose look and feel

Design by by extrafin

One of the coolest characteristics of the watercolor trend—and one of the reasons it’s having such a moment right now—is the imperfect-on-purpose look and feel you get with your final design.

The handmade vibe that’s inherent of watercolors (whether the design is painted by hand or created digitally) lends itself to a certain unique, one-of-a-kind quality that’s hard to find with more streamlined, color-inside-the-lines designs. It looks imperfect, but on purpose—which creates a cool, laid-back, hand-crafted effect that people (and brands!) love.

Where (and how) is the watercolor trend showing up? —

Alright, so now that we’ve covered what the watercolor trend is, let’s talk about how and where it’s showing up.

One of the reasons the watercolor trend is so popular is because it’s incredibly versatile. You can use a subtle watercolor effect as an accent in a design, create a more elaborate pattern for a background that has a real “wow” factor, or incorporate it as a detailed focal point in your design.

And where is it showing up? In a word—everywhere.

Here are a few design categories where the watercolor trend is clearly having a serious moment:

Logo design

For logo design, incorporating the watercolor trend as an accent—like in the text or as part of a graphic—can be a great way to add visual interest and a handmade feel to your logo.

Logo design by ananana14

Business cards

For business cards, the watercolor design trend makes the perfect background—that way, the effect is subtle and doesn’t take away from the contact details on the card.

Business card design by Julia Panchenko

Web design

There are a lot of different ways to incorporate the watercolor trend into web design. You can use it as a subtle background, a more bold pattern, or in small accents (like on a graphic). There’s no right or wrong when it comes to watercolor and web design, so go wild!

Image via Collette Dinnigan

Book covers

If you want your book to jump off the shelf, you need to grab people’s attention—and the watercolor trend is a great way to do that. Use bold or soft colors, a variety of colors or a few tones of the same color, a subtle background or a more prominent accent—whatever you choose, it’s going to make a statement by adding some personality and flair.

Book cover design by BeniceSebass

Packaging

With packaging, it’s the same principle as with book covers—the watercolor trend will give your product packaging a touch of one-of-a-kind uniqueness. You want your product to catch the eyes of your ideal clients, so incorporate watercolors in whatever way feels true to your brand and use them to tell your clients who you are.

Product packaging design by bow wow wow

Apparel

With apparel, the key to successfully using the watercolor trend? Less is more. No one wants to walk around looking like a set of watercolors exploded all over their sweatshirt, so if you’re going for a background effect, keep colors subtle. If you want to use bold, strong colors, keep it to a small accent for maximum impact (without creating visual overwhelm).

Apparel design by Konstantin Kostenko for Dog Bright

How to incorporate the watercolor trend in your designs —

Ok, so now that you’ve seen what the watercolor trend looks like in action, let’s talk about how to incorporate it into your designs.

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind to make the watercolor trend work for you:

Use colors that work together

Design by Strijkdesign

The watercolor trend is a great opportunity to get creative with your color choices—but you can’t throw color theory out the window.

If you want your final design to look visually appealing, you need to choose colors that work together. Try different shades of the same color (like a light and dark green), colors next to each other on the color wheel (like purple and blue), or similarly shaded colors (like pastels) for the best effect.

Limit your design to three colors

A defining characteristic of the watercolor trend is the way the colors bleed together. And it’s a great look—as long as you keep the color count to a minimum. If you’re using real watercolors and are going for the “bleed together” look, stick to just a few colors with your watercolor design—three or less is best. Anything more and your colors will look like a muddled, brown mess when they bleed together. If you really want to use all the colors of the rainbow in your design, make sure to keep them separate or wait for the first layer to dry before going in with the next.

Choose a focal point

The watercolor design trend works best when it’s limited to one focal point, whether that’s the font in your logo, a patterned background for your website, or as the style framework for your illustration. If you try to incorporate it in too many ways—like in the background, text, and graphic of your logo—it can start to feel visually overwhelming.

Don’t get caught up in trying to make your design look perfect

Design by Rebecca Reck Art

Like we mentioned earlier, one of the biggest appeals of the watercolor design trend is the “imperfect-on-purpose” feel—so don’t get caught up in trying to make your design look perfect.

The best watercolor designs are a little unpolished—but that just adds to their visual interest. The imperfect, slapdash lines and splotches are exactly what makes watercolor designs looks so unique and natural. So go ahead, live a little—(water)color outside the lines.

Hop on board the watercolor trend —

As you can see, watercolor is one of the most versatile design trends right now. You can use the watercolor trend to add flair and personality to almost anything—and if its recent popularity is any indicator, it’s not going anywhere for awhile. And now that you know how to make the watercolor trend work for you, all that’s left to do is get designing!

Ready to bring your watercolor design vision to life?

We’ve got designers waiting to make it happen. Get in touch with them today.

Yes please!

The post The watercolor design trend: what it looks like and how to use it appeared first on 99designs.

[jamiekturner]

Background pattern examples that you should check out

A good background pattern can make or break a website. Background patterns serve to provide interest and contrast to a webpage design. The trick, however, is finding the right one. A textured background can all too easily become a distraction or a detriment to your content.

Finding a good background pattern can be hard because there are so many out there. What looks good in a sample may not look very good as a background texture for a full webpage.

Here are some great background patterns for you to try. They are refined and light background patterns, percent for a variety of web pages with all sorts of different topics and content.

Background pattern examples

Seamless Space Pattern

[FREE] Woodgrain Pattern

Seamless Polygon Backgrounds Vol.2

FREE PATTERNS SET – VOL.2

Wood pattern background

6 Quirky Geometric Patterns

FREE AMAZINGLY FRESH VECTOR PATTERNS!

Mid century patterns

Subtle tile patterns vol 7

8 Free Seamless Vector Topographic Map Patterns

Free Set of Background Patterns

3 Recycled Paper Textures

15 FREE FRESH COLORFUL PATTERNS

25 White Background Texture Patterns

Catch-all* Patterns Pack

New Set of Subtle Background Patterns

Blueprint Pattern *Freebie

Breakfast Pattern Freebie

CHRISTMAS PATTERNS – FREEBIE

Free Hand-Made Patterns

Free pattern

Free New Set of Material Design Patterns

Office Things

Blue wooden wall

Crack, texture, paint and cracked paint

ELNÒS Shopping mall pattern

Patterned background

Screen Print & Wool Patterns

Seamless Polygon Backgrounds Vol.2

Geometric Seamless Patterns

This pack of three geometric background patterns offers a modern look that can be as bold or subtle as you want. Every one of the patterns in the set comes in vector AI format, vector EPS format, JPEG format, and transparent PNG format.

All of the files contain a seamless pattern, so you can use them for any length of website without having any unsightly seams pop up. These abstract background patterns have a nice modern simplicity. It costs $7 for the standard license and $70 for the extended license.

Dotted/Striped Seamless Patterns

If you’re looking for a simple pattern for your webpage, this webpage background pattern pack is for you. The 14 simple, seamless designs all have light dot and/or stripe designs. You can easily change the color and size of them in Adobe Illustrator.

This pack includes JPG, PNG, and Eps files of every pattern. This is really the go-to texture pack if you want a very simplified background pattern. The standard license costs $6 and the extended license costs $49.

Woodgrain Seamless Vector Patterns

Wood grain makes for some very cool textures in a website. It adds a touch of class or a rustic air depending on how you use it. This website background pack comes with 6 wood grain web textures. It includes vector EPS, vector AI, JPEG, and PNG files.

You can scale all the vector graphics and edit them in Adobe Illustrator. You can purchase this background pattern pack for $11 under the standard license and $89 under the extended license.

Organic Patterns

For a more natural yet still abstract touch for your website background, this background texture pack offers 8 seamless patterns inspired by nature, including giraffe spots and woodgrain-like striped. All of them are still abstract, giving a modern edge to these naturalistic patterns. The pack comes with 8 patterns in vector EPS, vector AI, JPEG, and PNG file formats.

There are two color palettes available for all 8 patterns. All graphics can be scaled without loss in quality and the vectors can be edited. Purchase this background texture pack under the standard license for $14 and under the extended license for $89.

Chalkboard Seamless Textures

A chalkboard background texture can be perfect for many websites. This pack includes 18 excellent seamless chalkboard textures in gray, green, and black.

If you’re looking for green textures for an educational website, or just a simple smart set of dark textures, this offers you some great options. This pack includes .pat and .png files. It is available for $8 under the standard license and for $80 under the extended license.

Watercolor Floral Patterns

This collection of floral pattern backgrounds offers you a lot of options. They are truly lovely patterns that will bring a bright and lovely touch to your website design. It includes 28 hand-drawn patterned images in a variety of color palettes. This is a set of free background images.

Realistic Shelves on Wall Backgrounds

If you want to bring in a homey touch to your website design, take a look at this set of 6 background textures. It offers you a set of 6 images of shelves on realistic backgrounds in JPG and PNG file formats. These are a pack of 6 free textures.

Twisting Patterns

This is a set of 2 seamless abstract background patterns. You can easily change their colors in either Abode Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. These patterns look great and interesting but are still light enough to keep from being distracting. These cool textures are available for free.

Big Stripes Set

Thus pattern back contains a set of 5 bold, retro striped patterns. They look great and have a number of color combinations that can look good as a number of website backgrounds. This set of 5 is available for free. This is a small fraction of a full pack available of 48 striped backgrounds for purchase on Creative Market.

Tuff Textures Brushes

If you want to modify your existing backgrounds or images to add a more grungy look, this brushes pack offers a set of 4 hi-brushes to add a rough look to any texture. This pack of 4 is free. You can also purchase the full pack of 20 Tuff Brushes on Creative Market.

Marble Halftone Textures Pack

This set of 6 marble textures will work for almost any webpage. It includes both classical modern marble texture patterns as well as more modern takes on the marble look. This set of marble textures is free. It is a small fraction of a pack of 30 Marble Halftone background textures available for purchase.

Magic Watercolor Texture Bundle

These abstract backgrounds look great n a number of websites. They offer a dash of color and asymmetry guaranteed to make your website interesting. They have a certain dreamy look to them. This pack includes 7 watercolor patterns. It is a set of free background textures. You can purchase the free set of 30 Magic Watercolor Textures Bundle on Creative Market.

Handmade Watercolour Washes

This is a set of 4 simple patterns. They offer a bright yet soft touch to any website background. They have been scanned into digital format high resolution. This set of 4 is amiable for free. You can also find a full set of 24 Handmade Watercolour Washes for purchase on Creative Market.

Realistic Field Landscape Backgrounds

This set of 10 realistic backgrounds can be great for a website looking for a more naturalistic touch. They are serene yet interesting. This is a set of free website backgrounds, but you can also get the full set 100 for purchase on Creative Market.

If you enjoyed reading this article about using a background pattern, you should read these as well:

46 Dark Seamless And Tileable Patterns For Your Website’s Background

Carbon Fiber Texture Examples to Use As Background For Your Designs

Retro logo design: Vintage branding best practices and inspiration

The post Background pattern examples that you should check out appeared first on Design your way.

from Web Development & Designing https://www.designyourway.net/blog/resources/background-pattern/