#seamless patterns

[vintagesimstress]

Proto-tartan Patterns

Once my new colour palettes were ready, I could finally move to the thing which prompted their remake in the first place: meaning, a total overhaul of the tartan(-esque?) swatches I use for recolouring stuff.

Remember my old set of tartan patterns? I've been gradually getting less and less happy with them. Sure, they were pretty, no doubt - a little bit too pretty. Kind of complex. Kind of time-consuming to make. Kind of... not screaming 'iron age'. And not at all consistent with the colour palette I was using at the time. So I decided to remake them.

Completely. From scratch.

This time I wanted to be smarter. This time I had a vision. And a plan.

Hear me out.

(or just DOWNLOAD them from my Patreon - as always all free from day one - if you don't feel like reading this dissertation; why does it always get so long ffs...)

So the thing is - we don't know much about how pre-Roman Britons dressed. They left no written records and, as their textiles were, obviously, organic, they decomposed long ago, so archaeology is of little help as well. However, there's one thing we do know, as all ancient writers agree on it: namely, that their clothing was strikingly 'colourful'. Considering Romans themselves had better access to vibrant dyes and textiles, that probably wasn't it; and so it's a truth universally acknowledged (or at least believed) that said 'colourfulness' was a result of insular Celts using multi-coloured patterns, as opposed to Roman monochrome style. How exactly those patterns looked, we have no way of knowing. Some interpret it simply as stripes; others as some chequered patterns; and others dare to call it proto-tartan. I went with the last one.

Trying to come up with swatches which would make sense for those times was a tricky task - you know? Because on the one hand, I didn't want them to be obviously anachronistic; and imagining a life of a Brittonic commoner woman, I could see that she'd have no time and energy left to make literally any of my old tartan swatches. What would a farmer's wife wear? She'd be making her clothes herself, of course - so what would she go for? Something simple, not that time-consuming, not requiring too much concentration. Maybe two shades of natural wool; maybe dyeing some skeins of white wool some easily accessible colour; maaaybe two dyed colours, if she liked to dress up. But dyeing her wool ten different colours and then weaving them into beautiful, perfectly symmetrical patterns, like the ones from my old set? I think not.

Then again, we have that ugly tendency of assuming people in the past were somehow 'lower' then us, especially when it's about illiterate societies. Yet every now and then archaeologists find old textiles which miraculously survived millennia, and time and time again we're flabbergasted by how intricate they are, how well-made, how fine, how... Damn expensive. I have no reason to believe it was any different in case of ancient Britons. Whatever a Celtic chieftess wore, she surely wasn't running around in a potato sack; and considering Roman officials would probably interact mostly with the richer members of the society, it makes sense that their 'wooooow, so colourful' comments were inspired mostly by those upper-class garments.

And so I decided to invent and implement a kind of class-stratification system, i.e. different pattern rules for different social classes. Totally arbitrary, totally made up, totally not backed by any sources - just a simple product of the time I spent wondering 'what would've made sense'. Oh, and this time all the colours come from my new palette(s), so it's all consistent. I found an online tartan maker and got to work.

See? I told you I had a plan.

The free version of the tartan maker let me mix maximum of 5 colours and I happily agreed to this limit, basing the bulk of my rigid social classes' system exactly on this: the number of colours used. Their provenience also played a role. And of course I went for the holy number of 85 swatches - divided into five groups:

Group I - lower class casual dress. Five patterns only in undyed wool, 20 patterns in one shade of undyed wool + one dyed colour. Altogether 25 swatches;

Group II - lower class fancy dress & middle class casual dress. Two dyed colours, only from the northern palette. 20 swatches;

Group III - middle class fancy dress & upper class casual dress. Three colours, whichever, including the imported ones, with the exception of Roman luxury dyes (kermes, turmeric, saffron, Tyrian purple). Again 20 swatches;

Group IV - upper class fancy dress. Four colours, whichever, even the luxury ones. I guess not too many sims could land so high on top, so it's only 10 swatches;

Group V - aka 'when you're the chief of the most powerful tribe on the isle and you've conquered anything of value so you're basically a king'. Five colours, whichever, most swatches with heavy emphasis on the luxury dyes. Another 10 swatches.

Here you can see the difference visualised on a dress I'm currently working on (don't pay too close attention to alignment and such, it's still a wip). For example, a progression of different purple & yellow combos:

See the difference? We went all the way from birch mixed with elderberry to Tyrian purple mixed with saffron. (Which, btw... Can you get any posher than that???)

Or the progression of reds and yellows. The last swatch looks almost like the first one from the old set (yup, I took lots of inspiration from it when I was struggling to design those 4 or 5 colour combos):

And here another swatch from group V, just because I love it. Perfect for a sim who's rich and not afraid to show it:

That's woad, kermes, saffron and turmeric you're seeing here. In your face peasants.

So. That was a very long post about a very niche thing that probably not many people care about 😅 But if you, dear gentle reader, do care and think you might find those patterns useful, grab that 7z package and enjoy! (download link, in case you missed it, HERE).

PS. They're all 64x64, so you should be able to safely use them as swatches' thumbnails too!

PS2. And of course they're seamless. That felt too obvious to need mentioning ;)

[nicatnite88]

Strawberry snails

What's better than snails and strawberries? Strawberry snails! This is a pattern drawn and... patterened... by yours truly. I have to admit I traced Eli's strawberries, with his permission ofc bc he's lovely like that. I may have also use most of his palette, again with permission. He is also the one who taught me how to do this, answered all of my questions, and made a bunch of video tutorials for me whenever I was confused. So really, the credit goes 90% Eli, 10% me. Links under the cut!

Download

SFS: .png files .pat file

PATREON (always free)

If you like this pattern (or even if you don't) check out @pluto-sims!

[oswanily]

Simblreen gifts I'm posting now before I forget again:

Floral Seamless Patterns!

A set of 21 floral patterns: the three shown above with different background colors (the middle one has two slightly different versions). PNG files so you can use them with any software you want!

Use to make CC or for whatever you want!

The assets come from flaticon (I think).

Download: SFS

Voidcritters Seamless Patterns!

Patterns! There is 40 of them, with 10 different voidcritters and different background colors! Not all the critters are there though, because I thought 40 patterns was enough... So I'm open to making a part two!

They are PNG files, in a .RAR folder.

Download: SFS

@maxismatchccworld @mmfinds @mmoutfitters @eileenccfolder

[potatobugdiy]

It will be here before you know it!

https://www.zazzle.com/collections/tis_the_season-119644157301744621?rf=238435928040596360

--This Post contains affiliate links meaning I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through one of my links--

[flootdraws]

[heymeriem]

[designbrowser]

Royal Flowers Watercolor Clipart

[theheathergreen]

(via Free Wolf Png Clipart and Patterns Graphic by HG Designs · Creative Fabrica)

[simpleglyphs]

Sunflower patterns and illustrations.

[matad0r]

LOOKING FOR CREATIVE COMMERCIAL USE 80'S PATTERNS?

Click on my Etsy store, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. All vintage, retro, low-priced patterns (most are only like $2.75).

If you have any recommendations for future retro prints, shoot me a DM.

[vintagesimstress]

Tartan Patterns for Recolours

05 January 2025 edit: both 'thumbnails' packages updated for dx11 (now 64x64 is the only of the three sizes I originally used which doesn't result in llamas). Please redownload!

***

Just a couple of resources this time, both for your potential use and for future reference, so that I wouldn't have to take screenshots of all the swatches every time I recolour something in those patterns :)

17 supposedly Welsh + 85 random pretty tartan patterns, the latter taken from clan.com. All seamless ofc.

Come also in 'thumbnails' versions, which will be recognised by the game if you import them in S4S as swatches' symbols. Beware, those are not necessarily seamless (though most still are ;)).

(They need some specific dimensions apparently. I didn't manage to fully crack the game's logic, but at least I know that 160x160 and 64x64 both work fine. The og dimensions, i.e. 54x54, 358x358 and 150x150 result in llama symbols. I'm not even trying to understand :]) (Edit: not valid anymore, see the 2025 edit note)..

Please tag me if you use them - and keep your eyes open for that cape you see above!

Check them out on my Patreon

[nicatnite88]

I’m moving (temporarily) 800 miles away, so while I will be without my computer I figured I’d share my entire google drive full of seamless patterns.  All of the patterns should be completely tested.  Included in the drive are my pride patterns and graphics.  Please feel free to use any and all of them, I would love to see them!!

Google Drive

[vizualstorm]

Seamless Spoiled Dog Digital Patterns

[potatobugdiy]

https://potatobugdiy.com/creating-seamless-patterns/

[funkyfunkyprintsco]

FunkyFunkyPrintsCo - Funky, Fun and Whimsical Digital Art designs for You! Introducing Funky Funky Prints - a company dedicated to infusing your space with an unmistakable sense of whimsy and style. We believe in the power of visuals to brighten up your day and are committed to delivering top-notch designs that will make you smile. Opting for a professional print service can yield a truly genuine replication of your fine art, capturing all of its beauty, intricacies, and nuances with accuracy.

[heymeriem]