Designs using draw programs

The first unit of our course (unit CC1) deals almost exclusively with draw programs. It seems, therefore, a good idea to show you what can be done with draw programs. I have selected mainly ones that I have created using  Designworks. It is the most basic of the programs that I still use. I started designing on the Amstrad 512PC (1987 to 1990), then I had a spell on the Atari (1990 to 1994). When we got our first PC, I flirted with Corel3 before I found Designworks. At that time, it was much simpler, quicker and more user friendly than the earlier versions of Corel. I’m a big girl now and I do use Corel when I want special effects but I am still amazed by the flexibility of this little program.

Shadows, 1997

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Based on a scribble I did whilst relaxing in our front room where there was an interesting (RM), squalid (AS), pile of materials on one of the bookshelves. I was exploring shapes in profile. The blends were a later idea - prompted by the light on the steel framework. I have included it here because I want to stress the value of that sketch pad. Jot down things you like. Then make them into designs and patterns. Anything can be grist to the mill; and although this has yet to inspire anything, it could trigger off an idea in the future.

Silken lights, 1998

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This, on the other hand, is an attempt to recreate an image that I made using filters into one that I can piece. And that’s where a vector program really comes into its own - as well as being far more economical than a paint program. I can scale an image like this up to a full quilt size - say 1.5 m x 1.5m - and print out a full-size template (provided I don’t mind sticking lots of sheets of paper together)! No quilt yet, but the more I look at it...

Early fractals, 1999

Before I started this course, I wanted to create a series of small quilts based on the two millennia that end with the beginning of 2001! I still might - I’ll have a real need to convert designs into cloth fairly soon! This image is an exercise in curves - an advanced exercise! But once you have a design like this you can manipulate it to your heart’s content. (No larger image - sorry!)

Tiles from Rievaulx, mid-thirteenth century, 1999

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Here the source came from a later period. These are all tile patterns from the ruined Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire. Again they represent an advanced exercise in curves, as well as a jolly exercise in colour matching. They may or may not appear in the millennium project.

Pattern of vases, 1998

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A pattern using yet more patterns and a few tricks. This was simply an exercise I set myself to see what I could do. There is an art to creating all-over patterns, and we can explore some of these later. I was simply having fun - and I hope that you will as well if you follow the course.

Hearts and flowers, 1998

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There is a lot of enjoyment to be had from moving between design and fabric and back again. I found I had to develop new techniques to recreate in cloth some of the images I was creating on the computer. This design takes a technique that I call ’cut and butt’ a stage further. First the design, then the technique and then a further design and hopefully, in the not too distant future, a further interpretation in textile.

African images, 1997

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Another design showing repetition and pattern, and a possible candidate for some new techniques. Unlike CorelDraw, Designworks doesn’t have its own large collection of patterns that you can use. Its random pattern, however,  is very useful, and I now go shopping for random fabrics all the time for my own quilts.

A fine flourish, 1998

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If you wanted to go in for banknote forgery you would definitely need a draw program. Patterns such as these can be attractive in their own right or inspire wonderful developments in thread. Blame the Spirograph I had as a child for their fascination. These are easy to create in CorelDraw or Designworks.

Shooting stars, 1998

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Here is something which is much easier in Corel than in Designworks - and probably even easier in Freehand8. It is an exercise in blending objects of different sizes and curving paths. Didn’t get as far as pretty colours. Hopefully, you will.