Looking back at some of my patterns, I can see that my elements are either very large, or very small, and usually around the same size in each pattern. This is something I want to work on more, because I think its the little details in a pattern that can fill the small negative space gaps that I find stick out in my tossed patterns.
I started working in this style of mark mking, using a good shape as the backing colour and adding a darker shade over the top instead of a flat black, although I did keep black outlines in some of the leaves to have that variety that I wanted to have in there. I like the new dragonfly designs too, I think they are simpler but also have an interesting mark-making quality to them. I also researched the idea of the lilies that are often seen in large ponds, I wish I could have gone out and found my own as research, but using the internet I managed to find a few sources to draw these.
The ladybird is the key of the collection, I want to use the designs on the giftbag for this and I want it to be a detailed and attractive motif. They obviously have a very recognisable colour within the shades of red, pink and orange so this was a shade I knew definitely had to be in there. I thought originally choosing a muted red was the way to go, but after changing it to this dark red or pink shade, I think this allowed me to think better about the colour board and use pinks instead because the dragonflies and beetles could be done in these shades.
I think the pinks really go with the muted greens I used as well, and adding a touch of yellow in the designs has been very good and relates to lily pads, which is where I originally added it as when they die they tend to go for a more yellow shade.
I also simplified the ladybirds from the patternwork I tried first, and I think even though the top ones are more intricate and interesting images, the bottom ones will go better with the rest of the motifs in this new style I have tried out. I particularly like the idea of the quick lines, which leave some white inside the motif giving it a more creative and painterly quality.
I also looked into the movement of the insects a few bugs ago, I plan on putting a beetle to walk through some sand to see its texture if I can find one in the garden, it would not give me a really clear indicator but it gives me an idea of the path it takes. I did look at the way the legs move in the videos when they walk, and the movement of the anatomy, and I found the beetle and the dragonfly both incorporate a circular motion with their body parts that causes this effect to their legs or wings. The little squiggles I created are examples of this, some I imagined would be very close to the texture, and others were more further away. The straighter lines I imagined could be the route that they would take over the course of a few centimetres of movement, and others I thought were within a millimetre on how the leg is actually moving.
Overall I am much happier with this colour scheme and how it already looks here as separate motifs, and I think I could create some quite interesting patterns from these.
Tahlia Paige 