Applying custom pattern fills to whole document in designer and/or photo

[dannythedog11]

As a surface pattern designer I have historically used Adobe photoshop to create stand-alone repeating patterns with or without backgrounds that are also designed to incorporate texture and/or pattern. The resulting designs were saved as "defined patterns" and applied to artboards of any size using the following steps:

1. edit——define pattern—-ok
2. Open new document e.g. 10,000x10,000px
3. edit—-fill—-contents (select pattern option as opposed to foreground or background fill) ——select required pattern from a list—-ok

While I am very happy at the switch to Affinity I am struggling to figure out how to visually proof my designs this way (which are often designed using 2000px square artboards to create the repeat) when I need to be able to show that the repeat is working and simultaneously put the size it was created at into perspective. Also, some websites require large areas of repeat (up to 15,000px square) to enable on demand printing of fabric in the specific design.

I have attached a couple of examples below to demonstrate the kind of work that I am discussing here.

As a designer who is relatively new to digital systems I am focused on the creative aspect of my work and not especially tech savvy, so would appreciate an “idiots guide” approach to this if anyone has the time to respond. Any support with this would be much appreciated.

Kind regards

[Callum]

Hi Dannythedog11,

Welcome to the forums

There is no way to do this the way you used to in Adobe I recommend looking at the below video for information on making patterns. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CktZ8gb1NiM

 

Thanks

C

[dannythedog11]

Hi Callum,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post, I really appreciate your input.

I will certainly take a look at the youtube video as you advise.

 

Kind Regards

H

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[Sara72]

If your using Designer i like these tutorials by East coast charm using symbols : Create A Pattern Template In Affinity Designer       Half Drop Repeat In Affinity Designer Using Symbols

You can also create just a basic fill of a pattern using the Gradient fill tool and choosing bitmap fill from the 'Type' setting, in drop down list on the contest toolbar.

[dannythedog11]

Hi Lagarto,

Thank you for this. I have been somewhat concerned about tiling patterns as hairlines often result, but this looks great! 

Do you have a particular system for placing the 2000px squares or is it just a copy and paste then place into position with the help of the transform tool for positioning?

Kind Regards  

[dannythedog11]

Hi Summersara,

Thank you for your input. 

I have tried a few different variations on tiling of patterns and most often seem to end up with hairlines in my background even if I complete the background in pixel persona. As a result I have gone back to the way I used to achieve large repeats of patterns using the wrap and affine functions in photo, which gives a perfect result. The only difference is that I create the symbols/assets in vector persona. My issue is just scaling up the finished repeating area so that I can upload to sites like Society6 who require a finished size upload..

Regards  

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