LittleLion Studio » pattern

Quick Tips # 2 – Changing a Pattern’s Background Color

LittleLion — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:32:21 +0000

There are several ways to adapt a pattern to the project you’re working on. One of the most hassle free options would be a simple background color change.

Easy as it may sound though (and it really is!), there are a few steps to follow to make sure you get the desired result.

If in doubt, check this video and start coloring your backgrounds away!

Quick Tips #1 – Adjusting a Pattern’s Size and Repeats for Final Printing

LittleLion — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:55 +0000

Ever so often I do receive requests from clients with varying levels of expertise in editing vector graphics asking me how to accomplish some simple but key changes before they can apply my designs in their projects. With this crowd in mind and taking to the heart the maxim that "a picture is worth a thousand words", I decided to experiment and see where 20 pictures per second would get me. ;-)

In other words, welcome to the first installment in a series of Quick Tips videos by LittleLion Studio!

The videos won’t follow a strict rule, just the general idea that I might be able to contribute a few tips here and there regarding techie stuff.

Without further ado, please feel free to watch the video on how to adjust a pattern’s size and repeats for final printing.

This video should be particularly interesting to those looking to print wide format jobs such as wallpaper, textile, canvas, posters and similar items.

If the resolution is too low for your taste and bandwidth, make sure to click/select "720" and watch the HD version in full screen mode.

Feel free to leave comments and suggestions for future videos.

Fabric Contest At Spoonflower

LittleLion — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:39:20 +0000

Ever wanted to see or have the chance to purchase one of LittleLion’s designs on fabric? Better yet… how about winning 5 yards of quilting-weight cotton fabric featuring LittleLion Studio’s "Flower’s Scent" pattern for FREE?!? Yes, you heard me… for FREE!! Well, you just might, with a bit of effort and a pinch of luck. Keep reading…

Step 2 - Click to highlight it dark green.

Step 3 - Keep browsing through until you reach the last page (page 10) and hit the "I’m done. Save my votes" button.

Step 4 - Verify the casting of your vote.

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If you’re an avid LittleLion Studio fan, you might have noticed something familiar while visiting Spoonflower’s website… yes, that’s right… they use our very own Asanoha inspired "Ode to Japan" pattern on their header’s background as well as a LittleLion flower blossoming their logo. Maybe this will bring us good luck, who knows… ;-)

Spoonflower, makers of custom printed fabric is holding yet another "Garden Fabrics" contest and this time around the winning pattern will be made available for sale on their website and the designer will receive a complimentary 5 yard stretch.

Here’s what you have to do:

1) Go to the contest’s page and follow the four steps to cast your vote. Unfortunately the vote is not IP based so go ahead and vote as many times as you like, day after day, until April 15.

2) Come back here and leave a comment.

That’s all there is to it! If it so happens that LittleLion Studio scores this one, the 5 yard fabric will be drawn among those who leave comments. And even if you’re not the lucky one, *if we win* (and that is a big if!), everyone would still be able to put orders for the fabric at Spoonflower, so what are you waiting for?

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The voting process is a bit cumbersome, here are the steps:

Step 1 - Browse through the contest’s pages until you see the "Flower’s Scent" pattern (it will show up in a different page each time).

Meanwhile

LittleLion — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:05:53 +0000

Hello earthlings, fear not, LittleLion is still here and still pumping, so don’t write us off just yet! ;-) The short absence is justifiable, read through if you will.

As most of you know by now, LittleLion Studio started as a hobby and as such, without rules, guidelines, best-practices and methods. Almost 3 years and 2,000 images later, things tend to get a little confusing to say the least. Multiple sales channels with different technical requirements and audience profiles don’t really help matters either. What am I to do? Organize!

Documenting best-practices, creating meta-data schemas, verifying technical consistency across files, developing a database to manage all artwork data and their statuses on all sales channels, creating analytical spreadsheets to learn

about and properly direct the business… altogether this is no small feat and as I’m sure you know, extremely time consuming.

These are the tasks I have been spending most of my time on lately and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, thus forcing a slower pace in other fronts such as content creation and posts.

But procedural work is not all. With organization comes business intelligence and with it, strategic decisions leading to innovations… I wish I could tell you to hold your breath but good things take time and I don’t want you to asphyxiate. All I’ll say is that patience is a rewarding virtue. :-)

Nevertheless, visibility is essential in microstock so meanwhile…

Get them from ShutterStock.

Moonbeams In A Starry Night

LittleLion — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:44:11 +0000

It is funny how the mind plays tricks on us. When we dream everything is so clear, so real and maybe it is… what is reality after all? Yet, when we wake up the brain starts to flush away those memories and what once was so absolutely vivid becomes blurred and vanishes away making room for the next night of sleep.

This feeling of dissipating images was what brought this print to life. Incomplete traces fading away but still resembling their original form, their original meaning. All those friendly figures surrounding the babies in comfy clothes and blankets, hanging above their cradles from a mobile or repeated in wallpapers in their original, complete shapes and contours… Are those candid figures inhabiting a baby’s dream?

There is no telling… But if they are, I hope when it comes time for them to dissipate in the awakening minutes, that they do so against a canvas of beautiful moonbeams in a starry night.

[Click on the images to enlarge]

This concludes the "Baby Prints Daily Series". I hope you have enjoyed the prints and their accompanying presentation and articles. ‘Till next time!

GET THEM FROM
(some links available, come back later for more!)

ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos

Need For Speed

LittleLion — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:16:33 +0000

"Au-au!" or "woof-woof!" as it is probably more suitable. Either way this is the story of a dog whom had "the need, the need for speed!". That is one reckless dog for sure. I tried to warn him about the consequences of all his crazy adventures… I told him "son, your ego’s been writing checks your body can’t cash" but he turned his back on me saying something along the lines of "it’s time to bust the tower…".

This little puppy listens to no one, he is such a maverick! And to make him even fuller of himself, he is such a hit with the ladies… I always hear them saying to him "…you take my breath away…" oh boy…

The other day I was trying to explain to him that competing without boundaries or rules could be self-destructing, I said "you are dangerous and you are fool" and he barked back at me "that’s right! I’m dangerous… and I’m taking you right into the danger zone!" at that nonsense I asked "you’re doing what?" and he answered me "don’t worry, when I hit the brakes, he’ll fly right by!" uh?!?!?! What a crazy dog!

[Click on the images to enlarge]

GET THEM FROM
(some links available, come back later for more!)

ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos

Breezy Meadows

LittleLion — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:47:59 +0000

Designing floral patterns for a baby collection is a highly subjective thing to do. Do flowers and floral arrangements really have an applicable, predetermined age range

from a commercial standpoint? I would guess the answer is no, but a "no" which goes both ways: one can easily apply a supposedly "baby" floral in any other imaginable floral project just as any brand could potentially manufacture diaper shirts using any "adult" floral out there. Still, I believe there is a fine and subtle difference between the two and that is exactly what I tried to portray in "Breezy Meadow". Now you will be the judge. [click images to enlarge]

GET THEM FROM
(some links available, come back for more later!)

ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos

O Barquinho

LittleLion — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:35:16 +0000

"Dia de luz, festa de sol e um barquinho a deslizar no macio azul do mar. Tudo é verão e o amor se faz, num barquinho pelo mar que desliza sem parar…"
Calm oceans, smooth sailing, clear skies, endless shades of blue. A gentle breeze warmed up by a soft bright sun. Is the rocking of the cradle just the rocking of a boat?

GET THEM FROM
(some links available, come back for more later!)

ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, DepositPhotos

Bubbly Bear

LittleLion — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:52:36 +0000

"Bubbly Bear" is the second installment of the "Baby Prints" collection which, as the name suggests, caters for the ever growing "baby" market segment.

Talking about colors at this point would be an exercise in futility, so instead, I would simply like to share with you a bit of my reasons and memories behind this print.

Throughout time, bears have been associated with care, protection, nurturing and parenting. Who among us never counted on "mamma bear" to help us out? Who never craved for a big bear hug from Daddy every now and then? In creating prints for children and babies, a friendly bear helps reinforce to both, protector and protected, their roles in the relationship, evoking responsibility on one side and safety on the other while propagating the social symbolism in the meantime.

When I was a little boy, my favorite cartoon bear was Hanna Barbera’s Yogi, Zé Colméia in Portuguese, also I could always count on my teddy bear for those comforting nights of sleep. So I guess my childhood was no exception to the rule…

Maybe it’s my Brazilian background but I was stunned when I realized that the name "Teddy Bear" actually comes from an unfortunate turned comical turned whimsical real event involving US President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt and a very unlucky bear! Read all about it here.

Baby bears are here to stay and so is the "Bubbly Bear"! I hope you enjoy "him" in all colorways.

GET THEM FROM
(some links available, come back for more later!)

ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos

Queen Of Dots

LittleLion — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:48:05 +0000

So here it is. The first of a series of prints for all things baby: The "Queen Of Dots". From onesies to the nursery’s wallpaper, from birth announcements to cute blankets, the application of this print is as broad as your imagination.

Since several of my "baby" designs end up in children clothing, even through copycat (yes, you know who you are), I thought I’d discuss a little about another very important aspect of colorways: their commercial relevance.

If you’re in the business, you know it is all about knowing and reaching your audience, and when we are talking "baby", colors separate markets.

As mentioned somewhere else, the very same print can look incredibly different once you start playing with the color palette, but it is not only about their looks but also about the message, the meaning each color combination conveys.

There is a clear relationship between the market size a company caters for and the colorways used in their collections. The larger the market, the longer and more expensive the production cycle is, which adversely affects any attempts at deviating from safe (merchant wise) choices. On the other hand, smaller shops cater for smaller markets, thus enjoying the benefits of a shorter and more dynamic production cycle allowing for experiments and lots of personality. The "Queen Of Dots" is a baby girl print using different colorways to cater for the different markets out there.

In the children wear market, for instance, certain color compositions are traditionally safer than others. "First Memories" is an example of a safe

bet. Manufacturers sell their designs to huge department store chains with at least one, but mostly a two season lead time and they can never go wrong with pink tones.

"The Age Of Innocence" is a small step towards edginess, with soft colors standing out smoothly from a pale white background, which could also translate into garments sized for toddlers.

The more dynamic your company is, the broader the possibilities become. "Silver Rain" is definitely more audacious, bringing lots more in style alongside.

If personality is the name of the game, then "Precious Gemstones" is your pick! The more vibrant colors pulls this print away from a certain monotony typical of the mass market.

You can easily see these relationships depicted in the graph, which implicitly begs the question: Where does profitability lie? That is not an easy question to answer. The smaller the market, the more sophisticated it tends to be, leading to bigger margins, while the opposite is true to the bigger markets, which are focused on quantities. So is that sweet spot in the graph what you should be pursuing? Not necessarily so. It sure makes one think, but this graph is lacking the single most important curve of all… the one that’s not there for its immensurability: Quality of Life.

Professionally wise, where do your dreams stand? If not the only aspect to consider, it definitely is an important one, especially in this age in which youngsters are educated to become financial leaders or economically self-sustained, but mostly end up bearing the social weight of being someone else’s employee. Maybe it is time to drop the stigmas and focus on being successful in whatever position you choose to pursuit. And remember, there is one "Queen Of Dots" for every approach! ;-) [click on the images to enlarge]

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StockXpert, ShutterStock, iStockphoto, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos