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Mel Armstrong

Artful Insights and a New YouTube Tutorial

Published 6 days ago • 2 min read

Hello Reader,

Happy New Year, everyone, and a special welcome to our new subscribers! I hope you all had a chance to reflect and recharge over the holidays. For me, January in New Zealand is a time for slowing down and connecting with family during our summer break. It's a great reminder of why I chose this path – to have the flexibility to balance work and life. Now that I’m back in the studio, I’m feeling inspired and ready to dive into new projects.

In this newsletter, you'll find:

Best, Mel

New YouTube Tutorial

I embarked on my pattern design journey over 10 years ago with Adobe Illustrator, later adding Photoshop and Procreate to my toolkit to incorporate textures. Currently, I'm honing my Illustrator skills to maintain my proficiency in vector design. Art directors I've worked with have been open to both vector and raster formats, demonstrating the value of being skilled in both. So expect to see a few more Adobe Illustrator tutorials from me.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to create this colourful Bauhaus inspired pattern in Adobe Illustrator. It's a super easy pattern that you can create just by creating interesting shapes.

My current projects...

1st Pattern Collection for 2025

January's challenge in my Learn with Mel community was to create an 'edible garden' inspired collection. This is what I came up with. I wanted to create a sunny summery feel as the summer down here in New Zealand is really struggling to come out and I'm craving it badly.

1st Licensed Collection for 2025

Embrace the bohemian spirit with this vibrant collection of floral patterns. Featuring a mix of delicate blooms, paisley motifs, and playful textures, these designs are perfect for creating unique and eye-catching projects. Coming soon to Fabric with Nutex Wholesalers.

Artful Insights

I'm always on the hunt for new books, podcasts, artists to follow, tools and apps that complement our artful journey, and I do love sharing. So once a month I will showcase what I've discovered in the previous month.

So grab a cuppa and enjoy!

Here are my artful insights for the last month:

My go-to for Mockups

For professional-looking product mockups, Creatsy* is my go-to resource. Their extensive library offers a wide variety of mockups, from apparel and home goods to stationery and packaging, making it easy to find the perfect mockup for any design. They've also opened up their Affiliate program which is great for us artists who want to earn a little extra when promoting their amazing mockups.

My Favourite Pinterest Account

Pinterest has been super helpful in promoting my artwork, my tutorials and courses and I really encourage you to utlise it, especially if you're feeling a bit down and out about META. This account 'Pattern Curator' is a great one to follow for discovering trends and building moodboards.

Disclaimer: Note some of the links in this email are Affiliate links, which means if you do click through and make a purchase, I receive a small fee so I can enjoy a fancy cup of tea! I only promote tools and resource I use and love.

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Mel Armstrong

Illustrator & Surface Pattern Designer

Illustrator, Surface Pattern Designer and online educator empowering others to follow their dream of building an art career.

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