Surface Design, Vintage Figures

This surface design is a blend of vintage images from the 1902 Sears Roebuck Mail Order Catalog superimposed over a highly graphic pattern. This amalgamation lands the illustration in the land of kitsch! The drawings from the catalog are some of my favorite images – a wonderful peek into the past of advertising. The pattern is one of my own creations – I use pattern drafting as a way to relieve stress and I have pages and pages of them.

My process was pretty straight forward. I drew the pattern by hand, photographed it, and imported it to Photoshop. I cleaned it up and added color (choosing the color was probably the longest part of the process!) I then scanned a bunch of images from the catalog, fixed them up, and melded the two together. I am pleased with how it turned out – it is visually dynamic.

“Mixing a blend of old timey images and jazzy patterns, this surface illustration is perfect for all sorts of products, from bags to backpack, notebooks to notions. This set of illustrations target the weird 25-50 female market, especially appropriate for crafters and makers.”