How to make a pattern in a vector editor

Patterns in Vectornation by Zaweba are made as swatches. Design a tile, turn it into a pattern swatch, and choose how it repeats: grid, brick or hex. The swatch then fills any shape, like a colour. If you'd rather start from something ready made, five bundled pattern libraries sit under Swatches > Patterns.

A pattern is just a small piece of artwork repeated edge to edge. Done well, you can't see where one tile stops and the next starts. Patterns turn up everywhere, on packaging, gift wrap, fabric, wallpaper, website backgrounds and the inside of envelopes.

The three repeat layouts

Grid repeats the tile in straight rows and columns. It is the simplest and suits checks, stripes, dots and most geometric designs.

Brick offsets every other row by half a tile, like brickwork. It breaks up the obvious grid, which makes all over prints of small motifs look more natural.

Hex arranges tiles in a honeycomb. It suits hexagonal designs and gives a tighter, less regular spread of motifs.

Making your own pattern

Draw the motif first. Keep it on its own in a clean area of the page. Think about how it will meet its neighbours. In a grid, whatever runs off the right edge has to come back on the left, or the join shows.

Turn the artwork into a pattern swatch and pick the layout. Fill a large rectangle with the new swatch to see it repeating. This is the moment to spot problems: a motif that clumps in one corner, a gap that forms a line across the repeat, or a colour that jumps out every few tiles.

Adjust the tile and update the swatch until the fill looks even.

Using the bundled libraries

Swatches > Patterns opens five bundled pattern libraries. They are a quick start for backgrounds, textures and fills, and useful to study when you're learning how repeats are built. Any of them can be applied as a fill, and many look good recoloured to match a project.

Patterns with other features

The Appearance panel can hold several fills on one object. Stack a pattern fill over a solid colour, or two patterns with different opacity, for richer surfaces without extra shapes.

If what you want is a repeat that stays as separate objects rather than a swatch, Object > Repeat > Grid makes a live grid repeat, and Object > Transform > Step and repeat makes rows and columns of copies with gaps you set. Those are better when each copy needs to be selectable, for instance when laying out stickers.

Pattern brushes, among Vectornation's brush types, repeat artwork along a path instead of across an area, which is how decorative borders and rope lines are made.

Getting a pattern ready to use

For print, check the scale at actual size. A pattern that looks right zoomed in can be too busy once printed small. Print a test piece if you can.

Keep colours in a palette. Patterns often look best with a limited set of colours. Vectornation reads ASE, ACO and GPL swatch files, so a palette from another program can come in.

For textiles and wallpaper, the printer will usually want the single tile at a stated size. Export the tile artwork as a PDF or SVG and include the repeat type in your notes.

Making patterns is part craft, part puzzle. With swatches that repeat in grid, brick or hex, and libraries to start from, Vectornation by Zaweba makes the puzzle easier.