Spoonflower is a sustainable online wallpaper, home decor, and fabric marketplace where artists can sell print-on-demand products worldwide. If you are an artist who has used other print-on-demand sites, such as Redbubble, you will know that the art preparation process for upload can vary. In this blog post, I will describe how to prepare a pattern for Spoonflower.
- Create a pattern following the instructions in How to create an advanced repeating pattern from pen or How to create a complex seamless pattern from watercolours.
- Open the .ai file that contains your pattern.
- Click Window > Swatches.
- Drag your pattern swatch into the workspace.
a. If your original pattern is still in the workspace, delete it. - Click Window > Layers.
a. Click on the dot to the right of the last layer.
This is a rectangle with no fill and no stroke. Every pattern has one of these. - Click Object > Artboards > Convert to Artboards.
a. In the Layers window, click on the dot next to this new artboard. - Click Object > Transform > Scale.
a. In the Scale window, change Uniform to 105% and click OK. - If there is still another artboard in the workspace, delete this in Window > Artboards.
- To export the file for Spoonflower, click File > Export for Screens.
a. From the Scale list, select Resolution.
b. Change the Scale to 150 ppi.
c. From the Format list, select JPG 100. - Click Export Artboard.
If you would prefer these steps in video format, watch the following video:
rachelhillart.com 