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StephOBrien — Symmetric Pattern: Bladed Sky
#pattern #snowflake #symmetrical #patternart #snowflakeart #symmetricalpattern
Published: 2019-05-09 23:43:54 +0000 UTC; Views: 363; Favourites: 28; Downloads: 1
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Description
I wanted to try a different look for my latest snowflake – something harsher, harder-edged, and with more straight lines instead of gentle curves. I also planned for it to have a bit more of a synthetic, technological feel.One of the first things I decided was that I wanted to use the “stained glass” filter in Photoshop for the background, and while it took a bit of tinkering to get the size and shape I wanted for the “glass cells”, I think it complements the snowflake well.
I’d originally wanted the lines of the cells to be whiter, but once I drew the snowflake I concluded that that would’ve been a bit too much white, so I decided not to make that change.
One of my favorite things about this design is how the gradient makes different aspects of the border decorations pop, depending on what shade they’re being contrasted with.
This pattern is available in my Society6 store and my RedBubble store ; you can see what it looks like on pillows, clocks, wall murals, backpacks and more here .
If you want to learn how to draw patterns like this, check out my tutorial here .
If you want to help me make art faster, get early access to completed art, and get exclusive access to works in progress, please consider supporting me on Patreon . If you want to help me without the monthly commitment, you can also support me with a one-time donation on Ko-fi.
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Comments: 23
Somehow this simply reminds me of Hokkaido, how a beautiful place(pattern) can sting so bad!! The temperature of Hokkaido was acceptable but when the storm hits, there is no amount of clothing you wear could protect you from the sting. And this gives me the same feeling. Beautifu but edgey.
The key parts of this pattern that caught my eyes were:
-I don't understand how to use photoshop much but this image presented in a way that makes the background looks like its made of glass really fits the setting. It somewhat makes me feel that this is something you can have on a old church window during Christmas (funny how my spotifly also started play Christmas carols)
-The flake itself really give an icy feel as it presents the relfelction/shadow of the thickness of ice
- the side patterns are really fitting, to me it is a great representation of the cold air coming out from the flakes
One thing I would say about this pattern is that the background（despite hwo much I like it) seems somewhat unfitting to the flake and the accompany shapes. I am not sure how to express properly or fix this. The feeling is that there isnt enough texture to fit with the main image but I understand that if more texture has been added, it might make the main pattern redundant.
But again thank you for sharing such beautiful pattern.
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Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts! It sounds like you got the feeling and impression that I wanted to give through this snowflake.
When it comes to the background, I've gotten mixed feedback. You feel it isn't fitting, while another person cited this picture as an example of a background that complements the snowflake while comparing it to another of my patterns whose background they thought was less fitting. Given the differing opinions I've seen, I might just have to chalk that up to a matter of subjective taste, but I appreciate you sharing your viewpoint all the same.
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Ya it is a matter of opinion. there is no wrongs only preferences. Thank you for sharing these fantastic patterns
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You're welcome. And thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback!
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Hello, commenting on behave of ProjectComment ´s Big comment contest.
I like the sharp shape of this snowflake. To me, it reminds me icicles. Also the colouring looks very winter-like, with mostly white and blue shades.
Also, I think that you did very good work with shading the white parts of the snowflake, they look nicely sharp and glossy. At some points, they even seem a bit semi-transparent to me, which reminds me glass and I think that it makes this snowflake look even "sharper".
The background looks interesting too. I think that you chose a nice size for the "glass cells". Personally, I would like to see this cell structure in whole picture, but it´s being overtaken by the blue colour in upper right corner. The blue is too dark there, so the cell structure is dissappearing in it. I think that it would be interesting it the blue was a bit lighter, so the cells would be still visible.
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Thank you very much for the compliments, and for pointing out the issue in the upper right corner. You're right - the cells do disappear there. While I don't tend to go back and tinker with completed patterns, in the future I need to be more careful not to let my gradients eat the background details. Thanks for making me aware of that.
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You´re welcome. Of course, it was just a tip for future drawing.
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As part of ProjectComment 's "Big Summer Comment Contest" (
Big Comment Contest - 4000 Points Up for Grabs! Give one (or many) constructive comment(s) today and you may be the winner of some awesome prizes, including thousands of up for grabs!
Contest Begins: Saturday 15th June
Contest Ends: Sunday 30th June, Midnight Pacific Time
Comments must be constructive and relevant to the artist:
Constructive: Useful comments to help artists improve! Don't just focus on the positive or negative, strengths or weaknesses - include both, expand your reasons on the why and how, offer suggestions for improvement, guide the artist!
Relevant: Specific details, specific to the artist, their skill level and artwork overall!
Guidelines
For starters, the colors and the shades do work with the snowflake motif, with a nice symmetrical feel that befits how original snowflakes can be most of the time.
If I had anything to gripe about, I suppose it would be that I technically feel like the spiked points that cover the 6 branches could be spaced out a bit more, and that an additional gradient could be used in the background to really help this stand out.
All in all, still a great piece.
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Thank you very much for the compliments and suggestions! By "an additional gradient could be used in the background", do you mean another gradient in a different direction from the existing one, with different colors?
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I was kind of thinking a little bit of white in the bottom left that blends into a very light blue and getting darker from there.
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So basically what I already have, but lighter?
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When you put it that way, yeah, I guess..
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Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't want to make it TOO light, or the snowflake wouldn't stand out against it.
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wow. It's the most beauitful and intricate snow pattern. I have ever seen.
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Thank you very much!
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Hey! I've seen this at ProjectComment , and I wanna give my review on it!
One thing I should point out is that the symmetry looks fantastic, it really feels symmetric. Whenever I look at how symmetric it looks, it actually makes me feel that everything is reflected properly, and it doesn't make me feel that there's a single mistake in sight! You've honestly made a fantastic job with the symmetry, and I really like the outcome of it!
As for the colors, I also like it! It's colors are giving me a winter feeling of this amazing-looking snow flake. It suits the environment in every aspect.
The background is also cool, I like the glass-like texture on the background with the gradient, it actually makes me feel relaxed, and I could see the snowflake cleary!
And my final review is 9.7/10! Keep up the good work!!
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Thank you so much for the detailed compliments! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
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I think you did pretty well making it look more hard edged than making it look soft 
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