Creating a Colorful Embroidered Patch Tutorial

Overview

• This tutorial covers the creation of an embroidered patch.
• The design is based on landscapes associated with national parks, featuring a sunset silhouette.
• The tutorial includes digital design techniques using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Design Inspiration

• Look for design examples on Spoon Graphics.
• Many examples use real thread, but digital methods can simulate embroidery effects.

Tools and Resources

• Envato Elements: Provides design resources and tools for realistic embroidery effects. Offers unlimited downloads of templates, graphics, photos, fonts, and audio tracks.
• Adobe Illustrator: Main tool for design.
• Photoshop Action: Used for creating realistic embroidery effects.

Design Process in Illustrator

Document Setup

1. Open Illustrator and create a new document (A4 size, pixel units).
2. Hide artboards for a larger workspace.

Creating the Patch Shape

1. Use the Polygon Tool to create a hexagon.
2. Rotate, scale, and adjust corners using the direct selection tool.

Color Palette

• Use a retro-style color palette named "Tatooine" from Adobe Color.

Drawing the Landscape

1. Draw a hilly horizon using the Pencil Tool.
2. Use the Eyedropper Tool to fill shapes with colors from the palette.
3. Use the Shape Builder Tool to trim excess and arrange layers.

Adding Suns

• Draw ellipses for Tatooine's suns and adjust stacking order.

Text Elements

1. Use the Type Tool to add text (Fonts: Titling Gothic, Scriptorama).
2. Center, scale, and color the text using the align panel and eyedropper.

Decorative Elements

• Add circles and align them with other objects.

Finalizing in Illustrator

1. Expand appearances and divide shapes in the Pathfinder panel.
2. Group and merge shapes by color.
3. Export as PSD for Photoshop processing.

Creating Embroidery Effect in Photoshop

Setup

• Use the "Realistic Embroidery" Photoshop action from Envato Elements.

Layer and Color Management

1. Rename layers for organization.
2. Apply action steps to each color layer individually.

Rendering the Effect

• Use the action's stitching and fill steps, followed by a render action.
• Adjust blending modes and layer visibility for color accuracy.

Final Adjustments

1. Modify smart objects to adjust effect settings.
2. Rearrange layer stacking for visual coherence.

Conclusion

• The tutorial demonstrates creating scalable vector designs in Illustrator and realistic effects in Photoshop.
• Encouragement to explore more content and resources on Spoon Graphics.

Call to Action

• Like the video, subscribe for more tutorials, and visit the Spoon Graphics website for free design resources.