How I Turn My Watercolor Paintings into Digital Surface Designs
Everything begins with a brushstroke, whether it's made with a physical paintbrush or a digital one through an Apple Pencil.
Every pattern, collection, and finished product begins as something much smaller. It starts as a wash of color on paper, a unique shape, or a single brushstroke, eventually becoming the foundation of something much larger.
For me, surface design starts with watercolor. For others, it may begin with oil pastels or a simple pencil sketch.
My favorite thing about watercolor is that it has a mind of its own while I'm still in control. I choose where I want the paint to go, what shapes I want it to form, and what shades I want to create. Despite that, watercolor still moves in unexpected ways. It blooms, creates soft edges, and brings a sense of life through its imperfect details.
With watercolor, you're able to choose how much life you give the painting and how much life the painting gives itself. The more water you use, the more uncertainty and spontaneity you invite. The less water you use, the more control you have. I think that's one of the things I love most about the medium; it exists somewhere between intention and unpredictability.
While a painting is being created, it isn't the final destination. Instead, it's the first chapter of a much larger creative process.
What begins as pigment on paper is transformed digitally, where it can be refined, rearranged, repeated, and developed into seamless patterns and surface designs. It's where traditional artistry meets modern technology. A single watercolor painting is able to live far beyond its original purpose, finding new life on fabric, wallpaper, stationery, home décor, and countless other products.
That transformation is one of my favorite parts of the creative journey. It's not about replacing the handmade process; it's about giving the original artwork a new way to tell its story.
Step 1: Creating the Original Artwork
This is the most natural part of the process, where creativity takes the lead. Creating the original artwork is where I simply create. I don't overthink it or worry about technical details; I let my ideas, emotions, and instincts guide the painting.
Before I think about repeating patterns, products, collections, or how my design will be used, I simply paint with my emotions and my heart. This stage is about exploration and finding joy and purpose in my art, not execution or perfection. There is no finished product in mind; only seeing where the watercolor leads.
When I paint, I focus on color, movement, and texture. I allow the paint to be itself, letting it flow, bloom, and create unexpected moments that I can use to my advantage. Some brushstrokes are intentional, while others are simply the natural movement of water and pigment.
It is a balance of control and unpredictability that gives each piece its own character. I think watercolor is a collaboration; I guide the paint while allowing it to speak for itself. Every bloom, soft edge, and layered wash tells another part of the story, creating paintings that are unique and feel alive.
While these paintings may look complete at this stage, they are only the beginning. Every texture, pattern, and painted element becomes a building block for the next steps. The original pieces serve as the foundation, while the digital surface design carries the warmth, texture, and authenticity of the handmade work.
Step 2: Digitizing the Artwork
Once the paintings are complete and the watercolor is dry, I scan each piece at high resolution and bring it into my digital workspace. This is the beginning of the transition from traditional artwork to digital artwork.
The goal isn't to erase the qualities of the handmade painting but to preserve them. I work carefully to maintain the details, textures, and character of the original artwork throughout the digitizing process.
Step 3: Building Patterns and Elements
Once the painting is in my digital workspace, I begin to refine it. I clean up unwanted dust or imperfections, adjust colors so they accurately represent the original painting, and separate individual motifs from the background, creating flowers, shapes, or textures that can each stand on their own.
Each element is isolated so it can be moved, resized, layered, and combined with other pieces without losing its original character.
This stage is equal parts technical and creative. It is more intentional than the original painting stage and places more control in the artist's hands. While the software provides precision, every decision is still guided by artistic intention.
I'm constantly considering how each motif will work alongside the others. How do the colors interact? How do the shapes flow together? How can each element be transformed into something cohesive?
By the end of this step, what was once a single watercolor painting has become a library of individual elements, each ready to be arranged into patterns, collections, and products. The artwork hasn't lost its character; it has simply gained flexibility.
Step 4: Creating Repeat Patterns
This is where the transformation truly begins to take shape. What was once an individual watercolor painting now becomes something much larger.
I take each painted motif and begin arranging, rotating, scaling, and layering the elements into a seamless repeat pattern. Rather than viewing an illustration as a standalone piece, I think about how each element interacts to create rhythm, balance, and movement across an endless surface.
Creating a successful repeat pattern is a balance between creativity and precision. Every flower, leaf, brushstroke, or abstract shape needs to feel intentionally placed while aligning perfectly so the design can repeat without visible seams.
It's a process of constant refinement, requiring me to move elements by just a few pixels, adjust spacing, change scale, and test the repeat over and over until the pattern feels effortless.
One of my favorite parts of this stage is watching one painting turn into entirely new works of art. A motif that once existed on a single sheet of watercolor paper can now become multiple patterns.
The composition begins to feel alive as colors, textures, and shapes harmonize. This is where the artwork shifts from a collection of painted elements into a true surface design; one that can wrap around fabric, cover wallpaper, decorate stationery, or be applied to countless products while maintaining the authenticity of the original artwork.
Step 5: Developing a Collection
Although a single pattern is rarely the end goal, it becomes another building block for an entire collection.
Once the hero pattern is complete, I expand the visual story by creating coordinating patterns. Each design is connected through a shared color palette, textures, and overall mood, allowing every piece to feel distinct while still belonging together.
The hero print is typically the most detailed and expressive design in the collection, capturing the main theme and drawing the viewer's attention.
I then create secondary patterns that complement rather than compete. These supporting designs may feature simplified motifs, smaller-scale repeats, subtle textures, or individual elements pulled from the original artwork.
Finally, I develop coordinating prints that provide visual balance and versatility, making the collection cohesive across many different products and applications.
I think of this stage as building a visual language. Each pattern should be able to stand on its own while telling a richer story as part of the larger collection.
As the collection grows, I refine the color palette, adjust the scale of individual patterns, and ensure every design contributes something unique while strengthening the overall theme.
By the end of this process, what started as a handful of watercolor paintings has evolved into a thoughtfully curated collection ready to be applied across many different surfaces.
Step 6: Product Visualization
The final step is imagining how the artwork will live beyond the page.
Up until this point, the designs have existed primarily on a screen. Product visualization is where they begin to feel real. I place my patterns onto mockups to explore how they interact with different materials, scales, and surfaces, allowing me to see the collection as it might exist in everyday life.
A repeat pattern is never created in isolation. It's designed with an end use in mind. Whether it's printed on fabric, wrapped around stationery, featured on wallpaper, incorporated into packaging, or applied to home décor, each surface offers a new way for the artwork to be experienced.
Seeing a design leave the digital canvas and become part of a physical object is one of the most rewarding parts of the creative process.
Mockups do more than showcase a finished design; they help tell its story. They allow me to experiment with scale, color, and placement while communicating the possibilities of a collection. More importantly, they help clients, manufacturers, and art directors envision how a pattern could translate into a finished product long before it's ever produced.
This stage beautifully bridges two creative worlds: fine art and product design. What began as expressive watercolor brushstrokes has now evolved into artwork that is functional, versatile, and ready to be licensed, manufactured, or transformed into products people can use and enjoy every day.
That's what I love most about surface design.
It gives artwork a life beyond the page.
A single brushstroke that once existed only on watercolor paper can become fabric sewn into a favorite dress, wallpaper that transforms a room, stationery that marks life's biggest moments, or packaging that turns an everyday purchase into a memorable experience. The artwork doesn't lose its handmade character; it simply finds new ways to be seen, experienced, and shared.
To me, that's the beauty of surface design. It allows creativity to move beyond the studio and into everyday life, proving that even the smallest brushstroke can have a story that continues long after the paint has dried.
