As a creative, you have to consistently find ways to stretch your creativity and improve your workflow. One such way is to discover nifty tools that help you speed up the more tedious parts of your process. That’s where AI image generators come in. Taking advantage of AI image generators doesn’t mean relying solely on the AI’s capabilities but knowing how to use them to power up your own creativity.
1 What is a Pattern Generator? How Does It Work?
The most mainstream type of AI image generator is the text-to-art generator, but did you know that there are other, more specific types out there?
One is the text-to-pattern generator or pattern generator. This type of image generator produces seamless repeatable images. What are seamless repeatable images?
Simply put, they are images that you can place side by side with their own copies with no visible edges on the whole produced image. The pattern you see at the top of the image will match up seamlessly with the image at the bottom. The same with the left and ride sides of the image.
Such patterns are best used in both digital and physical products, such as website and blog backgrounds, digital planners, shirts, scarves, mugs, and more. You can also use them for home decor, from wall prints, coasters, tablecloths, and other types of linens.
A pattern generator like CF Spark Patterns uses your words or descriptions to create such seamless repeating patterns. To use the image generator, you only need to type your quick description in the text field. If you want to use a specific art style, CF Spark offers different ready options below the text field that you can choose from.
2 Create Unique Patterns – 5 Tips to Make the Most Of Your Pattern Generator
Using a pattern generator is not enough. To fully incorporate the pattern generator into your creative workflow, you have to maximize its capabilities. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Be as descriptive as you can
The pattern you generate with your pattern generator is only as good as the words you use to generate them. So be as creative as you can in describing what you have in mind. Don’t be afraid to get detailed – reference art styles, describe the lighting, and add specific color palettes if you can. Part of the fun with using image generators is that you can experiment with wild concepts as fast as you can type them. A good way to experiment is to do a mash-up of art styles or genres, such as ‘watercolor kawaii’ or ‘vintage cartoon style.’
2. Study how other artists craft their text prompts
Learning from other creative people is a must when as a creator. If you’re still finding your footing with text prompts, for example, you should take the time to see how other artists do it. CF Spark Patterns has a community feed where you can see published patterns made on the image generator. Some of them have made their prompts public, allowing you to take inspiration.
3. Remix your patterns
If you want to create even more variations of your pattern, you don’t need to type in another prompt. Image remixing tools like CF Spark ImageMix can help you generate even more variances to your existing pattern to help you push your creativity further.
4. Discover your pattern style
If you’re a creative trying to come up with unique branding, your first step would be to experiment with different concepts. If you want to create a signature background for your website or product, you can do that easily with a pattern generator. To make your branding unique and memorable, simplify your design and incorporate a limited color palette that you want your market to associate with your brand.
5. Experiment with different pattern placements
Patterns are typically used as digital backgrounds for printables or as a background paper for scrapbooks and other types of products. They can also be used for physical merchandise like mugs, t-shirts, towels, scarves, and handkerchiefs. The usual way to use them is to simply lay them out and cover every inch of the design. While that’s all well and good, you may also want to experiment with your placements. For example, instead of using a pattern as the center image of your shirt, for example, why not just use the patterns as a pocket square or on the sleeves?
3 3 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Pattern Generators
Using new tools like pattern generators, we’re all prone to making mistakes. But mistakes are only a sign of failure if you don’t learn from them. So here are a few common mistakes you can avoid as a head start:
1. Using conflicting text prompts
Conflicting text may confuse your pattern generator. So don’t use prompts like ‘sketch style’ and ‘watercolor’ in the same image generation because this can lead your pattern generator to create confused images as well.
2. Stopping at the first generated images
Just as in any art practice, to get the best results, you have to try and try again. So don’t stop at the first patterns generated by the image generator, especially if you think there’s something missing. Keep on adding words to your text prompt, refining your description until you arrive at something closest to what you have in mind.
3. Not experimenting
The fun in having AI tools at your disposal is that you can try out different ideas half the time. So don’t just use your pattern generator at crunch time. Integrate experimentation into your workflow so that you can grow not just as a creative but as an innovator.
Using AI tools like pattern generators does not take away from your creativity. In fact, knowing how to use such tools well will allow you to focus on honing your craft further. Incorporating them into your process will give you more time to experiment so that you can be a better artist in no time.
