Inspired by Butterflies and Doodles

I am happy to share about a new collection in the works in my Spoonflower Shop, created for the Butterfly Coordinates contest. 

I love designing collections, imagining how the different patterns can mix and match and come to together, so this one was right up my alley.  For the butterfly theme I knew I wanted to start with a butterfly doodle I had done many years ago in one of my many doodle books. 

I created vector versions of the butterflies and then arranged them into a seamless pattern.  Originally I planned on adding the mini butterflies you can see in the doodle, but after filling some of the design voids with them it looked too busy.  That is one of the interesting things about converting a doodle to a workable pattern, what might look interesting as a stand-alone art piece might not work as well in a different format.  I really wanted the main butterflies to stand out, and the little fillers ended up being too much.  Here is a look at the finished main print:  Butterfly Party.

Butterfly Party by Brenda Zapotosky

I did use some of the mini butterflies to create the coordinate print:  Delicate Delights. 
I wanted this print to act as a neutral so kept the color palette to just three hues.

Delicate Delights by Brenda Zapotosky

The other two coordiantes do not use butterflies, but rather bring in other elements that compliment butterflies, gardens, and summertime.  Picnic is a bright and happy geometric print.  Flutter Flowers is a funky floral inspired by the shapes of butterflies:  wings, spots and antennae. 

Picnic and Flutter Flowers by Brenda Zapotosky

The four prints together are a great mix of scale, color and shape!