If you’ve been feeling like every day is looking like a #flashbackfriday, you’re not alone! From retro rainbows to mid-century mod, the Spoonflower community has caught the bug for old-school style. One artist under this spell is Kristina Hunter (arthousewife on Spoonflower). And with a love for all things retro and mid-century illustration, Kristina can’t help but channel that nostalgic aesthetic into her fabric and wallpaper designs. Her five tips for creating art with a retro vibe will give you the inspiration you need to try this throwback technique in your next pattern.
Kristina: There is a lot of love for retro designs these days, and for good reason: they evoke a sense of time and place that we remember fondly. The great news is that retro styles are abundant; there is almost a limitless array of possibilities to choose from when incorporating the aesthetic into your art. Are you itching to give your designs a retro feel? Here are tips to create your own vintage art:
1 – Do Your Research
What retro styles do you gravitate towards? Start by making a list of the styles, then spend a chunk of time researching each of them online or at the library. What kind of products can you envision in those styles? Napkins, a duvet cover, throw pillows, a cheater quilt? Which style appeals to you the most? Make a moodboard (digital or print) of examples.
Designer Tip: When creating your moodboard, make sure you have at least five or more examples of the style you’ve chosen. You don’t want to be inspired too heavily by one piece of art.
2 – Choose Your Colors Wisely
Colors play a huge role in evoking a retro mood. You’ll either want to use a retro palette that is accurate for the style you’ve chosen, or you’ll want to freshen it up to make it a bit more contemporary.
I like to freshen up my retro palettes because it gives me a chance to put my own unique spin on color combinations that have been used before. For my kids’ travel print, I started by selecting popular mid-century colors from my digital moodboard. I knew I wanted my new combination to be playful and gender-neutral, so I opted for brighter hues and changed the traditional orange color for pink. I think the new palette has a fresh and more youthful, kid-friendly appeal.
Play around with the combinations you like the best and if you need a little more guidance, be sure to check out fellow Spoonflower designer Rhianna Wurman’s post all about creating a cohesive palette.
3 – It’s All in the Details
It’s easy to fall into the trap of designing your motifs too quickly based on how you’ve designed motifs in the past. Take your time! Pay attention to the little details you discovered during your research. For example, in my mid-century moodboard I noticed a specific quality of linework in the examples I chose, and made a conscious decision to add bold black lines to my design. There were also details I chose to leave out, like shapes with rough edges. These little details are key to adding an authentic retro flair.
4 – Add Texture
Patterns often fall flat because of a lack of texture. While some styles’ signature look is devoid of texture, a lot of them are not. Take a look at these gorgeous designs from the Spoonflower designer community as inspiration on how to add texture to your own work. Need more help? Try this trick.
5 – Try out Special Digital Brushes
Not sure how to add the texture and line work of your favorite retro style? Sometimes all it takes is a special brush! Try out the textured brushes that come with your preferred design program like Procreate or Photoshop. If you’re coming up short, you can also search for custom brushes created by other artists. There are tons available online and a few of my favorites come from Retrosupply, Bardot Brush, and Abby Uproot.
6 – Take a Class or Try a Tutorial
If you’re really struggling, there are plenty of classes online that will guide you step by step in creating a retro design. This is a great way to practice before jumping in, and they will help give you the confidence to create retro art on your own.
Ready for more retro-inspired projects?
Try out this retro bar cart IKEA hack from PMQ for Two!
About the Guest Author
Kristina Hunter is an artistic housewife living outside of New York City with her husband, two young boys, two cats, and one dog. When she’s not house-wifing, you will find her in her studio, designing patterns, painting, and sewing. You can find her on Instagram @arthousewife or at her website, arthousewife.com.
Well researched Kristina! Very helpful article and fully on trend.
Great article, thank you so much for sharing
Great tips! Especially like the adding texture one. Thanks for sharing. -Claudette
Great and useful article thank you!
These are some great ideas to add a different style mix up into my designs/ patterns. I will have to keep these ideas in mind the next time I want to do something a little retro. Thanks!