Start Where You Are: What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Surface Pattern Designer

In this solo episode, Delores shares honest reflections and practical insights from her own journey into surface pattern design. 

From battling perfectionism and burnout to discovering time-saving tools and the power of starting small, this is the pep talk every aspiring designer needs. 

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure of your place in the creative industry, this one’s for you.

💡 Learn how to:

• Overcome common mindset blocks
• Simplify the repeat pattern process
• Choose a product category to focus on first
• Believe in your unique voice as a designer

🎨 Whether you’re just starting or circling the idea of surface design, this episode will help you feel seen, supported, and ready to take that next step.

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Transcript

Delores Naskrent (00:05)
Hey there, I'm Delores Naskrent and today I want to sit down to talk simply and honestly about starting a career in surface pattern design. I'm sharing lessons that I've learned the hard way. I want to simplify a process for you that can feel really overwhelming and hopefully I'll offer you some tools and motivation to get started. If you're new to the industry or on the fence about diving in, stick around.

Let's start with the big hurdles. I know firsthand how easy it is to feel stuck, especially when faced with perfectionism and uncertainty and even doubts about your place in a crowded market. Here are some of the common blockers I see and these are things I've experienced myself. You know that voice in your head saying,

It has to be perfect. Before you begin can be so loud. It stops you from starting altogether. I've been there spending weeks tweaking things when honestly, done is better than perfect every time. Progress matters more than getting every single little detail right.

The other one is not knowing where to start and that can be really paralyzing. Do I make greeting cards? Do I design for notebooks? Artwork for bedding? Without focus, it really is easy to waste months or even years on your portfolio and your artwork while never actively reaching out to clients.

It's really, really easy to think to yourself, this industry is full and there's no room for me. But I promise you there is. Everyday buyers are looking for fresh art, unique voices and new ideas. It's not about competing with everyone. It's about showing up, offering your perspective and understanding what works for the market.

Feeling like you're not good enough is another barrier. I've seen that so much. One that I want you to write off starting right now. Believing in your potential and your creative view is key. If you're feeling like that's not possible, if you're struggling, I suggest you find a supportive community that will cheer you on or look for small wins to build momentum.

Does all of this sound familiar? I hope this helps you feel less alone in what you're facing. These challenges are part of every creative journey, believe me. And I have worked with thousands and thousands of artists and I hear these over and over again. So let's talk about solutions. For years, surface pattern design felt overly complicated to me.

I would sketch endless icons, would map out repeats, and I would spend hours tinkering with layouts to make them seamless. It took a lot of trial and error before I realized it doesn't have to be this hard. I was doing everything the hard way. And it took those years of development for me to figure out ways to make it easier. And that's what led me to creating templates.

Honestly, that's the secret. These templates simplify the process. I want you to just imagine this for a second. You have your individual motifs or icons ready. You've painted them, you've drawn them, you've got a whole collection of them. Now, imagine this. You draw those things that you've created into a template.

and that handles the pattern repeat for you. I know it sounds unbelievable, but you honestly see your design in real time. So what you're doing is you're dropping in those assets, putting them into the repeat. And as you move things around and play with the positioning, you see the entire repeat. It's all there. And every move that you make, you see the effect of that move.

So I have spent months and months creating templates. I have a template club that has every type of pattern repeat that you can imagine. When you're done at the end, you just export that single repeat and it's ready for uploading or for whatever it is that you're going to use it for.

Honestly, tools like this can save you so much time. And that extra time you can now spend creating more designs or pitching your work. If that sounds like something you'd love, I would love to have you come and check it out. We're going to put a link in the notes below so that you can just kind of get a look at all the different templates and what they do to save you time.

Now one of the biggest lessons I've learned the hard way you well, I'm going to ask you what do you think is the biggest lesson I have learned the hard way? Well, it's that you don't have to do everything at once.

I don't want to say wasted, but I spent years researching way too many product categories, thinking that I needed designs that worked for every surface imaginable, like bedding and water bottles and notebooks and greeting cards. Spoiler alert, that approach led me to burnout.

If I could go back, I would just go and pick one category to start with and I would focus all of my energy there for six months or just a period of time. I would narrow things down and it doesn't mean that it limits your creativity. It just means giving yourself space to master one thing before branching out to another.

If greeting cards feel exciting, start there. I encourage that highly. I've done tons and tons of greeting cards and that's why I do the greeting card challenges because it's a small artwork. It doesn't necessarily have to work as a collection and it's just an easy thing to create as your very first thing.

Whatever you choose, just focus on making designs for that category and spend several months doing it and learn all the industry standards. Spend a lot of time researching and looking at cards that are out there in the market. believe me, there are billions. So try to figure out what works with your style.

I know it's a long game, but you will expand. Starting small doesn't mean staying small. Once you start working with clients, earning money and gaining experience, you'll naturally expand. You can move on to new categories and bigger challenges as you grow. The beginning of your journey is just about getting that foot in the door and building up some momentum.

From there, you can layer new skills and projects and products over time. And trust me, things will start to add up.

Before we wrap up, I want to say something I wish someone had told me when I was starting. And that's that I belong. The market might seem huge or saturated or overwhelming. If you're in the middle of learning all about it, you are probably being exposed to many successful artists, many designers, many teachers. But don't forget, every pillow,

Every notebook, coffee mug, and gift bag is covered in art. Everywhere, look around, go shopping. Art is created by someone like you. There are brands, buyers, and clients who are actively looking for something fresh and heartfelt at all times. And I mean everywhere, in every industry.

I hope that this conversation has helped you a little bit to ease some of those swirling doubts or fears you've been feeling. I get it. I totally get it. I started there too. Just remember, starting doesn't have to be absolute perfection. It just has to happen. Put it out It the most important step. Starting.

If you're ready to simplify the process, take action and see your designs in the world, come and connect with me. You can follow me on Instagram or you can join my Zoom calls that I do every Tuesday night and I meet with a bunch of other people in my community where we talk about whatever we're doing. we just had a meeting this week. Every single person got a chance to talk or ask questions.

Many of them are in really different categories, things that I would never even have thought of. One example is an artist who creates collage papers and that's something I would never have thought of doing. So it's great to meet with all these people who are doing some very, very different things with the skills that they have. And remember, every small step that you take today,

is another piece of your puzzle. You've got this and I can't wait to see what you create.

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. And don't forget to share this with someone who could use some inspiration. Until next time, keep creating, keep juggling, and most importantly, keep finding joy in the process.