Welcome, pattern enthusiasts! It’s me, Delores Naskrent, here to share a simple and effective method for creating seamless repeat patterns using Affinity Designer—without the frustration of manual calculations. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, this guide will show you how easy and enjoyable designing patterns can be. I've created this as a download so you can print it and have it at your side when you first create templates. Let's dive in and enhance your creative skills together!

 

What is a Repeat Pattern?

A repeat pattern seamlessly repeats in a tile-like fashion, creating a continuous visual effect. These designs are versatile and can be applied in various fields such as textile design, wallpaper, and home decor. An effective repeat pattern looks flawless and tiles endlessly in any direction.

 

Why Use Affinity Designer?

For my pattern design work, I find Affinity Designer to be the ideal tool. It allows precise alignment, scaling, and manipulation of individual elements—all while being highly efficient!

Save Time with Symbols

Conventional surface pattern design often relies heavily on the Transform Studio to adjust motifs along the edges of repeat pattern designs. However, I've developed a strategy using Symbols. This powerful feature saves you time by creating repeatable elements automatically. Symbols make it easy to mirror the design motifs on the edges of your pattern tile, ensuring a truly seamless look with minimal effort.

 

Check out this short video showing how it works:

 

Step 1: Set Up Your Document

Start by creating a new document with dimensions of 3000 x 3000 px. Make sure not to select "Create artboard" and choose Pixels as your measurement unit.

 

Step 2: Draw Your Background Shape

Use the Rectangle Tool to cover the entire canvas with a square shape. Use snapping to ensure it perfectly fits the document edges. You will see a red line snap up on the screen when that happens.

Step 3: Convert to Symbol

With the square selected, go to the Symbols panel (on desktop versions, access it via View > Studio > Symbols). Click on the three vertical lines next to the "Symbols" label and choose "Add Symbol from Selection" to add your square to the Symbols list.

 

Step 4: Using Clip to Canvas

The Clip to Canvas feature is essential for this technique. It allows you to see everything outside your original canvas. Access this from the Document menu or use the Toggle Preview Mode button.

 

Step 5: Duplicate Your Symbol

Create copies of your initial rectangle/square and place on either side of your original, always using snapping for perfect positioning. The main symbol should stay in the middle of your document. Select all three and duplicate twice, placing one above and one below that row. You should now have 9 squares in total.

Step 6: Label the Original Square

 

Find the ORIGINAL central square, swipe to the left to rename, and label it DESIGN.

Step 7: Group Other Symbols

Make a new group for all the other symbols. I usually label this group “Do Not Use” or “Visual Reference Only”. These are simply there to provide you with a preview. The central square or rectangle is what you will export when your design is complete.

Step 8: Background Color

 

 

Introduce an extra-large new rectangle behind the others with a different color. This will serve as your background color. Drag that layer to be below all others.

Step 9: Add Pattern Elements

Now it's time to let your creativity flow! You can draw directly or use pre-saved assets. Ensure all your pattern elements are within the main Symbols folder to function correctly. Pre-plan a pattern design and draw many assets, saving them in the assets gallery. That way, when you're on a roll, you don’t need to stop drawing elements. If you don’t see the asset repeating, pull it into the “Design” group.

Step 10: Final Touches

Remove the fill from your original guide square while keeping its outline for reference. This guide will help you when you're ready to export your design.

Practice with Automated Templates

Congratulations! You’re now equipped with the skills to create perfect repeat patterns in Affinity Designer. By mastering Symbols, you can streamline your workflow.

You can make many different layouts by adjusting the position of the surrounding squares, like these:

Now it’s your turn to practice what you've learned! Join me in one of my automated pattern courses. 

Helpful Links

• Delores Art
• Template Club

Feel free to design your own templates! Don’t want to take the time? Join our Template Club for monthly releases of fancy templates I produce for you, so you can skip that stage completely.