surface pattern design #2

So with some jiggery pokery of old images I've been experimenting more with repeat patterns - but trying to make them less typical than usual.  So I seem to be more creating new distinct textures I can later mix in with other textures.  That way I can eventually overlay and intersplice lots of different patterns building up designs that are more and more dense.  The image above is derived entirely from a sold image of art I made but it's been altered so it works less like an artwork and even less like a surface pattern.  But it's a starting point.

I've then stripped away some layers and completely killed the colours making it entirely black and white and then put a thread of colour on the top of it.  A kind of flailing organism floating in the ether of meaningless sell out pattern.

So then I strip away the flailing organism and play it safe with a nice repeat pattern.  This is less typical of the repeat patterns I've done recently so it's reassuring that by playing it safe I've actually come up with something that does look almost unique.  That the previous steps were leading towards something usable.

So overlay a larger version of the image and trim away the edges then colour it in red.  A hot distinct column standing out all pollinated by the surrounding swarm.

Then zoom out and we have made another marvellously generic repeat pattern.  Just to show how easily it can be done.  Looking at this now it may be interesting to put something across the middle going horizontal. Some odd contrast with the rest of the pattern.  Then build on top of that again and see what happens.

I didn't do that though, at the time it didn't occur to me.  Instead I got a little tired of near perfect symmetry so decided to add an element that doesn't fit with the pattern to throw it slightly off centre.  This was achieved only very slightly with an off centre receding archway effect.  

Then I took the off centre archways and built them into ANOTHER repeat pattern with a background derived from an image of an interpretation of biospheres.  This results in another symmetrical pattern that can be repeated ad infinitum.  But which can also be used to enhance other surface pattern ideas.

It's hard to know whether I'm getting the hang of surface pattern design or if surface pattern design is getting ready to hang me.