Holiday Wrapping Paper – Creating a Pattern in Illustrator

Grade Level

Duration

3 – 5 period, periods are 58 minutes in length

Materials

Adobe Illustrator, large format printer, and paper (roll paper), vector images (Freepik, Pixabay, and Vecteezy are websites that have free vector images available alongside those that are sold for money; free images usually require attribution).
* This teacher uses HP Bond roll stock – typical 20# on HP Design Jet T1300, and students typically receive a 24″ x 36″ sheet of their pattern.

Media

Digital, Illustrator, Graphic design

Lesson Objectives

The student will:

Identify the key tools and panels in Adobe Illustrator used for pattern creation, specifically the Pattern Maker tool and the Swatches panel.
Define what a seamless repeating pattern (or “tile”) is in the context of digital design and print.
Explain the function of different pattern tile types (e.g., Grid, Brick by Row, Brick by Column) and how they affect the final pattern.
Create a holiday pattern and print on roll paper.

Introductory Activity

The teacher could lead students in a conversation about all the ways pattern is used in everyday life. Think about their use in textiles and decor, for example. How do graphic designers utilize pattern? What are some companies that use patterns as an element of their brand identity and recognition?

Lesson Process

The instructor will give a quick overview of the assignment and demonstrate the process.

Students will then collect 5 to 7 clipart images to use on their wrapping paper.
Images need to be vector images or converted to vectors for this project.
There are some vector images supplied that you may choose from, or you can find or make your own.
If students would like to work ahead, the step-by-step instructions are included, but be aware that you must follow them EXACTLY (especially the stepping of the images and the clipping mask) or the pattern will not work.
On the second day, the instructor will demonstrate again, and students can start working on creating their own wrapping paper.
You will submit your tile in today’s Schoology folder. Be sure to save it using the correct naming convention. Ex: LastNameFirstProjectNameHour or SmithJamesWrappingPaper2
There will be another assignment tab where you will turn in your completed 24″ x 36″ wrapping paper for printing on the poster printer.