Raster vs Vector: Do you need to work in vectors to be a successful surface pattern designer?

There has been so much interest in this blog post and I am really excited to share my research on this topic!

I say ‘research’ as this has very much been a research based post. As most of you know I am relatively new to surface pattern design myself having started just two years ago (Although I have been using Procreate for longer!) Therefore I don’t have a huge amount of personal industry experience to bring to the table.

However, the question of whether you need to work in vectors to be successful in this industry was my biggest question when I started out and still continues to be an important one for me as I continue my artistic journey.

I work exclusively in Procreate and I have never used any of the Adobe programs. So the issues I’m exploring in this post are just as important for me on my journey as they may be for you!

A big thank you to the surface pattern designers who got in touch with me on Instagram this week and gave me their perspectives on this – it was super helpful!

What is the difference between raster and vector?

Let's start with the basics!

Raster programs (such as Procreate and Photoshop) create images that are made up of pixels. Pixels are tiny dots of colour and the more dots you have per inch, the higher resolution it is (or the most crisp it looks!).

This is in contrast to vector programs (such as Adobe Illustrator) where the images are not made of pixels but each line of the image is calculated from points on a grid.

What are the pros and cons of RASTER programs such as Procreate?

Raster programs allow you to create beautifully textured work.

The brushes available in Procreate are very versatile and can allow you to replicate traditional artistic techniques such as watercolour, fabric textures or other painterly styles.

Drawing in Procreate is intuitive and replicates how you would draw with actual artistic tools.

Artists have told me they enjoy the freedom of being able to sketch out a pattern freely in Procreate and use templates to visualise the composition.

Personally, I enjoy the ability to be able to create from my ipad rather than being at my computer.

The biggest downside of creating in raster patterns is that you can never scale up a pattern you have completed to a larger size. So if you later wanted to make it bigger for a larger scale project you would not be able to scale up your pattern without it becoming blurry.

Also Procreate has a layer limit. The larger you create your canvas the fewer layers you have to work with. So if you create very detailed work and want to create at a very large scale this may be a problem.

What are the pros and cons of VECTOR programs such as Illustrator?

With vector patterns you can easily scale them to whatever size you want. This means when you create your pattern you can keep your options open for the pattern to have many different uses in the future.

Artists who use both Procreate and illustrator have told me it is much easier to recolour patterns in Illustrator than it is in Procreate.

However, other artists have also told me it is much harder to create a textured or realistic painterly look in vector software.

Scanned in, vectorised artwork will always have a very different look to the original and there is nowhere near as much scope for creating intricate and realistic textures in vector software.

What can we learn from the pros and cons?

It seems that there is a valuable place for both raster and vector based artwork, depending on your own preferences and art style.

I have seen such beautiful patterns and pattern collections both in raster and vector form.

Part of your preference will be to do with what kind of art you want to create, how you like to create it and what you would like it to be used for.

What file types do companies ask for when they license your patterns?

Whatever your preferences for raster or vector based software it’s likely that this question is of great importance in your decisions about whether to create in raster or vector programs.

Your question might be more along the lines of: Will I be able to submit raster files to companies who want to license my work?

This is a question I have asked other artists time and time again and I have been given a variety of answers!

File requirements are rarely stipulated by fabric or wallpaper companies (unless it’s a Print on Demand company and anyone can add their art). So the answer to this question is often shrouded in mystery!

However, from those I have asked I think the ultimate answer is: it depends on the company! (Sorry!)

It seems that many companies, even those licensing full fabric collections are happy to accept raster files such as PSD files, Tiff files and PDF files (all of which you can provide in Procreate) as long as the files are layered and the resolution is high.

However this is not the case with all companies. Some printing setups require AI (Adobe Illustrator) files and some companies require vector files for ease of rescaling and recolouring.

On top of this some companies, particularly wallpaper companies may requite file sizes that are too big for Procreate to create.

Will I miss out on opportunities if I only create in Procreate?

As I explained above, it appears that raster files are often accepted in the industry.

Hooray!

However, there may well be some opportunities that are not be open to you if you are exclusively working in raster.

If you are worried about missing opportunities by creating in raster, take some time to think about what you see your art being used for in the future.

In the last couple of years I have had a number of opportunities to license my art, including to a greetings card company, a baby clothes company and a craft company, all with raster files that I created from start to finish in Procreate.

However, more recently I was invited to design for a wallpaper company and although they accept raster files, the sizes needed are so big it will significantly impact what designs I will be able to upload due to the layer restrictions in Procreate. So I have met with a limitation here. (But for my own take on limiting your opportunities read on to my own personal response in the next section!)

It would be a good idea to have a think about what opportunities you would like to pursue and make sure that you are creating art and file types that will be accepted by the companies you want to approach.

This may take some research, either by emailing companies and asking what file types they accept or by networking with other artists who already have those licensing deals and asking them.

Why I’ve chosen to create only in Procreate

I’ve tried in this post to set out in a balanced way the considerations for you as you decide what’s best for you in your SPD journey.

But you may be wondering why I choose to only create in Procreate, a raster based software, given that there are some downsides.

So here are my own personal reasons for choosing to pursue a career in surface pattern design solely in Procreate. (Remember these considerations may be different for you, I'm just explaining my own decisions!)

Firstly and possibly most importantly I love designing in Procreate! Part of the joy of the design process for me comes from sitting with my iPad, sketching ideas and creating interesting and original compositions.

I love the flexibility of creating anywhere and not being tied to my computer.

Part of my own artistic style is using textures in my work. I would struggle with not being able to get the look I wanted on a vector based program!

I enjoy experimenting with different brushes and exploring different design styles. This is so intuitive and easy in Procreate.

I have come up with a workflow that gives me the flexibility to keep my files layered and allow for colour changes later on. Whilst this may not be as slick as in illustrator it certainly does work and would allow me to change colours if needed later on and provide clients with layered files.

I have accepted that there may be opportunities that will not be open to me if I don’t create in illustrator.

Does this matter?

I don’t think so, and here’s why…

As artists there are always going to be limits on our opportunities.

For example, I was looking through the website of a gorgeous company the other day selling beautifully patterned blankets. As I often do, I took a look at whether they collaborate with artists to see whether I might send them my portfolio. As I read through it became apparent that as an Australian based company they only collaborated with Australian artists.

So this was an opportunity that was not open to me as I live in the UK. So did I decide to move to Australia so I could collaborate with this company?! No, I just accepted that this one was not an opportunity open to me and moved on to something else.

This may seem like a silly example, but there are always going to be opportunities that are not open to us whether we create in raster or vector! Sometimes it as simple as our art style does not align with a particular company.

But whenever there is an opportunity that is not available to you it gives you the space and time to pursue another one and I don’t think there is a shortage of opportunities for surface pattern designers in the world!

I have just decided to create the art I love in the way that I love and find opportunities that align with that.

(And also I am not ruling out the possibility of learning Adobe Illustrator one day! I am relatively new to the SPD scene and perhaps in the future I might feel like it is right for me, but at the moment it is definitely not on the cards and I am finding enough opportunities creating in Procreate.)

What are your own thoughts and experiences?

I'd love to continue this conversation in the comments below - if you have a personal view or experience on this do write a comment or if you have a particular question that I haven't covered - ask away!

Further Reading

I hope this blog post has been useful, but it's always helpful to get multiple viewpoints, paritularly on a topic like this when everyone has differenet experiences.

So I have done a bit of research and compiled a selection of articles from other artists on this topic. All of them have a lot of personal industry experience so have very valuable points to make.

Interestingly every article I found agreed that it was possible to be successful whether you work in raster or vector but all had slightly different advice and viewpoints so they are well worth a read!

Cat Coquilette:

Raster vs. Vector Explained - Which is better for surface design?

Rachelle from Pattern and Design:

Vector Versus Raster for your Pattern Designs

Maja Faber

Discover the Pros and Cons of Vector and Raster Patterns

Shannon from Sketch Design Repeat

Photoshop vs Illustrator: Which is Better for Surface Design?

Liz Kohler Brown

What Are Vectors and Do You Need to Use Them?

Elizabeth Silver

Do You Need to Know Adobe Illustrator for Surface Design?

Keep Learning:

If you're keen to understand my start-to-finish process for creating patterns in Procreate I go through it step by step in my Procreate Patterns Class:

If you work in Procreate and love textures as much as I do you may be interested in my seamless texture overlays. Just add them to your completed pattern for some really stunning results: