
Are You A Repeat Offender? Part 2
Aug 04, 2025Repeat Rehab
So, you finished last week’s blog—“Are You a Repeat Offender?”—and now you’re side-eying your own pattern collection like, “Oh no… I think I put the same bee in five different patterns!”
First of all, deep breath. You're not alone. And second—this post is for you.
Welcome to Part 2 of my Repeat Rehab series. It’s time to analyze what’s working, what’s overworked, and what needs to be redrawn from scratch.
Let’s dive in.
Identify the Repeat Offenders (for Existing Patterns)
Open up that pattern collection you love so much (or the one that’s been haunting you from your desktop folder named “FINAL_final2_USETHISmaybe”). Look closely.
Ask yourself:
- How many of these motifs are unique?
- Are you using the same exact daisy in three different layouts?
- Did you shrink your hero elements and call it a new coordinate?
I’ve done it.
You’ve probably done it.
But now—it’s time to fix it.
Don't Copy-Paste—Re-Draw Instead
Let’s say your collection has a hero pattern full of lush florals. You need a coordinate pattern—a ditsy or a blender. Do not, I repeat, do not just shrink those florals and sprinkle them around.
Why? Because it screams things you don’t want to say:
I’m an amateur. I rushed this. I don’t care. I don’t know what I’m doing.
Instead:
- Take a deep breath (and grab your third coffee of the day)
- Open Procreate or Photoshop
- And redraw smaller, simpler floral elements that match the style and color palette—but are new.
That tiny tweak creates an instant upgrade. Your collection goes from cut-and-paste chaos to polished and professional.
If your hero motif is a daisy and you’ve copy-pasted that same daisy into other designs in your collection. Find that daisy and redraw it.
Daisies are simple. How many ways can you redraw a daisy? Don’t give in to that negative talk. Let your creative side loose. This is why you do what you do.
Draw longer petals. Draw a different number of petals. Draw the interior circle larger or make it into a tiny dot. Draw an unfilled outline of a daisy in a bold brush. The key here is the word DRAW. Nowhere in this paragraph did you see the words, copy-paste.
Study Your Patterns Like Sherlock Holmes
Once you've identified potential copy-paste crimes, do a motif inventory. This is where the detective work gets fun.
Step 1: Count Your Unique Motifs
Go through each pattern and tally:
- How many distinct elements are there?
- Are you seeing the same flower in three patterns with just a hue change?
Be honest. Even the cutest daisy can get old real fast.
Step 2: Scrub Excess Repeats
If you’re using more than 2–3 of the same motifs across multiple patterns, it’s time for some rehab.
Delete. Re-draw. Refresh.
And don’t worry—this doesn’t mean you need 25 totally different motifs. It just means your viewer shouldn’t feel déjà vu when scrolling your portfolio.
Make Sure Your Hero Pattern Is the Star
Here’s where we get strategic.
Your hero pattern is Taylor Swift (or Brittany, Madonna, Tina - pick your era, you get my drift). It’s bold, charismatic, and clearly in charge. The rest of your collection? Backup dancers.
Your Motif Breakdown Should Look Like This:
- 5(ish) Main Motifs – detailed, unique, and exclusive to your hero pattern.
- 6–10 Supporting Motifs – simpler elements that fill gaps and reinforce the theme.
Do not recast your hero motifs as backup dancers. Taylor Swift (or Tina Turner) would never want to perform a song as a background dancer. It would be weird and unprofessional.
If you’re unsure how to structure your collection this way, my Procreate Pattern Collection Masterclass teaches this inside and out—plus it includes 25 repeat templates to make your life easier.
You can also sign up for one-on-one coaching with yours truly. I’m opening up a new program on August 8th. More details on that next week, so stay tuned!
Scale Like a Pro
Even if your motifs are unique, if they’re all the same size, your collection’s going to feel… flat.
Make sure you mix it up:
- Big blooms for the hero
- Mid-size icons for your secondary print
- Tiny tosses for your ditsy
Pro tip? Print your tiles out at scale, and hang them side by side. Your eye will instantly spot the ones that look too similar. This one trick alone has saved me from more than a few oops moments.
Hitting a creative slump? Need ideas for collection pieces? Try my FREE ArtIgniter tool. It’s the perfect tool to give you the creative boost you need.
A Real-Life Oops from My Own Portfolio
Now, just so you don’t feel too bad —let me tell you about one of my early flops.
I had a gorgeous hero pattern. I was so in love with it, I couldn’t bear to let it go. So… I copied half of it and made two "new" patterns. I thought I had a cohesive collection.
But when I uploaded the set to my portfolio? Crickets.
Why? Because it wasn't a real collection. There was no depth, no contrast, no variety.
Tools to Help You Spot (and Fix) Repeats
Here’s a toolkit I wish I had when I was still calling everything “FINALfinal_USEME.plz”:
✅ Free Seamless Pattern Tester
Upload your tile and preview the repeat instantly. It’s the fastest way to catch copy-paste fatigue before your client does.
✅ Designing with Insight Email Course
This free 5-day course walks you through the five elements every pattern needs: composition, color, scale, theme, and technical excellence. Bonus: includes a self-critique checklist.
Final Thought: It's Not About Perfection—It's About Progress
Pattern design isn’t paint-by-numbers—it’s art. You’ll make mistakes. In fact, you should make mistakes! It means you’re learning.
But by regularly studying your motifs critically, redrawing instead of duplicating, and adding purposeful contrast in pattern scale and detail, your collections will shine like the professional portfolios they’re meant to be.
NEXT STEPS
🎯 Take 15 minutes today to review one of your past collections. Ask: What can be redrawn? What looks too familiar? What’s missing that would take this from “okay” to OMG yes please?
Then do one thing to improve it.
Because the path from amateur to pro? It’s not a sprint—it’s a sketch-by-sketch, pattern-by-pattern evolution.
You’ve got this.