Whimsical and elegant patterns and illustrations ready to license for gift, stationery, fabric, and home décor.
Hi there...
I’m Barbara Abbatiello. I am a Surface Pattern Designer and Illustrator. My goal is to create elegant, fun and whimsical patterns and illustrations perfect for your products. With years of technical experience in graphic design, I can be sure to create art the way you want and can speak your language getting art ready for your products.
A little about me...
I’ve loved art for as long as I can remember; drawing, coloring, and creating wherever I could. I started college as an Engineering major, thinking it was the practical choice, but my mom gently (and persistently!) encouraged me to follow my artistic side. After one art class, I knew she was right. I switched majors and never looked back.
My Experience
I have spent the past 20 years as a Designer, both in the corporate world and as a Freelancer. I enjoyed my corporate career for over 13 years at PAPYRUS Greeting Cards/Marcel Schurman. I soaked up all the goodness I could from being around an incredibly talented team every day. I eventually left to become a stay-at-home mom/freelancer. Now you’ll find me in my studio doing my dream job and creating my heart out, designing art for products like yours.
Check out my skills below...
Skills
Technical Skills
I love technology. I work in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. I am constantly learning and training. You will also find me on my Ipad, which I would rather have than my phone. I love this thing! I work in Procreate and Adobe Fresco. WordPress is my new friend and I enjoy tinkering around.
Traditional
Mmm… the smell of paint on wet paper. There’s something magical about watching watercolor flow and blend on the page. My studio is my happy place. I studied traditional art with lots of drawing and painting, just as everything was shifting to digital. Even now, I love that mix of old and new. Most days you’ll still find me with a sketchpad or iPad and coffee at Starbucks, happily lost in my creative world.
Surface Pattern Design
I create patterns and designs in Photoshop and Illustrator. There’s something magical about making a repeat and seeing it lock up perfectly. Watching the full pattern come to life is one of my favorite parts of designing. From concept and inspiration to sketching, digitizing, colorizing, and building the final pattern, the process always feels fresh and exciting. Every new project feels a bit like Christmas each time I see it finished.