Geometric designs are not straightforward and take a bit of thought to prepare but after creating them they can be repeatedly used.

In this illustration we will create a Gingham pattern.

 




1. Firstly, work out how a pattern is going to create itself.

Now with the Rectangle tool click on the artboard and enter in a measurement of 2mm x 2mm.

It is better to create a pattern that is small. Just zoom in to see it clearly.

2. Select this rectangle and from the Object menu choose Transform and Move. In the Horizontal box put 2mm and Vertical 0mm. The Distance will automatically change to 2mm. Now press the Copy button. This will duplicate another box exactly the same size but 2mm offset.

3. Create 4 squares horizontally and 2 squares deep by using the Move command you know they are exactly 2mm apart.

4. Remove the stroke from all boxes. Color boxes 1,3,6 and 8 with 50% black.


Easily get the percentage of black by choosing grayscale on the sub palette on the Color palette.

5. Fill boxes 5 and 7 with 80% black and boxes 2 and 4 are 0% black. Your result will look as the example below.

6. Choose the Selection tool and drag the eight rectangles into the Swatches palette.


7. Draw a rectangle and fill with the new pattern swatch. Experiment with different colors.