A fresh new group of first year Illustration students have arrived, all of which have just recently moved to Edinburgh and are very keen to explore their new home; and how could one do this better than through a drawing trip?

So we set out to discover parts of the city, and our tour took us through the Meadows, up to the National Museum of Scotland and St. Giles Cathedral, ending with a panoramic view from the Castle. We stopped in each of these places to do some observational drawings and some students also gathered pieces that they found along the way such as leaves or bits of rubbish that people had dropped.

Back in the studio students carried out research into historical and contemporary pattern making and presented these to one another. After a practical demonstration of how to make your own repeating pattern the students set out to make their own, incorporating their findings and drawings of Edinburgh. The drawings were then transferred into mdf sheets, A4 in size and printed repeatedly until they covered the size of A1.

For most students both printmaking and pattern design was new and they tackled it with great patience and enthusiasm. The project was a great way of getting into the routine of observational drawing and of making use of the sketchbook in order to create more resolved pieces. Repeat patterns can be applied in many ways, including textiles, book designs, wallpapers and wrapping papers; all relevant fields for illustrators to potentially explore.