This Halloween design is my first attempt at a toile de Jouy pattern, which I made for Spoonflower’s ‘Toile with a Twist’ contest in June. It features cute cats and other Halloween motifs, including a witch on a broomstick, a ghost, a cemetery, a haunted house, the grim reaper with his skeleton cat friend, and more!
Cute Halloween Cats Toile de Jouy Pattern
When Spoonflower announced the theme for this contest, I was in two minds about doing it. I still draw slower than I’d like and knew it would be challenging to create a complex realistic(ish) design in the two week deadline – especially as I had some other things going on and couldn’t draw every day. But in the end I wanted to try, and I’m glad I did, as I found I really enjoy the toile style.
I drew the original in black and white, and did three other colour variations later. Unlike my simpler patterns, this one started out as pencil sketches on paper, and took a *lot* of planning. I also didn’t know much about the toile style, so I watched a couple of great Skillshare classes for research (by Bärbel Dressler and Beatriz Pascual).
Making this design was quite a stressful experience though, as I was constantly working against the clock. In the end I ‘finished’ and submitted about half an hour before the deadline. ‘Finished’ is in quotes because I would’ve liked to spend more time refining the drawings and adding more realistic shading, as well as making the cats black. I suppose I could go back and change some things now the contest is over, but TBH I can’t really face doing that. I was quite burned out on it by the time I was done, and at some point I have to call a piece good enough. Otherwise I can just keep tinkering away for weeks when it’s really better to take what I’ve learned and move on. And I learned a lot from this one!
Despite the issues, I’m pleased with how it came out, and will definitely try toile again. I know it’ll be more fun when I can take my time with no deadlines to worry about.
This design placed 17th in the contest, which I was happy with – especially as my previous best was in the 400s! I know placement isn’t the important thing, but it’s nice to make something that resonates with people.
You can find this cute Halloween toile pattern on Spoonflower on fabric, wallpaper and home decor items. See them (along with coordinating solids) here.
