Hey First name / friends!

 

Spring is in full bloom in the northern hemisphere, and with a new season brings fresh inspiration! 

 

I say that as I sit here blasting my A/C in Thailand where spring isn't really a thing. 😅 But you get the idea.

In fact, I've experienced pretty much all four seasons already this year from winter in the U.S. to summer here in the tropics and autumn last month in New Zealand. I'm heading to Italy in a few weeks and can't wait to see all the May flowers in bloom! 

 

With the coming of spring, I wanted to focus on a trend inspired by the season that's in style year-round – florals!

 

Fun fact: My recent collection with CellHelmet is made up almost entirely of floral patterns! Many of which were ones that I illustrated years ago. It just goes to show how marketable florals are in the world of art licensing!

Earlier this year, we did a maximalist floral pattern challenge since maximalism is a current hot trend for 2025. But this week, we're going to take it back to the basics and work on a simple floral pattern.

 

Simple florals are the most versatile kind of design to have in your portfolio. They're always on trend, and they can easily fit into larger collections of work as a blender pattern. 

 

Here's an example of how I used the same floral subject – daisies – and created both a maximalist pattern and a simple pattern. I bet you can tell which one is which. 😉

The simple daisy pattern has been a super versatile staple in my portfolio. It's gotten licensed on its own like in my recent phone case collection with CellHelmet. It also gets licensed as part of collections, too!

Here it is in another colorway as a blender pattern in one of my mini collections!

I hope this inspires you to see just how sellable floral patterns are! 

 

Not sure what I mean when I say “blender pattern”? It's just a type of basic pattern that is used to tie collections together. I wrote an entire blog post about the importance of simple patterns and how to design them here!

 

1. Use the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq in your caption

 

2. Tag me (@catcoq) in the actual photo — not just the caption. 

 

Tagging me in the image itself makes it way easier for me to find your artwork, especially since Instagram doesn’t always show hashtag posts in order anymore. This will help me see your post so I can share your work on my Instagram Stories and in this newsletter!

This challenge was sooooooo fun and so cute! I loved seeing the fabulous characterization that you all gave to your Easter animals!

 

If you want to be featured in this newsletter and on my Instagram stories, make sure to use the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq on Instagram and tag @catcoq in the actual photo you post so I can find your work! 

Have a fabulous week!