Hey there, creators! The Felt Right Team is thrilled to give a happy shout out to one special imaginator – and one of our newest friends. Meet Dakota, the latest winner of our Felt Right Friend's Facebook Group Design Contest. 

Dakota went to work in our Design Studio, just kind of having fun, because that’s how it works at Felt Right, and to be honest, her designs blew our minds. Check them out here, and try not to be amazed.

We sat down with her to figure out where her award-winning magic came from…and hopefully get inspired along the way.

1. We’ve really enjoyed your tile designs. How did you find out about Felt Right?

I saw a creator I enjoy on YouTube talking about them and the possibilities immediately got me excited! 

2. What’s your artistic background? Is it something you do professionally?

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation, and currently work full-time as a freelance animator. My favorite work is making educational children's content, but I just like making stuff in general.

3. What inspired your tile designs?

The strawberries have been a theme for me recently. I've started collecting clothes and items with strawberries on them, and I just loved the idea of making a strawberry pixel mural to transform my room! It was just a personal dream project when I started.

4. How do you come up with the combinations of colors and shapes?

Color and Shape are part of my day-to-day as an artist but to do what I wanted with these felt tiles, I had to learn a bit more about pixel art. Felt Right has a lot of different kinds of tiles available but I chose to use mostly small square tiles so that I could create smoother transitions between the colors.

5. How long does it typically take for you to create a design in the Felt Right Design Studio?

It can really depend. A larger, more complicated piece can take a few days before I'm satisfied with it, but smaller pieces or designs that rely on the interesting geometric shapes Felt Right has available don't take too long at all!

6. What’s your process when you work in the Design Studio? Do you build your designs a certain way? Have you found any shortcuts or hacks?
In the Felt Right Design Studio, I start by using small blocks to just ‘rough in’ the shape I want. After that I fill in the basic colors, and adjust the shape as needed. At that point, I get creative with the colors available and try to create gradients and shading. My final step is cleaning things up and swapping out small squares for larger ones where I can since that will make it a little easier to assemble.

I think it's great to look at existing art for inspiration, and to use reference images if you are trying to recreate a real-life object.

7. Who are some of your favorite artists and designers?

8pxl is a fantastic pixel artist and was definitely a big inspiration for this project. I have always loved Van Gogh and impressionist work generally as well. I think there is an interesting overlap between impressionist work and pixel art: both are more focused on capturing the feeling of the thing rather than being photo-accurate. It's a beautiful challenge.

8. Any ideas on how you’re going to use your Felt Right gift card? (We can’t wait to see your next brilliant design!)

I’m very excited to have won! I plan to use the gift card to make my strawberry dreams come true, but I've already started working on some new designs as well! I would encourage anyone to try out the Felt Right Design Studio and try making something for themselves!

Want to Try Your Hand at a Design Today? Click Here!