121 Multipurpose Motifs

About the Book

Every individual passes through a phase during childhood where he or she does a lot of scribbling and doodling. This is the phase where one tries to register, create, or explore one’s ideas. Most probably, the walls in the house would have been the first canvas. Later on, one would actually think of taking these doodles seriously. My experience was no different. I had a lot of papers to do my doodling. I very quickly exhausted these papers with my creative outpourings. Though it might sound surprising, those early creative thoughts are the basis of my creative outputs throughout my career! My school, namely Kendriya Vidyalaya, had subjects that helped me to improve my inborn talents. Sometime between the ages of eight and thirteen, I decided that drawing and painting or something similar would be my profession. As I belonged to one of the biggest textile centers in the world, namely Coimbatore, I naturally chose textile design as my subject for my undergraduate degree. I studied the five-year bachelor’s of science course in industrial design—textile design under the Faculty of Engineering, University of Madras at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras. I passed in first class with distinction. As I am typing these words, I realize that I have completed more than a quarter century of work experience as a designer. I have designed for a wide variety of textiles including sarees, dress materials, suiting and shirting, furnishing fabrics, specialty fabrics, made ups, and many more. As a textile designer, I have contributed far and wide in my career. I have worked extensively both for the Indian domestic market as well as the eternally demanding export markets. Over the course of my experience, I have understood the requirements of the various markets around the world. I am also proud to have worked for the biggest textile design studio in the world namely Reliance Industries Limited, Textile Division in Ahmadabad, India. I have done freelancing extensively for the textile, entertainment, print, architecture and interior decoration, packaging, and other fields. So, today, I can give my design inputs to a wide variety of products confidently and successfully to the domestic or export market. This confidence has led me to teaching as a guest faculty and later joining the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Chennai as an associate professor. I have headed the Foundation Program at Chennai, and I am, at present, the campus coordinator for the Department of Textile Design. This book, 121 Multipurpose Motifs, is a long-cherished idea of mine, to provide the raw material requirements for the creative mind. This book is a small selection of creative motifs that I created over the past few years. Any person, either a professional or an amateur, can add a lot of joy and emotion to a visual creation using this book as an inspiration. I hope my motifs inspire many of you to create better designs for a long time to come! V. R. KARTHIKEYARAYAN

About the Author

My school, namely Kendriya Vidyalaya, had subjects that helped me to improve my inborn talents. Sometime between the age of eight and thirteen, I knew that drawing and painting would be my profession. As I belonged to one of the biggest textile centers of this world, namely Coimbatore, I was not surprised choosing textile design as my subject for my undergraduate degree. I studied the five-year bachelor’s of science course in industrial design—textile design under the Faculty of Engineering, University of Madras at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras (now Chennai). As I am typing these words, I realize that I have completed more than a quarter century of work experience as a designer. I have designed for various textiles like saris, dress materials, furnishing fabrics, special fabrics, and many more. Whether print, weave, or dying, I am sure I can contribute a lot as a designer. I have worked extensively both for the Indian domestic market as well as the ever demanding exports markets.