It is amazing to see how designs can be transformed with the right use of textures and patterns. The present graphic design trends include the use of flowing gradients or textures. While textures provide the much-needed base to the design, patterns can help support your main design.
As a designer, you must have a set of good textures and patterns in your collection. You can fall back to them whenever you need them for any design. Watercolors can prove to be a good option for textures as they provide a good flowing effect to the design. The other advantage of watercolors is that they prove to be soft colors rather than solid fill colors. Choosing the right form of colors is also a science. Watercolor textures and patterns can add a good playfulness to the design and, at the same time, keep the design creative. We have collated a good collection of 25 free beautiful watercolor textures and patterns.
1. Soft Watercolor Texture
The first one on the list is a highly beautiful watercolor texture with a dreamy gradient. The colors used in the gradient are a fine representation of watercolors, and it is remarkable to see them going from purple to orange to yellow. The abstract stroke also gives this image a grunge effect. They can be perfectly used as background images for social media posts or even as overlay effects to provide watercolor texture effects.
2. Blue Ink Watercolor Texture
Downloadable in high resolution, this image is a fine creation of blue ink flowing onto the paper. It can have a dual purpose as it also looks like an abstract sky. The white space forms the thin clouds which are flowing in the blue sky. While the image can be used as it is for designing, many designers would want to get creative with this image and use it as a sky background in landscape images.
3. Light Colored Texture
Pastel colors are one of the biggest trends for a few years. We have seen them being used in almost all forms of designs. This image also has watercolor texture in pastel colors. The beautiful colors make the image really stand out. There is an attempt to create a gradient flowing from light pink to blue with white in the middle. The effect makes it look as if there are patches of these colors throughout the image.
4. Abstract Brown Watercolor Texture
One of the rising trends that we are witnessing, especially in digital media, is the use of watercolor patches. When done correctly, like in this image, they can accentuate the design. Most of such images are used for invitations or postcards, or even social media posts. While the varied brown watercolors patches give the image a character, the ample empty spaces provide the blank area to set up your text or other design.
5. Rainbow Pattern in Watercolors
Who does not like a good rainbow pattern? And when this pattern is handmade with watercolors, the image becomes all the more beautiful. This fine image consists of all the colors of the rainbow and is made using a light brush stroke, making the colors blend in with each other very well. Such images are high in demand for Pride activism. Apart from that, it can also be used to give a playful nature to the design.
6. Sandstone Effect Texture
Many textures are purposely used to give the background a good effect, and then there are some good enough textures to be used as it is. This image with the sandstone effect is one such texture that can be quickly used for any form of design. The good part is that the sandstone effect is created using watercolors. Such images are widely used for social media posts or websites of architects or interior designers.
7. Random Geometric Shape Pattern
The use of geometric shapes is preferred by a lot of designers these days. While some of these shapes are pretty accurate, there are times when abstract shapes also help expand creativity. That is what happens with this image formed out of various geometrical shapes and colored in various pastel shades. The watercolor effect in these shapes makes the image very cheerful.
8. Orange & Pink Watercolor Texture
One out of every three wedding card invitations would be based on the watercolor effect and that too in pastel colors. The style of watercolor sprayed on a white or light color or even spread across through cotton swabs is a highly popular effect. This image has various shades of pink setup as watercolors patches on white paper which makes the image really alluring. All you need to do is set up your text in contrasting colors and put the image to use.
9. Watercolor Leaves Pattern
This high-resolution image consists of a nice pattern of leaves. The leaves are of different styles, with different pink, blue, violet,, and green shades. The remarkable feature of the image is the use of watercolor styling in the leaves. Also, various small size leaves make the image look detailed and can be used for the fashion or textile sector.
10. Dark Wood Stroke Texture
One of the highly used textures for backgrounds would be the wood texture. This image is a very good attempt at recreating a dark wood effect using watercolors. The hard strokes in random directions are prominent, and they provide a masculine effect to the image. Such images are not used on a stand-alone basis but would work really when used as an image overlay to provide a strong texture effect.
11. Thumbprint Pattern
A vibrant pattern, this image can be nicely used in designs where you need to add a bit of cheerfulness. Different sizes of thumbprints are used to create a non-uniform pattern that can be used in loops as well. Watercolors shades of blue, pink, purple, and yellow are used to make the thumbprints stand out. In addition, the overlap of the prints results in the formation of a new shade, and that makes the pattern more realistic.
12. Green Lime Watercolor Gradient Texture
Not always would you need watercolor textures that are very strong in colors or effects. This image stands out as a neat and simple texture formed using pastel watercolors. If you observe closely, the strokes are not even resulting in a vortex effect in the top part of the image. The light green lime gradient used throughout the image makes it very pleasing to the eye. As a designer, you can use this image as it is by adding the text in contrasting colors. Or you can use it as a background image overlay to provide a subtle effect.
13. Watercolor Plaid Squares Pattern
Chequered squares pattern may be gone a few decades back, but there will be a time when you would need to recreate that vintage effect. That is when such a pattern can be very useful. Formed by hand-drawn straight lines, this pattern has a variety of colors. But the good part is that pastel or lighter shades are used, so the image is visually appealing. You can use it as a pattern to create a vintage look in your design.
14. Off-White Strokes Pattern
This image is a commonly used pattern in designing. The good part is that you can use this as a pattern or even as a texture. The brush strokes are very prominent, which provide the texture effect. The off-white color used is a good break from the usual vibrant watercolors. Also, this makes the image more usable as a background for multiple purposes.
15. Watercolor ZigZag Pattern
One of the offshoots of modern design is the return of zigzag patterns. This image is a classic representation of old European patterns. The striking difference is the use of watercolors for creating the pattern. But there is more than what meets the eye. If you observe closely, there is a nice gentle blue color gradient flowing through the lines. Also, the lines are formed out of circles of different shades of blue, and their overlapping creates a nice dotted pattern within the zigzag pattern.
16. Watercolor Shibori Pattern
If you are working a lot in the fashion industry, this image will be very useful. It consists of a classic shibori pattern which is a centuries-old Japanese dye-printing technique. The cloth is dipped into indigo dye and then squeezed and pressed to create this effect. The color used for the pattern is also indigo which has been the traditional color.
17. Hard Stoke Texture
If you are looking to use watercolor effects in strong or grunge designs, then you won’t get many options apart from this image. Created through prominent brush strokes, this image holds different shades of blue, indigo, purple, and even green. The overlapping of the strokes provides the much-needed grunge effect to the image and hence can be used as texture background.
18. Watercolor Droplets
Looking like a highly abstract and modern painting, this watercolor texture is something that is highly sought after by designers. Because it is naturally beautiful, it can be used on a stand-alone basis. You can extend the white spaces to add your design elements if needed, and you can rotate it by 90 degrees if you want to make it look more natural. Good designers can easily color the shade of the watercolors as well.
19. Cosmic Watercolor Texture
A brave design, this image can be easily used as a cosmic background. It seems that the image is created out of a variety of fine strokes using shades of blue, purple, and white. There are many painters who use water to give shape to their paintings, and this image seems to be close to that. You can also use this as a textured background if you are looking to add something abstract to the design.
20. Rainbow Tie Dye Pattern
This is a lovely image that can light up and design it is used in. Formed out of circles that look like the sun, this image has white strokes emitting out of the center of the circles. The use of yellow shade mixing with blue and purple makes the image very vibrant. Through color balance, you can play around with the colors to make them fit your design needs.
21. Grunge Painted Texture
A common but highly useful texture, this image is a must-have for any designer. It is created using strong, repeated brush strokes with the shade of blue. As a result, there is a nice gradient of blue to light blue running through the image. You can play around with its shade and at the same time use the image as it is by setting up contrast-colored text or design.
22. Blue & Orange Watercolor Clouds
This image is a piece of beauty, and you cannot help but admire it. It is created by flowing gradients of pink and blue. The strokes are used in such a way that it looks like clouds. There are also tiny droplets of color in the middle. The image should be used without much edit by setting up layers on top of it. It will definitely attract attention and hence can be used for social media posts, website headers, or event invitations.
23. Painted Heart Pattern
Everyone loves a heart pattern. This image is formed using baby pink hearts through a paintbrush. The pattern is neat and simple and hence easy to use. As a designer, you can quickly tweak it a bit to make it a seamless pattern and thereby use it for backgrounds for children or couple designs.
24. Colorful Watercolor Dots Seamless Pattern
This image is another handy watercolor pattern. Formed out of dots of varied sizes and colors, it can be used to provide the perfect background for designs related to children. Shades of orange, blue, green are used in their pastel avatars to make the image vibrant.
25. Mosaic Pattern in Watercolors
This is a lovely pattern that can make your design stand out. As you can see, a lot of effort has been put into creating this image. The changing shades and finish make it look like it is handmade, which adds value to the design. Pastel shades of blue and yellow are used in this image. You can use this mosaic pattern on a stand-alone basis or convert it into a seamless pattern for larger use.
Finding the right watercolor texture or pattern can help you accentuate your design. Given how trendy watercolor effects are, the above collection can be very helpful to all designers.
