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Defining and using patterns. With Images.
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Defining and using patterns: With Images
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1.
Filling with a
Pattern can be a great way to fill up a large area quickly.
All you have to do is create a small image, specify it as the pattern, then go to a larger image (or a selection) and fill with the pattern. You can also "paint" the pattern anywhere you'd like with the Pattern Stamp Tool  .
The most common use for something like this has been to create background images for web pages. Though they seem to be a little out of fashion recently, there was a time when web designers were very concerned with download times, so a small image that repeats to fill an indefinite space was most appealing.
To the left you're seeing the repeating pattern of an image I'll create below.
Let's get to it! |
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2.
What you designate as a pattern is completely up to you. There are many possible uses of this task.
In this tutorial I'm going to deal with the use of images in a repeating, or tiling, pattern.
I start out by creating a small file. Small, for me, means something like the dimensions you see to the left. Next in that file I add some noise to a green background and then start pasting some images of money that I had handy. There's only two images, but I duplicate and scale them repeatedly.
Once you've got something you'd like to use, you've got to specify what the pattern will be. First make a selection. Since my entire image is going to be used, I choose Select: All. Then I go to the Edit Menu and choose Define Pattern. Now I'm ready to start filling. |
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3.
Once you have a place to
fill, choose Edit: Fill... and you'll see this dialog box:
Pick Pattern from the Use: pop-up menu. Notice you can vary the opacity and blending mode if you desire.
There's my repeating pattern to the left (scaled down a bit)! It's OK, but I'm not crazy about all those vacant spots. Wouldn't it be cool if we could fill those areas near the edge of the individual tiles without having the bills look like they 're sliced apart?
Holy Photoshop, Batman! We can! |
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4.
Go to the
Filter menu and choose Other: Offset... and you are presented withe the dialog to the left. This filter is going to take your image and move it so that you'll be able to see the edges (where the tiles would meet when you fill with Pattern). Your image will need to be flattened to move all the elements. I want the edges to be right in the middle of the window so the numbers I enter in the Horizontal and Vertical fields are half my image dimensions (remember it was 190 X190 pixels?). Don't forget to click the Wrap Around button, otherwise your image won't... uhh... wrap around.
To the left, see what the results of the Offset Filter have done. Now the annoying vacant areas are accessible. And the money that was already there has been cut apart in such a way so that, when tiled, will fit together perfectly. |
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5.
Now I just have to paste and scale some
more dollars. Luckily I knew this was coming, so after I flattened the image for offsetting I made a
copy and then reverted to the unflattened version using the History Palette. That way I still have access to the money on their individual layers. Anyway, I just drag them from one window to the other and fill up the areas I want. |
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6.
Here's that file, scaled
down, and used as a background image in the cell to the left. I always knew I'd get rich using
Photoshop!
When I want to test patterns and see how well they tile, I'll just create a new, much larger file, and choose Edit: Fill... and select Pattern as I did in step 3 above.
Now the empty areas are filled, and though you can easily see a repeating pattern, it's not at all obvious where the tile edges are. Very clever. |
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7.
Damn. That was so
much fun I want to do it again! Much faster this time of course. I made a blue background in a small
file, then started pasting and scaling a couple of clock faces I had selected. For an added bit of fun
and variety, I adjusted the color balance on each individual layer resulting in what you see
here. |
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8.
Now I take that last image you saw above, flatten it, and use the Offset Filter. It looks like what you see to the left. I really thought I'd need to add more clock faces, but taking a look at it after offsetting, I think only that one large empty space needs filling.
I quickly shove another clock in there and raise the level of blue considerably, and that's that. |
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9.
Here's how it turned out!
Isn't it swell? Oh, I forgot you already saw it at the top of this tutorial.
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10.
I think it was version 5.0 of Photoshop that introduced the Pattern Stamp Tool . It's usually hidden underneath the Rubber Stamp Tool  in your tools palette. Aren't they similar looking? You can see to the upper left that their Options Palette is pretty much the same, too. At left, I took a small image and after filling it with a pinkish color, went wild painting using the Pattern Stamp. I used a variety of brush sizes and opacities. It feels like sort of the opposite of erasing. There's lots of possibilities of course. When I needed to fill a complicated area with hair in a photographic image once, (and I didn't feel like having to constantly redefine the cloning source with the Rubber Stamp) I made a pattern of hair and then just painted it in with the Pattern Stamp.
Happy Image Editing! |
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