{"id":127,"date":"2019-03-20T15:02:16","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T15:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/au.contrado.com\/blog\/?p=127"},"modified":"2021-02-18T18:16:24","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T18:16:24","slug":"make-repeating-pattern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/au.contrado.com\/blog\/make-repeating-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Repeating Pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s great putting your own art onto fabrics and products,\nespecially when you have a piece that is just perfect for the item in question.\nBut what about those smaller pieces you have? Those little doodles, the\nsimplistic yet still just as stunning pieces. Often, the perfect place for\nthese is within a pattern. Find out how to make a repeating pattern first using\nPhotoshop, and then finalising in the Contrado online design tool in this\narticle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photoshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Photoshop is Adobe\u2019s raster graphics editor, available for both Windows and macOS. Arguably the most popular graphic design program, Adobe Photoshop has endless tools and features to create almost anything that you can possibly imagine. Repeating patterns are no exception, so read on to find out how to make a repeating pattern in Photoshop in a simple step-by-step guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"images<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Prepping your image from paper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If your pattern components are on paper, you\u2019ll want to scan\nthose into your computer, use at least 300DPI. If you\u2019d like more information\non scanning artwork, check out our blog\npost<\/a>. Once your image is scanned, you\u2019ll want to cut the components out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do this in photoshop, open your images within the\nprogram, and use the \u2018Replace Colour\u2019 tool. We will be using this to make sure\nthat the background is completely pure white. You\u2019ll find this tool under the\nimage menu, under adjustments. In the replace colour options, you need to set\nfuzziness to 25 and ensure that you have ticked the box to show the preview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have closed the window with the correct settings, you need to click on your background. Doing this will cause the background shade to appear in the box that\u2019s labelled for the colour. You should have a \u2018Lightness\u2019 slider. Simply drag this slider all the way to the end, and you should see both your preview and your image change to display a bright white image. Once this is done, click okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"scanned<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Cutting out Your Components<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now you should have your components, either scanned from paper or from a file on your computer in an image file that you can open in Photoshop. Do this now, and then use the \u2018Pen\u2019 tool you carefully cut out each component one at a time. Once each component had been carefully traced around, copy and then paste it, and it should create a new layer, specifically with that one component on it. Once a separate layer has been made, reselect your original one and cut out the other components too, one at a time.
Eventually, what you should end up with, is a file with multiple layers, each layer being one component of the pattern that you want to create. You can do this with one or two pieces, or several, depending on how you want your finished piece to look, and what picture you have in your mind to work to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"cutting<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to Make a Repeating Pattern<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that we have the components open, we need to start on\nbringing those into one file and arranging them, then making sure that they\nwill repeat properly. This can be done in a few steps, as outlined below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Create your canvas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Create a new canvas within Photoshop, by simply selecting\n\u2018New\u2019 from the \u2018File\u2019 menu. This canvas will represent one tile or one \u2018repeat\u2019\nof your pattern. For example, if your pattern is a simple picture of a bee\nrepeated, then this tile would have the bee on it, or if it is a bee, as well\nas a honeypot and a honeycomb, it would have that on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can choose the size that you want the canvas to be, it\ndoesn\u2019t even have to be square, but it certainly makes it easier if it is.\nRemember the bigger the tile, the fewer times it will repeat, 100 x 100 pixels,\nwould be repeated four times on a 200 x 200-pixel background, whereas 50 x 50\npixels would repeat eight times on the same sized background. Always make sure\nthat you create the canvas with a transparent background, which you will be\nable to see on your canvas by the checkerboard effect, rather than a plain\nwhite background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will need to know where the centre of your canvas is. You can do this by making a note when you create the canvas (for a 100 x 100-pixel canvas, the mid-point would be at 50 x 50 pixels). You can also get Photoshop to show you this. Under the \u2018View\u2019 tab, you should find an option which says, \u2018New Guide\u2019. If you select this, you will get a pop-up form, where you can select \u2018Horizontal\u2019 or \u2018Vertical\u2019 with a position. Set this up for both horizontal and vertical (separately) and set the position to 50%. By the time you have finished this step, you should have a crosshair through the centre of your canvas. (You can change the colour of the lines to be easier to see in the \u2018Edit\u2019 menu, under \u2018Preferences\u2019 you need to select the \u2018Guides, Grid & Slices\u2019 menu. Photoshop defaults your guide colour to Cyan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"finding<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. How to make a repeating pattern tile<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next, you need to go to your original file and select all of\nyour layers which contain your pattern components. Copy this selection, and\nthen paste it into the new canvas that you just created. You can resize this if\nyou want to. To do so, simply select \u2018Scale\u2019 from the \u2018Transform\u2019 menu under\nthe \u2018Edit\u2019 tab. Once the right size, you need to position this in the centre\n(on the crosshairs if you set up the guides) of your canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll then need to make a duplicate of your first layer.\nThis is done by selecting \u2018Layer\u2019 and then \u2018Duplicate Layer\u2019, and then\nconfirming by clicking \u2018OK\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want more than one component of your repeating\npattern to be at the point where the image \u2018slices\u2019 for the tile, you will need\nto add those on to this duplicated layer too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now select the new layer \u2013 the duplicated one \u2013 so that we\ncan start actually making a repeat pattern. For the new layer, we need to\nselect \u2018Filter\u2019, then \u2018Other\u2019 and then go for the \u2018Offset\u2019 option. This is\nwhere the centre point of your image is needed, the one you made a note of when\ncreating the canvas. Add the centre point in the horizontal and vertical boxes.\nYou can tick the preview box, and this will show you the results on your canvas\nbefore you confirm and click \u2018OK\u2019. Under the \u2018Undefined Areas\u2019 section, you\nneed to make sure that \u2018Wrap Around\u2019 is selected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your component should now have a duplicated version of itself in each corner of the tile, and your first piece in the centre. You can then fill the blank areas with your other components, if you have any \u2013 be careful to make sure that these don\u2019t touch the edges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"beginning<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. How to make a repeating pattern to use in Photoshop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want to use your pattern within Photoshop, then you\nneed to basically tell Photoshop that it\u2019s a pattern. To do this, go to the\n\u2018Edit\u2019 tab, and choose the \u2018Define Pattern\u2019 option. You will then get a pop-up\nwindow form, which asks you to give it a name. At this point, you can call it\nliterally anything you like, but we\u2019d advise that you go for something that\nwill remind you exactly what is on the pattern, and perhaps include the tile\nsize. This last part is especially important if you are new to this or are\nplaying around with several tiles with similar images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve determined a name, simply click \u2018OK\u2019 and you have now told Photoshop that this specific image is a pattern. Now when you go to the \u2018Fill\u2019 menu, which is also in the \u2018Edit\u2019 tab, you will be able to select your pattern. The \u2019Fill\u2019 form has a \u2018Contents\u2019 section at the top. This is where you would normally select the colour you wish to fill the area with, however, from this menu you can also select \u2018Pattern\u2019. Doing this will enable the drop-down menu below it which is labelled \u2018Custom Pattern\u2019. Click the image\/preview thumbnail that you can see there, which will open the \u2018Pattern Picker\u2019. This will show you all the pattern options that you can select from. Simply select your new pattern tile from there, and Photoshop will fill the area with the repeating pattern that you just learned how to make. It will automatically duplicate it as many times as it needs to so that it fills the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"your<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to make a repeating pattern to use on the Contrado\nwebsite<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To be able to use your repeating pattern on the Contrado\nwebsite, all you need to do is save the tile. We would recommend doing so as a\nPNG, as this will keep it on a transparent background (if you want to use the\nContrado design tool to select your background colour). You may wish to\ndetermine the background colour within Photoshop, if that is the case then\nsaving as a standard JPEG will be fine. Use the \u2018Save As\u2019 option under the\n\u2018File\u2019 tab and select the file type from the dropdown menu within the form.\nAgain, here you can determine what you want to call your pattern tile, but we\nwould give the same recommendations as we did before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now you have seen how to make a repeating pattern, and how to save it for later use in Photoshop as a background, and as a file to upload directly. Simply add it to a range of Contrado products, and use the basic repeat option within the design interface, to tile your pattern across the entire customisable space, and create your patterned background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"open<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s great putting your own art onto fabrics and products, especially when you have a piece that is just perfect for the item in question. But what about those smaller pieces you have? Those little doodles, the simplistic yet still just as stunning pieces. Often, the perfect place for these is within a pattern. Find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Here's how to make a repeating pattern in Photoshop (plus tips for using our online Contrado design tool). Print with us using your original artwork today!"},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Make a Repeating Pattern - Contrado Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's how to make a repeating pattern in Photoshop (plus tips for using our online Contrado design tool). Print with us using your original artwork today!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/au.contrado.com\/blog\/make-repeating-pattern\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Make a Repeating Pattern - Contrado Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here's how to make a repeating pattern in Photoshop (plus tips for using our online Contrado design tool). 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