The edges of the tiles mate seamlessly together. Making a background tile using the sandstone texture (applied with the Texturizer Filter) is very popular and is a good example of the use of this technique. 1. Start by making a 4" x 4" RGB image at 72 pixels per inch with a white background. Save the file as TILE01.PSD or other name. Pick a color from the swatches palette that appeals to you and set it as the foreground color. By moving the mouse over the swatches, the cursor turns into an eyedropper. Simply clicking the mouse on any color swatch will set the foreground color to the one you pick. 2. Next use the bucket tool and click anywhere in the image area to flood fill it with the foreground color you selected tile1.gif 3. Next apply the sandstone filter to the image with the command: Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Sandstone In this example set Scaling=100, Relief=4 and the Light Direction=Top. Click "OK" to close the dialog and apply the texture to the image. tile2top.gif tile2.jpg 4. Make a new 4" x 4" RGB image at 72 pixels per inch with a white background. This image will only be used to test the tiling of a selected portion of the first image. It will not be saved. tile3top.gif tile3.gif 5. Click the rectangular selection tool. In the Marquee Options palette select Style=Fixed Size, Width=100 pixels, Height=100 pixels and Feather=0 pixels. tile4.gif 6. Click anywhere in the image area. A 100 x 100 pixel selection marquee will appear. You will be selecting an area that will serve as a pattern that fills the second image. Since the defined pattern will simply be a tile, the trick of this technique is to select as uniform an area as possible. The goal is twofold: a) The defined area should be as uniform as possible without any distracting flaws or unusual patterns that will repeat throughout the fill. b) The outer edges of the defined area should mate smoothly together when they are tiled, although this is not as important as a) above because the next tutorial will explain how to overcome this. 7. Using any selection tool, click inside the selection and while pressing the mouse button, drag the marquee to a suitable location tile2top.gif tile5.jpg Once you have selected the area to define as a pattern, click: Edit > Define Pattern 8. Next make sure the test image is the active window then click: Edit > Fill You will see the following dialog. Select: Contents: Use=Pattern Blending: Opacity=100%, Mode=Normal. Then click "OK" to apply the pattern fill to the image. tile6.gif 9. Now check the results of the pattern fill on the image. Look for smears, ridges, or any uneven repeating texture picked up from the pattern definition in step 7 above. If you see any undesirable repeating pattern, simply drag the selection marquee to a new location in the TILE01.PSD file and repeat the command: Edit > Define Pattern Repeat steps 7 and 8 as necessary until the image is filled with a smooth, even texture. tile3top.gif tile2.jpg 10. Once you are satisfied with the results make the TILE01.PSD the active window and click: Image > Crop This will crop the image down to a 100 x 100 pixel tile.

Last edited by deane101 (2008-07-13 06:48:47)