Photoshop seamless pattern - Graphic Design Courses

There are several methods of creating seamless patterns in Photoshop, which we explore in our Adobe Photoshop training courses.
Firstly, open Photoshop and create a new file, 500 by 500 pixels at a resolution of 150 ppi, which is a good print resolution. And the colour mode of RGB. Next go to the shape tools and select the Ellipse tool. Press down on the Shift key as you create a circle with the colour black.
Now use the Move tool to select both layers, pressing Shift to add to a selection. Note the tools at the top Control panel for aligning the layers. Choose to Align the vertical centres and the horizontal centres.
Next we select the top layer and go to the Filter drop-down menu to choose Other and Offset. Hit OK to rasterize the layer, that is convert from a vector shape into pixels. We can now type in half the document size of 250 by 250 pixels and tick Wrap around which will make the circles jump to the four corners of the tile. Now create a new layer and create a larger circle in the middle of the tile. Double-click on the layer thumbnail to change the colour to red. Use the Move tool to select this and the background layer in order to Align the horizontal and vertical centres. You could also fill the Background layer with a colour at this point. Then go to the Layer options and select Flatten Image. This comprises our repeat pattern (or print in textiles terminology).
To create the repeat go to the Select menu and choose All (or Ctrl+A; Mac is Command+A). Then go to the Edit menu and choose Define Pattern. Name it Spots-01, for example. Then Select and Deselect (or Ctrl+D).
To see how this pattern or print will repeat create a new document using the Preset of International Paper and A4 with a resolution of 300 ppi (for high quality printing), and RGB as the colour mode. Create a new layer and use the Bucket tool to fill with any colour initially. Then double-click on thumbnail and select Pattern Overlay. The last in the list is Spots-01. While this dialog box is open you can move the pattern around, or change the Scale and Opacity, and hit OK to exit.
Note the new sub-layer; click on this to adjust the pattern. This method gives you more control than the simpler Edit > Fill With: Pattern method.
Lastly save the file in the PSD format first (which is the Photoshop Default). This is your working file and preserves the layers for future use. To send the print to a client for approvel or printing save as either a JPEG, Photoshop PDF or Photoshop EPS, depending on what they require.
Many more tips and techniques can be found at the Adobe website. And see many examples of our clients’ work on our Facebook page.
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