Photoshop Tutorial


How to Create a Seamless Texture using Adobe Photoshop

By Darren Hester

Years ago, seamless textures were used primarily for desktop wallpaper and web page backgrounds. Today, high resolution textures are used for a variety of design applications including 3D texture mapping. This tutorial will show you how to create your own seamless texture from a digital photograph.

Step 1 : Selecting a Photograph
I'm using a stone texture from the Pixel Perfect Digital image archive. You can download it here. This photo should work well because it has a fairly consistant pattern and color.



Open the full-size (2400x1600) image in Photoshop.

Step 2 : Resize the image
Let's resize the image to 600x400 to make it easier to work with. From the top menu bar select Image > Image Size. Now enter 600 for width and 400 for height.



Step 3 : Offset the Image
We will now "offset" our texture into four equal parts. The offset is what allows the image to repeat (or tile). From the top menu bar select Filter > Other > Offset.



Enter 300 for Horizontal Offset and 200 for Vertical Offset (1/2 of the original image length and width).

You will now see the image appears to have been cut into four segments:



The offset image clearly has a vertical and horizontal "seam". We will eliminate those using the Clone Tool. But first, lets even out the color a bit.

Step 4 : Adjusting Color with High-Pass Filter
From the top menu bar, click Filter > Other > High Pass. Enter 18.0 for the Radius. You can experiment with different radius settings. I normally use a setting between 15-20 depending on the image. The lower the number the more drastic the change.



Here's our image after the High Pass Filter has been applied:



All four segments have the same color tone. No harsh shadows or highlights. Now to get rid of the seams!

Step 5 : Removing the Seams with the Clone Tool
With the clone stamp tool (formerly known as the rubber stamp tool), you can copy, or clone copies of a portion of an image and paint them onto any other part of the image. The size of the area copied depends on the brush size you select from the brushes pop-up menu on the tool’s options bar.




When cloning, it's always best to use a brush with soft edges (a hard edge brush tends to create even more seams). From the Brush Drop Down Menu, select a 27 pixel diameter soft edge brush.




Now that we've specified the brush size, we're ready for the clone tool. The clone tool icon is located on the tool bar and looks like a rubber stamp. Click the clone tool icon and move your pointer over the image. You should see a circular outline of the brush you selected earlier.

Hold down the Alt key while clicking to pick up, or copy the image data you want to transfer. Then move the pointer to where you want to apply that data and click, or click and drag. A cross-hair will appear to indicate where you are copying from. When you start painting, the cross-hair will be at the spot where you Alt-clicked.

By selecting pixels from random areas on the image, then applying them to the seams, we can blend all four sections of our image together. Here's my image after working with the clone tool for a few minutes:



You can download the new (600x400) seamless tile here. I hope you have found this tutorial helpful.

Visit our Texture Gallery for more High Resolution Seamless Textures!