Complex Repeating Patterns Part I in Photoshop

Introduction

Though there are multiple ways to get to the same result, for me the following method is the most accurate, detailed and versatile, and unlike other methods it allows unlimited future reworking of the pattern if needed… it's also requires the most work, so be prepared.

(*note: This tutorial assumes you know how to use the pen tool with a degree of proficiency.)

Step 1

There are a myriad of excellent resources and inspiration for repeating patterns online and anytime I'm creating something this complex I like to at least have a piece of reference material to get me started. In this case I'm going to go wallpaper shopping… yes, actual wallpaper. I paid a visited to the Wallpaper Direct website and did a search for "damask" patterns. Once I found a pattern I thought would make a good starting point I copied the image and pasted it into a new Photoshop document.

To get this swatch for yourself if you're following along at home follow this link to reach the search page where I found my pattern. Click on the DE067 / Ashdown swatch which will open the popup window showing the pattern repeating in the background (although not exactly perfectly). Command-Click (PC: Right-Click) on the background pattern in the upper left corner of the window and choose "View Background Image", this will show just the .jpg file the page is using as it's repeating background. Command-Click (PC: Ctrl-Click) on the image and choose "Copy Image" then switch back to Photoshop and press Command-V (PC: Ctrl-V) to paste the pattern onto the stage of a new document.

(*note: I'm using a 1000×1000 pixel document so that I can have plenty of room to work.

Step 2

Next lets press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the new layer and move the copy to where the next tile in this repeating pattern should go. Repeat this another two times until you've created a space where you can see how the pattern is supposed to look on all sides. I'm going to place a copy above, below and off to the right of my initial swatch. If you're using the same swatch as me, you'll notice that the edges don't meet up exactly right (like there are a few edge pixels missing), to compensate for this I'm going to leave a little gap between those spaces so when I trace the pattern everything will actually be in the right place.

To keep things clean select all 4 pattern layers in the layers palette and press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E) to merge the selected layers into a single layer.

Step 3

Now that I've got a good idea of the flow of the pattern we've got one last step in the setup process before we get into creating the new pattern. We'll be tracing the edges of our source pattern with the pen tool in a minute and since we obviously want our pattern to be perfectly symmetrical lets add a simple vertical guide. If your rulers aren't visible press Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) to bring them up and drag a guide onto the stage by clicking on the ruler on the left side of the stage and dragging the guide out to the stage. The guide needs to cut the pattern in half perfectly.

Step 4

This is where the real work begins. Grab the Pen tool by pressing the P key. Beginning at the top of the pattern place an anchor point on the guide line and begin tracing the right (or left) side of the pattern. I find that zooming in on the area I'm working on makes this easier. Keep in mind that you're creating a new pattern here and you can take as much liberty or add/subtract as much detail as you see fit. The swatch we're working on is just a guide and you can deviate as much as you like.

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