Texture Tiling Trick for Clothes

For those that havent read what I previously posted for a texture tiling trick.
1. save the picture that you would like tiled to a jpg, bmp. Make sure its the size that you want. If you are looking for a free program to cut, paste and view files that is small with minimum loading time please check out a program called Irfanview.

2. right click on your desktop for properties and make sure your icons on your desktop are hidden, and your tool bar (just right click on your toolbar and hit properties and click on autohide).

3. go into desktop display where you put wallpaper and click browse. Find the pic that you want hit okay, then press tile, then save, ok.

4. Take a print screen shot of your desktop, that will copy it, open up Irfanview and paste it in, and save it to whatever you want. There you are you have a tiled pic, without heavy system resources, and if you dont like it its easier to resize and do it again.

These processes take at most maybe a minute or two to do. Once you get the hang of it, it is really easy, and sometimes better then any complex program that you may use, that and you have the Tiled pic saved so you can reference back to it. For all those that have other programs like Photoshop please ignore this trick as it does not pertain to you it pertains to those that dont have a bunch of money to throw at a program. Any of you that already have a program please refrain from comment as this does not pertain to you either, this is simply for those that do not have a venue to achieve tiling.




As for those that have previous commented and have seen my suggestions, the following is for you
This is Me:
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9172/yukietl8.jpg

Almost everything that im wearing I made and was made prior to this topic, kimono and shoes.



Everybody starts somewhere, not everyone reads tutorials to get where they are at, some just fiddle around with programs till they get somewhere. Einstein, for example, didnt understand simple math yet had the capacity to handle complex equations that had that simple math in it. Some people do big things before they do small ones.

In this whole forum I dont see "no beginners allowed" anywhere in the tips so as I see it people ask questions for even the simpliest things cause most programs that do lots of things are very complex and at one point completely overwhelming espially to someone that has little or no experience with it. I mearly provided another way of doing something.

As for your comments, please stop reading into what I can and cant do, this trick wasnt for you, as you already have photoshop and know how to do it, and also someone already provided me with a way to do tiling in photoshop early on in the post, so elaborating on my noobishness, as you are "trying not to talk down to me", you are. I understood all that was said long before you talked to me like ive never seen photoshop before in my life.

As for the Paintbucket comment specifically, even my husband someone that works on advanced stuff with daz and poser (in conjuncture with photoshop) couldnt find the paintbucket on Photoshop (certain versions of photoshop didnt have paintbucket they added it later), as it is not even on the selections when you click the grandient tools (that little tab you so avidly talk about) you have to select all tools in order to find it, and it didnt even have the name paintbucket only the name of one of the first pattern. As is, I found it on my own and mentioned as such.

As much as I appreciate your detailed analysis of a 5 second procedure, there is some kind of etiquette when speaking with people on things. As such those that said nice job on the trick then just said heres a way to do it in photoshop, they provided good etiquette. The person gave a suggestion without focusing on my "lack" of abilities. Nobody likes to be told that they are a noob in anyway you put it, nicely or otherwise it is still offensive, I know my short comings I dont need a neon sign reminder.

Lets put it this way if you were new at something and you asked me a question and I was advanced at it, I wouldnt remind you how noobish you are, let alone in detail. If you didnt know the basic stuff, instead of telling me to slow down and read a tutorial. Id take out the negative, and say hey here is a good tutorial on photoshop if you have any questions lemme know.

Everyone was new once, so remember that next time you talk to someone. Ive milled through these posts for awhile, and I have seen some really rude stuff, people asking the simpliest things hoping people will be nice to them and provide them with help, instead people give them crap for it. They may give them the answer but the chop them down a few knotches for even asking the question. If this continues less and less people are gonna want to post on here, most will just read through the stickies and wont even bother helping others or posting anything cause they will be afraid of backlash. All that will do is lose the people that may be new now but will be useful later on when they are proficient, cause if they are given kind and helpful words they will pass them on.

Yukie


PS anyone that did find anything that I said very useful and worthwhile and those that provided compliments and good help suggestions are welcome anytime to IM me, currently my projects im working on are kimono designs, asian furniture and boots (the boots in which im just working on the laces and holders for the laces as we speak).

Give hubby a kiss from me. This is brilliant.

Maybe I'm missing what you're getting at.. but if you have a pattern saved what is wrong with Edit, Fill, Contents (choose pattern), boom?

spot on

just select the area you want to make a pattern from with the rectangle select tool click edit>define new pattern

hit ctrl+n for a new document make it the size you want (512x512, 256x256 whatever) and hit shift+f5 select to fill with a pattern select the pattern you just defined from your selection and it's filled

though that doesn't always work as (well as far as i know) you can't define the scaling of the defined pattern through the fill dialog in which case you can just fill the layer of the new document with a plain colour (white, black) then go to it's blending options and select pattern overlay select your pattern you defined and you can tweak it's blend mode, scale and opacity etc


but props to the hubby for macguyvering

ps there may be errors in that description above but thats as accurate as i get from memory

or you could select what you're working on create a new layer, fill the selection with a solid colour... then open Blending Options and choose pattern overlay.. select from your loaded patterns in that list..

I was wondering the same thing why not create it as a pattern and use it to fill a specific sized area...

or use that pattern as a brush, or layer it using duplicate layers. lots of options

but it may be possible they did not know how to do this stuff and in that case found an ingenious way to do it

While I won't dispute your husband's clever abstract thinking in coming up with that wallpaper solution, let me just say that next time if you don't know how to do something in Photoshop, come to this forum and ask. Lots of people will be glad to explain the how-to's to you. (Either that or you can always look up your question in the help documentation.)

Never assume there's anything Photoshop can't do. Trust me, there's absolutely nothing you'll ever need or want to do with pixels that Photoshop won't have a million different ways t ahieve. Tiling a repeating pattern is among the simplest tasks in Photoshop's repertoire, and as others have already stated, there are a great many ways to do it.

Sorry that this wasnt understood when I last posted. Yes there is a way to use patterns in photoshop, but only if they are in the right format, and yes I have asked, so far most people have been too rude to actually answer most of my questions. I have not found a program that can save a file that I want to "tile" (tile meaning put my pic copied in a line to fill spot), I did notice the fill with a pattern, but unless your file is a .psl its useless, I have not found any plugins or programs to turn a picture into a texture so I was giving a tip for those who also couldnt find it.
If this is not understood Ill provide an example:
I want this picture:

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1626/flowers1mz1.jpg

to look like this:

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/7428/tileforkimonouu0.jpg

Pattern maker doesnt do that it only distorts it, and pattern fill only works if its in the right format, photoshop doesnt allow a saving in this format and have not found any programs, so I was making this tool useful to people that have the same problem as me. Aka dont knock it or me till you try it or demean what im suggesting.

Thank you Oryn your suggested helped a lot for the suggested pattern that I gave an example for, but as you said it doesnt work for everything, so at least now I have the wallpaper idea to fallback on. Thanks again for your compliments.

Yukie

Ok, I'm still not getting the exact problem. Yes, photoshop does save patterns, open the image you want to make the pattern from, select the area you would like to become the pattern which could be all or part of the image, Edit, Define Pattern, name it, click ok (just reiterating what has already been said.. I know). You have your pattern to use right then and there. Please explain with a bit more clarity the problem if this is not the solution.

Maybe if you showed a shot of what it is happening incorrectly for you, someone could then see your problem first hand... such as you say something about the image being distorted... if I saw that I would be better informed about your problem.

edit.. Ok, lightbulb goes off... the Pattern Maker *filter* is NOT what you want to use to tile an image, it makes... hmm.. abstract tiled images based on a given input. To get your desired results you create a pattern just as I wrote above in this message, then fill with that pattern. There is no saving to a format, you define the pattern in the edit menu, as has been written here more than once. There is no magic program that creates your pattern file, it's all within photoshop.

Oh, and...



boggles.. I think you might be feeling a bit thin skinned on that one, as it has been explained to you, before you posted this, just exactly how to create your pattern for tiling, you might want to actually try some of the suggestions before you decide they are not the answer to your question.

Again, if I am off base on what I *think* the problem is, images would help a great deal.

Yukie, before I respond to your latest comments, let me first take a minute to walk you through how to do what you're trying to do right in Photoshop. It seems you've heard a lot of "you could have done this or that", but you haven't yet heard exactly how the "this or that" works, so it's no wonder you seem to be having your doubts.

I'll work with your same sample image. As was stated earlier, there are a great many ways to accomplish this (and any other) task in Photoshop. The method I'll be describing here employs the Define Pattern command, and the Paint Bucket. It will work with absolutely any (rectangular) image you care to throw at it, and it's really, really simple. It's a 5-second job, tops.

1. Paste Your Sample Into an Image
   
   Paste your sample picture into an image with a large canvas, any size you want. For this tutorial, I'll be using 1024x1024.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Select the Sample
   
   Your pasted image will now be on its own layer. Go to the Layers palette, and ctrl-click on the layer's thumbnail for the everything on the layer. The thumbnail is the little picture of the layer directly to the left of the layer's name. You should now see the "marching ants" surrounding your sample image, indicating that it's been selected.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Define Your Sample As a Pattern
   
   At the top of the screen, click on the word Edit, and then on Define Pattern...
   
   In the dialog that pops up, you'll see a thumbnail of your new pattern, and a field to give the pattern a name. Name it whatever you want and click OK.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Set the Paint Bucket to Paint Your Pattern
   
   Select the Paint Bucket tool. Take a look at the tool settings bar at the top of the screen. You'll see a series of buttons and pull-down menus. At the top left, you'll see a picture of the paint bucket, and directly to the right of that, you'll see a pull-down menu with two options in it. By default, that menu will have Foreground selected (meaning the paint bucket is currently set to paint with the foreground color). Change the setting to Pattern.
   
   As soon as you make the change from Foreground to Pattern, you'll see a little thumbnail appear in the picker, directly the right of the word Pattern. Click the little down arrow on the right hand side of the picker to expose all your available patterns. You should see your new one at the bottom. Click on it to select it.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Paint
   
   Make a new layer, and click once on it with the Paint Bucket to flood it with your new pattern. You'll see that your sample image will tile neatly across the entire canvas. You're done.
   
   
   

That's all there is to it. Reading this explanation of the steps probably just took you 10 times longer than would actually performing them. As I said, it's a 5-second job, max. There's no need to fiddle with the Windows desktop, or to bother with third party applications. As I said before, there's absolutely nothing you'll ever want to do with pixels that Photoshop can't do all by its lil' ol' self.


Okay, now that you have the answer you needed, let's talk about your latest post. There are a few comments of yours that I think need addressing.


There's nothing to be sorry about, Yukie. We're all here to help. That's what this forum is for, and it's the only reason we come to it.


Not true. It's got nothing to do with format at all. I think what's confusing you is the fact that patterns, once defined, get saved in particular format internally by Photoshop. However, that's got nothing whatsoever to do with the format of the image from which the pattern was sourced.


Really? Where did you ask, and what did people say? I didn't see any other posts on this subject here. I've been awfully busy though, so maybe I missed it. What happend?

I certainly would have answered the question if I'd seen it, and I can think of about half a dozen others off hand who frequent this forum who probably would have answered as well. Not sure how we all missed it, but sorry anyway.


You've already got the only program you need for this, Photoshop.


Thanks for the links. I hope my use of them helped you understand better.


I'll take the last part first here. Yukie, I don't think anyone here was demeaning you in any way or trying dismiss what you were saying at all. In fact, quite the opposite, almost everyone who posted here complimented your husband on his original thinking. It's just that those of us who know that Photoshop can do that kind of tiling you were talking about were eager to share that knowledge, in the same way that you were eager to share your newly discovered desktop wallpaper work-around. You posted in the spirt of helpfulness, and so did everyone else. It's unfortunate that no one posted the how-to until now, so I can see how it might not have been clear that people were actually trying to help, but we all were.

Anyway, as for your confusion over the image format thing, I hope that's cleared up by now. Regarding the Pattern Maker filter, we can dive into that if you really want, but it's not necessary. The method I've already outlined for you is nice and simple. Stick with that.


To be clear, I'm pretty sure what Oryn was saying "doesn't always work" was if you try to scale a pattern after it's been defined, not the defining or the painting of the pattern itself. The Define Pattern command and the ability of the Paint Bucket (and the Pattern Brush) to paint with patterns always, always works (as long as your selection is rectangular, of course). I might even go so far as to say I dare you to find a situation where it won't work.

In any case, I hope you're clear on this issue now. As I said, this is what we're all here for, to help each other. If you've got any more questions, ask away. I can't promise you every answer will be as detailed as this one, but they'll usually be good. I wanted to get the point across here that this forum is a friendly learning environment, not the rude standoffish place you seemed to be describing, so I invested more time in this post than I probably should have. I'll have to work a little later now, but that's okay. Texturing Forum reputation restored, I hope.

Thank you for the long step through, first thing that helped was the fact that I have no paintbucket on my presets only gradient tool, after digging through all of the tools I found it so im able to use texture.

"Really? Where did you ask, and what did people say? I didn't see any other posts on this subject here. I've been awfully busy though, so maybe I missed it. What happend?

I certainly would have answered the question if I'd seen it, and I can think of about half a dozen others off hand who frequent this forum who probably would have answered as well. Not sure how we all missed it, but sorry anyway."

Its in another section of the forum, I spent month or two sifting through forums trying to find answers them asked a list of comprehensive questions, the hardest being figuring out shading/highlighting, finding detail skin tutorial. Most responded rudely, or snobby, if it wasnt for the fact that I havent found the answers anywhere else id avoid messaging in the first place. I have a business with clothes already so im mostly trying to get more detailed patterns and better detail to my clothing so they are worth more selling.
Anyway now that ive got it, if my post about the desktop idea is that useless just close this thread. Furthmore thank anyone that helped

Two things:


You're welcome. Glad it helped.



Sounds like you could use some basic familiarity with Photoshop itself.

The reason the Paint Bucket was hidden is that there are way too many tools to fit on any decently small sized toolbox, so to save screen space, Photoshop stacks them based on functional similarity. For example, the Paint Bucket and the Gradient tools are stacked together because they both serve to flood wide areas with color. The Paint Brush, and the Pencil are stacked together because they're both for painting/drawing stroke by stroke. Etc., etc., etc.

Notice that most of the tool icons have a small black triangle in their lower right corner. This is an indication that there are other tools stacked underneath. To access the hidden ones, either click and hold on a visible one or right-click on it. Either way will bring the stack up on the screen, so you can see the whole thing. Then just select which tool you want, and it will move to the top of the stack.

Don't take this the wrong way, Yukie, but all of this is covered on the very first page of any book or online tutorial about getting started with Photoshop, and it's also in the Help files. You really should learn this stuff BEFORE you attempt to learn texturing for 3D, not during. Learn to crawl before you try to walk.

Any attempt to power through it out of order is largely an exercise in frustration, as you're starting to discover. I didn't see any of that "rudeness" you mentioned you got from other people, but I would suspect it wasn't actually rudeness per se, but probably just surprise and astonishment that someone who doesn't know even the most basic functions of Photoshop would be trying to use it for something as high level as texturing. Chances are they weren't speaking rudely; they were just speaking over your head. You just weren't equipped really to understand what they were trying to tell you, so you interpreted it they only way you could, as ridicule.

Also, you probably didn't think about this (no way you could have, really), but it's a little bit unfair to come to a forum about texturing, a fairly advanced subject, and ask questions that demand explanation of Photoshop's most basic beginner functions. You can't really expect people not only to say "use the Paint Bucket", but also to have to tell you where to find it. People have to be allowed to assume you at least know the basic fundamentals of the program.

My advice, slow down and start over. Spend a little time learning Photoshop 101 before you venture any further into texturing work. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. Otherwise, it's going to take you several orders of magnitude longer to learn how to do the things you want to do. It's much harder to break existing habits than to form brand new ones (it actually takes a lot more chemical reactions in the brain to break a habit than to form one, if you want to get scientific about it), so it's essential that you learn these things properly the first time around. Without learning the basics up front, you'll only find yourself becoming more and more handicapped over time, in ways you can't even imagine right now.

Take this tiling thing as a case in point. Had you started your Photoshop learning from page 1, by now you would already have known where the Paint Bucket was, and that it has the option of painting with patterns as well as just color, and you also would already have learned what Define Pattern does. From there, you undoubtedly would have put it all together, and you would have had your answer to the tiling question in seconds. Instead, it took days. And that's just one thing. Imagine all the other simple procedures and concepts you're probably unaware of right now, and how much extra time it's taking you to hunt for answers instead of actually working.

Please understand, I'm not trying to put you down. This is the same advice I give everyone. Learn one thing at a time. Learning to use Photoshop and learning to texture are two different subjects. The latter depends on the former. Don't try to put the cart before the horse. Take it one step at a time, and you'll be amazed at how quickly you progress. There are literally thousands of good books available on getting started with Photoshop, hundreds of thousands of online tutorials, lots of good DVD's, and classes at every community college in the free world. Pick one and use it. You'll be glad you did.

And of course, feel free to ask questions here along the way.