Learn How to Make Seamless Patterns in Photoshop

Patterns are all around us and there are a huge number of ways in which they can be used to create beautiful images.

A seamless pattern on the other hand, is a pattern that can repeat infinitely and fill and image area without showing a join.
In this tutorial we'll cover the use of the patter maker filter to create seamless patterns that you can use in your day to day design!

Step 1 - Create your canvas and Shape Library

Create a New Canvas, 800px by 800px,

Select the Custom Shape tool (U). Now in the Options bar at the top select the Shape Down Arrow and while Holding ALT click on all the shapes to delete them (don't worry, they're not permanently Deleted.

Make sure View>Snap and View>Snap To are ticked, and place horizontal and Vertical Rulers along the center of your image

Step 2 - Create your First Shape

With shape layers selected and the ellipse tool drag out an ellipse from the centre of the image (making sure it snaps to the guides). Then, make sure the shape layer is selected and grab the Pen Tool (P), holding down ALT/CMD and dragging the anchor points of the shape to a shape that you desire.

Use Subtract from Shape Area to modify your shape.

Select the Shape using the Pen Selection Tool (A) and Hold down SHIFT while clicking on our shape to select its path, then press CTRL/CMD + C and CTRL/CMD + V.Then hit CTRL/CMD + T and drag the Anchor point down to the center of the Image, and Rotate the selection using the degree Option at the top (Remember there are 360 Degrees in a circle, so you need to Rotate the selection by a number that goes into 360 evenly!).

Repeat the process until you've gone full circle.

Repeat the steps again until you have an intricate shape, remembering to use the Subtract from Shape Area so that the entire shape remains on a single layer.

Now we'll add this shape to our library. Go to Edit>Define Custom Shape and name your shape.

Save the .psd just in case you want to make changes later. Use the Steps you've learned to make 2-3 more shapes similar to the one we've just created.

Now Select the Custom Shape Tool, Hit the Drop down Menu and select Save Shapes, name the set of shapes whatever you like.

Step 3 - Creating the Pattern

Now we're going to combine all of these shapes together to make an intricate seamless pattern. Create a new canvas, 800px by 800px. Set down Rulers Like we did before, Select one of your Flower shapes and place it in the center, creating a starting point for the pattern.

Now use your other shapes and place them equally around the center point, using the same techniques we learned in Step 2: Moving the Anchor points to the center and rotating it.

Highlight all of your shape layers, right click them and select Merge Layers. Now with the merged layer highlighted go to Filter>Other>Offset. Now our Canvas is 800px by 800px so we want to offset the layer by 400px on both the vertical and Horizontal lines, make sure Wrap Around is Ticked.

And that's all you really need to do to get a working pattern, this design will already tile seamlessly, but it's a bit bare, so let's add a little bit more detail. I've added another shape to the center of the pattern, as well as some shapes that are in the default shapes in Photoshop. Also, delete the white background layer so that the pattern has a transparent backdrop.

Merge your layers by highlighting them all, Right Clicking and selecting Merge Layers. Now go to Edit>Define Pattern, name the pattern whatever you wish.

Now you've got the pattern saved in your patterns palette and can use it whenever you wish. For Example, Create a new Canvas, 1000px by 1000px and fill a layer with blue. Right Click the Layer, Select Blending Options>Pattern Overlay. Select your new pattern from the drop down menu and move the Scale slider to an appropriate level.

And there you have it! The pattern will scale indefinitely and can be used on any number of projects, you can spruce it up any way you like, with some gradient overlays, Layer Styles and filters you can get some pretty cool looking results:

I'd love to see what patterns you guys can come up with!