Testing if a BG will Repeat Tile Properly in Photoshop?

Question

Testing if a BG will Repeat Tile Properly in Photoshop?

Question

I am frequently working to create background textures in Photoshop to be used on the web. Unfortunately I usually have to guess, or just use freebies from other websites.

I would like to build my own textures in Photoshop and check if they tile properly before exporting the image. Is there a way to do this quickly? I remember a method using offset, but I'm not familiar with the tools.

Below are a couple example background tiles so you can see what I'm talking about:

tile1

tile2

Destiny Islands

2012/04/17

Popular Answer

DA01 answers how to make it but your question is how to test it. The answer to that question is:

Select your pattern layer
Edit > Define Pattern
Create New Layer
Select All
Edit > Fill > Pattern > Choose your pattern
Hit okay and see if it looks good

Ryan

2012/04/18

DA01 · Accepted Answer · 4/18/2012 4:30:00 PM

create your image. For example, let's say it's 200px square
go to FILTERS > OTHER > OFFSET and type in x and y numbers that are half your image size (in this case 100px)
this will shift your image over that many pixels and put the pixels that were moved off the canvas on to the other side. You now will see a seam running down the middle of your image where the pattern doesn't quite repeat fully.
touch up this seam to make it a smooth blend using whichever tools you like (clone tool is a common option).
save your new image.

For more complex images, you may need to do a final offset of say 1/4 the pixel dimensions to touch up the edges you might have missed the first time that fell near the edge of the canvas.