Custom Textures 3

Obtaining New Textures By "Cloning"

This third tutorial on the subject of Photoshop® textures shows how to take advantage of the Texturizer Filter by "cloning" the texture qualities from one image and applying them to another.

1. The image on the left below was scanned into the computer as an RGB image. The scan was made of a common stationery "accordion file" which was selected because of the simulated leather pattern printed on it. When choosing images for textures, pick ones with a broad enough range of grayscale pixel values. This will give your textures depth and dimension.

2. The image on the right below is was created by saving the scanned image as a new Photoshop .PSD file then converting it into a grayscale image with the command:

Image > Mode > Grayscale

It is not necessary that the image be saved in grayscale mode. But since Photoshop only uses the grayscale information in the image, it uses less disk space than a color image. You may want to do this tutorial on your own computer and use this image in your own texture library. If you are using Netscape® or Internet Explorer, simply right click on the grayscale image below and save it to disk. Then open the image in Photoshop and save it as a Photoshop .PSD file.

The new file can be stored in the same folder with other Photoshop texture files (described in a previous texture tutorial). It is this file you will be loading and applying to images with the Texturizer Filter.

Original Scanned Image:

Grayscale Image of Original Scan:

3. Once you have saved the texture file as a grayscale Photoshop .PSD file you are ready to apply the texture to an image. Make a new RGB image at 72 pixels per inch. The image below is 256 pixels square. Click the foreground color square in the color palette and set the color values to R=199, G=159 and B=109 (it is one of the colors on the default swatches palette in Photoshop). Next click the bucket tool and flood fill the image with the foreground color.



4. Now comes the real magic. Issue the command:

Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Load Texture

Then load the .PSD file saved in step 2 above. In this example set Scaling=100, Relief=10 and the Light Direction=Top. Click "OK" to close the dialog and apply the texture to the image.



5. The result is a dazzling effect on a mono-colored tile that can now be used as a background or fill. You can apply this texture to any image, not just to background tiles or fills.

Custom Textures 2

Customizing The Sandstone Texture

This second tutorial on the subject of custom textures shows how to take further advantage of the use of custom textures via the command:

Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Load Texture

Creating a new adjusted texture from a default texture is the topic of this tutorial. You may ask, "Why would I need to adjust a default texture provided by Photoshop® ?" The images below illustrate the point:

Both images have the sandstone texture applied to their backgrounds. However both images have custom textures applied. The image on the left has a more coarse version of the sandstone texture and the image on the right has a finer version. Short of making your own custom textures there is only one way to accomplish the above effect:

Resample the image up then apply the default texture for a more fine appearance, or...
Resample the image down then apply the default texture for a more coarse appearance.

Note: Although the filter has a "Scaling" feature which allows you to vary the coarseness of the texture, this tutorial provides a means to vary the texture outside the limits of the scaling range.

It is undesirable to resample the image, then apply the texture, then resample the image again to its original size because the image will lose data in the process. So here is how you do it.

1. For this exercise we will make two RGB images each having a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. Make one 2" x 2" and one 8" x 8":

2" x 2"


2. Set the foreground color to a medium gray (Red=128, Green=128 and Blue=128), then flood fill both images with the medium gray foreground color. Next apply the default sandstone texture to each image:

Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Sandstone

Then select:

Scaling=100%
Relief=7
Light Direction=Top

Then Click "OK".

3. Next duplicate the 8" x 8" image twice with the command:

Image > Duplicate

4. You now have three 8" x 8" images and one 2" x 2" image each filled with the same texture. Maintain a resolution of 72 pixels per inch and resample each image according to the following::

2" x 2" - resample to 4" x 4"...makes the coarse texture
8" x 8" - resample to 6" x 6"...makes a fine texture
8" x 8" - resample to 5" x 5"...makes a extra fine texture
8" x 8" - resample to 4" x 4"...makes an super fine texture

The finished textures are shown below:

Coarse	Fine
Extra Fine	Super Fine

5. Name the image files:

SANDSTN1.PSD (Coarse)
SANDSTN2.PSD (Fine)
SANDSTN3.PSD (Extra Fine)
SANDSTN4.PSD (Super Fine)

6. To apply the new textures to an image click:

Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Load Texture

Load either SANDSTN1.PSD, SANDSTN2.PSD, SANDSTN3.PSD or SANDSTN4.PSD. You can then apply any of the filter settings as you normally would using the default sandstone texture.

Custom Textures 1

Obtaining Textures For Your Images

This first tutorial on the subject of textures illustrates how to take advantage of a feature in Photoshop® that allows the loading of textures via the command:

Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Load Texture

Before you can load any textures, you have to obtain them or create them. Adobe includes several textures on the Photoshop Application CD-ROM disk. In the GOODIES folder on the CD there is a sub-folder called TEXTURES. Simply drag and drop this folder onto your hard disk. You may put it in the Photoshop application folder, but this is not required.

Textures are simply Photoshop grayscale .PSD files from which the texture information is applied with the above filter. It is not required that the image be saved in grayscale format. The texture can just as well be saved in color although Photoshop only uses the grayscale data in the file. There is an advantage to saving it in grayscale format to save disk space.

Because these texture files are simply grayscale images, this offers great flexibility in obtaining and/or cloning them. One great source for textures is Paint Shop Pro™ 5.0. If you accepted the default folders during the installation of Paint Shop Pro 5.0 on your system there will be a folder:

C:\Program Files\Paint Shop Pro 5\Papers

In this folder are paper texture files with the file extension .TEX. Open the files in Paint Shop Pro 5 and save them as .PSD files. You can then apply these textures on Photoshop images in the same manner as the ones supplied with Photoshop.

The following background tiles were all made very rapidly in Photoshop by applying the texture filter using the "Load Texture" option. The textures were made from .PSD files using the Paint Shop Pro 5 .TEX files located in the "Papers" folder.

Background Tiles For Web Pages

To download in Windows®: Right click image and select "Save Image As..." To download in Mac®: Drag image onto the Desktop

The tiles were all made by duplicating a single file with a uniform color background. To make these yourself click:

File > New

Make a new 2" x 2" RGB image at 72 pixels per inch. Click the foreground color square in the color palette and set the color values to R=247, G=228 and B=186. Then click the bucket tool and flood fill the image with the new color. Save the file in JPEG format. Duplicate the file as many times as you want with the command:

Image > Duplicate

Then apply a texture to each image with the command:

Filter > Texture > Texturizer > Load Texture

Then select from the .PSD texture files on your hard disk.

Shortcuts And Pointers For The Pen

Pen Tips

Pen Tip No. 1

In Adobe® Illustrator®, always click the Direct Selection tool before clicking and drawing with the Pen Tool.

First click the Direct Selection Tool	Then click the Pen Tool

The reason for this is to make sure that when the Ctrl key (Windows®) is pressed (or Command key for Macintosh®), that the next selected tool is the Direct Selection Tool instead of a different, unintended selection tool. While actively making or modifying a path using the pen, pressing Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) will activate the last selection tool used. It is more likely that you will make adjustments to anchor points and control handles while you are drawing than it is that you will move the entire path.


Pen Tip No. 2

Tear off the pen tools in Adobe Illustrator and let it float as its own palette on the workspace.



To do this simply grab the Pen Tool button on the Tool Palette and drag it away from it. Keep it near your drawing.


Pen Tip No. 3

You can make a simulated connector point in Adobe Illustrator using the following technique:

In Illustrator 8 First, click

View > Snap To Point

This provides a means to snap points and and control handles on top of other points. This step is not necessary in Illustrator 7 because "Snap To Point" is the default.

1. Drag the first point
2. Drag a second point
3. Click to place a third point
4. Grab the handle of the second point and drag it over the third point.
5. When the solid arrowhead cursor changes into a hollow one, the handle is on top of the point. Release the mouse button.
6. At this time you can now change the direction of the first curve going into the second point. No matter how you adjust it, there will always be a smooth transition into the straight line segment.
7. To reshape the curve, drag the control handle of the first point.
8. When the desired shape is attained, release the mouse button.

The theory behind this tip is by laying the control handle on top of the third point (the far point in the straight line segment), it is assured that the curve going into the second point will be at a tangent to the straight segment. In Adobe Photoshop®, although there is no provision for snapping a handle over a point, you could drag a handle over a point and come close to it.


Pen Tip No. 4

Although Deneba Canvas™ doesn't have a connector point, it does have an arc tool which places both ends of an open arc so the tangents are at right angles. This makes it easy to create the same effect as a connector point.

To create this effect, first drag out an arc.



Next double-click the arc to place it in edit mode.


Select the point you wish to connect the tangent straight section. Either drag a marquee around it or click it.




This is what the point looks like when it is selected.




Next select the Curve tool. Press Ctrl-Shift (Windows) or Command-Shift (Mac) and click to place the endpoint of the straight section. The tangent line of the point that connects the straight segment to the curved segment can be pulled using Shift-Drag to constrain its movement.




Pen Tip No. 5

Sometimes you may want a point with only one control handle. In Deneba Canvas™ 5 and 6, Macromedia® FreeHand® 8 and CorelDRAW® 8 there are provisions for making one-handled anchor points. In Adobe Illustrator, however, you have to drag the handle over its anchor point to get rid of it:

1. The center point has two handles. Let's get rid of one of them.
2. Drag a handle back into the point.
3. When the handle is over the point, the cursor changes from a solid arrowhead to a hollow one. Release the mouse button.
4. Now you have a one-handled anchor point.

Pen Tip No. 6

Many times you will want to close an open path (Photoshop users for complete instructions). Sometimes it happens that you simply get lost while drawing a path and you find yourself no longer adding points to the path. To restart a path (append to a path) in Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia FreeHand or CorelDRAW, the technique is basically the same.

1. Position the pen (for CorelDRAW users the Bezier Tool or the Freehand Tool) over an end point in the path you want to restart. When you first click the tool and before positioning the cursor over the end point in the path, the cursor will appear as follows:

	Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8
	Adobe Photoshop 5
	Macromedia FreeHand 8
	CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool
	CorelDRAW 8 - Bezier Tool

2. Except for CorelDRAW while using the Bezier Tool, when you are over the point, the cursor will change to let you know that the next click will append to the path:

	Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8
	Adobe Photoshop 5
	Macromedia FreeHand 8
	CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool

3. That is your cue that the next click will append to the path. Click once to restart adding line segments to the path.

4. When you are ready to close the path simply position the cursor over the other end point of the path. When the cursor is over the point it will change to let you know that the next click will close the path:

	Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8
	Adobe Photoshop 5
	Macromedia FreeHand 8
	CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool
	CorelDRAW 8 - Bezier Tool

5. Click once to close the path.


Deneba Canvas™

With Deneba Canvas, restarting or closing an open path is very straightforward. To restart (append to) an open path, simply put the path into edit mode (double-click using the Selection tool), then select the endpoint you wish to resume adding segments to, (click to select it) then select the Curve tool and resume with the next point. When you want to close the path, when the cursor changes to a small crosshair, (below). This means the pointer is directly over an anchor point. The next click (or drag) closes the path:



To close an open path without adding points, put the path into edit mode, then click one of the endpoints with the Curve tool. A new segment will be added joining the endpoints.


Pen Tip No. 7

Here's an undocumented tip for Deneba Canvas. Sometimes you may want to change the angle of a tangent line without changing its length. To do this, select an anchor point and position the mouse pointer just to the right or left until the cursor changes into a hollow arrowhead:



When it does, click and drag the tangent line to change its angle...


The angle of the handle will change, but not its length.