Textures and Patterns

I used to build and sell giant sets of repeatable patterns before Photoshop made them easy.

Over a Million Custom Patterns

Using one pattern, I generated a look that I liked. I did this by using a combination of custom made Photoshop Styles.

I created several different sized sets of pattern using Adobe Illustrator. This was before Photoshop had created a fairly easy method of tiling, so the pattern files needed to be scaled precisely. This involved setting up the bleed and cropping that Photoshop does automatically now.

With pattern sets of 1000, 2500 & 4000 in different scales, I could simply apply a style to each layer, trim and save. Using actions and scripts, I ran batch processes to automate the process. Then a script created a consolidated pattern library for each set.

Black Finishes

Dark and black patterns are helpful generic backgrounds for light artwork These types of textures were very popular.

Vibrant Reds

Vibrant colored patterns became popular within Photoshop styles for things like decretive text.

Weathered Metals

Rust and weathered metals and woods were some of my most popular patterns for styles and backgrounds.

Yellows and Golds

Golden patterns found heavy use in Photoshop Styles when bling textures needed to be added to a shape or text.

Raw Metals

Unfinished metals in repeating patterns gives artwork a tough industrial feel.

Dense Groupings

This is a mixture of patterns in simple bevel shaded Photoshop Styles. The patterns read well on complex shapes.

Star Shapes

These random patterns have been put within styles that will center the pattern within the star shapes.

Thinner Shapes

Seeing the repeating patterns is a little more difficult within thin shapes. The textures are still very pleasing.

Swirling Figures

These medium density shapes also do well with a broad variety of patterns. The textures blend without overpowering the sweeping forms.

Good Money While it Lasted

I used several graphic and stock image marketplaces to sell the patterns and styles for around 5 years. I charged fair competitive prices and the better sets sold by the thousands.

Eventually that market dried up. Over the final year, even selling a new set a dozen times was a struggle. A combination of a crowded market and changes in the software made the need for pattern libraries a little obsolete. I occasionally dust off a set or two, but it’s usually just as easy to generate project specific patterns from scratch when needed.

One huge takeaway from the venture was that I did gain a massive amount of experience with Photoshop’s Blending Options and Styles. That experience and how it crossed over to Adobe After Effects was priceless.

Some Pattern Examples

Here is a handful of the texture files a frame at a time in video format linked from YouTube. It takes a couple minutes to watch each, but they’re mildly entertaining for a handful of seconds.

Alien Green

These slick bright green patterns create an almost alien metal fabrication.

Black Sub-Patterns

A dark geometric sub-pattern helps create a complex shaded background texture.

Dark Mesh

Dark mesh-like patterns with opposite shaded edge bevels create wavelike textures.

Industrial Metal

Heavy feeling raw metal on a geometric secondary pattern.

Black Textured

Small dotlike sub-patterns create a texture feel to the dark surfaces.

Metal and Wood

These patterns have a craft-like feel to them. Raw metal and unfinished wood.