Tips and Tricks: Creating Patterns

Creating Patterns

Some artists prefer to use plain colored backgrounds for their card designs, which is fine. Others enjoy pairing patterned backgrounds with graphics to create more visual interest. There are a lot of pre-set patterns available on-line, but not all are OK for commercial use.

Instead of adapting someone else’s work, why not make your own patterned backgrounds? Classic repeating patterns like stripes, polka dots, chevrons, etc. will almost always be useful in many different designs. In the card example above, we created a knitted texture for the background.

Here are links to tutorials that will help you create your own patterns for use in graphics editing software. Have fun!

How to Create Custom Patterns in Photoshop

Creating Patterns in Photoshop CS2

Create a New Pattern in Photoshop Elements

Illustrator Help: Seamless Pattern Creation (video)

How to Make Custom Patterns in Gimp (video)

Creating Backgrounds, Textures and Patterns in Paint Shop Pro

Installing Photoshop Patterns

How to Install Paint Shop Pro Patterns, Brushes, Etc.