Cow
Spots Seamless Pattern
Software Used: Photoshop 5.5 (Should work in newer versions including
Photoshop Elements.)
A forum member asks, "Can anyone please tell me how to make a 'Cow-Like' Pattern in Photoshop 5.5??" Here's how...
1.) Create a New document 200 x 200 pixels with a white background.
2.) Select the 
Lasso Tool.
3.)
Set the lasso tool options for anti-aliased and no feathering.
4.)
Draw a freehand cow spot shape in the approximate center of your image.
5.) Go to Select > Modify > Smooth and use a radius of about 5 pixels.
6.) Go to Edit > Fill and set the contents to black, then click OK.
If
you want the spots to be a different color, choose a foreground color before
selecting the fill command, then set the fill contents to foreground color instead
of black.
7.) Hit Ctrl+D to Deselect (Command+D on Mac).
8.) Go to Filter > Other > Offset.
|
|
 Now
your image should look something like this one. |
 10.)
Select the lasso tool again and draw a couple more spot shapes. After you
draw the first spot, hold the shift key down as you're drawing the second
spot to add to the selection. The Ctrl key will subtract from a selection.
You can use these key combinations to refine the shape of your spots. |
|
12.) Again, go to Edit > Fill and fill with black. That's it! You now have a "cow-like" pattern that will tile seamlessly when used as a fill. |
9.)
Set the Horizontal and Vertical offset to 100 pixels and make sure
Wrap Around is checked. Click OK. 
11.)
When you're happy with the spot shapes, Go to Select > Modify >
Smooth and once again use a radius of 5 pixels.If desired, you can apply a slight gaussian blur to smooth the edges of the spots or resize the image for a smaller pattern.
To use the pattern as a fill...
1. Choose Select > All.
2. Go to Edit > Define Pattern.
3. Create a New document larger than your pattern.
4. Choose Edit > Fill.
5. Set the contents to pattern and click OK.
If the pattern looks too even or unnatural looking, you'll probably get better results by starting with a larger canvas and using more spots. Now that you've learned the basic technique, you can refine the results to your liking.
Questions? Comments? Post to the Forum!
