I am a texture junkie. I firmly believe a nice texture can transform a flat, dull page into one I want to reach out and touch. There are probably 100 different ways to create a textured paper in Photoshop. Some of them involve purchasing things or photographing things, but did you know at least one method uses things already included with your program? Today I’ll show you how to create textured paper with no purchase necessary.
Step 1) Create a new document.
- Choose File>New, and choose these settings:
- Click OK.
Step 2) Create color layer (from Background)
- Click on the foreground color chip and choose a color you like.
- Choose Edit>Fill, and choose these settings:
- Click OK.
Step 3) Create Texture Swatch
- Click the Create a new layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.
- Choose the Rectangular Marquee tool from the Tool bar to the left. Check the Options bar above to make sure the Feathering is 0 and the Mode is Normal.
- Click and drag out a square approximately 4″ x 4″ in the center of your page. It will not matter if this is not exact.
- Choose Edit>Fill, and choose these settings:
Use: Pattern
Custom Pattern: Click on the down facing arrow and choose the top one, Dark Coarse Weave. Actually, most of you probably won’t see that choice, instead you’ll see Bubbles. If you see anything other than Dark Coarse Weave, just click on the side facing arrow on the right side of that box and choose Artist Surfaces. If you get a warning box, just click OK. Now choose Dark Coarse Weave for your Custom Pattern. (If you don’t see the names of the patterns, just thumbnails, click on the fly-out menu again and choose Large List.) Click OK.
Press Ctrl D (Mac: Cmd D) to deselect.
Step 4) Resize and Tweak
- Press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T) and resize using a corner handle until the swatch you just created covers or exceeds the page. Hold down the Shift key to constrain proportions, and add the Alt key (Mac: Opt key) to resize from all directions, if you wish. You may have to click and drag the swatch to reposition it. Once everything looks good, double click on the swatch to accept the transformation.
- In the Layers palette to the right, change the blend mode to Soft Light, and reduce the Opacity of this layer to your liking. I reduced mine to 65%, although this will greatly depend on the color you’ve chosen and the pattern you’ve applied.
Step 5) Flatten and Save
You may want to do some additional things to your paper before this step (see additional hints below), but if you’re ready to stop here, you’ll need to flatten your paper so you can easily use it in any layout.
- From the fly-out menu in the Layers palette, choose Flatten Image.
- Save your paper as a jpg, and you’re done!
Additional Hints
There are tons of different things you can do to modify or improve your newly designed textured paper. Try one or all of these options:
- Try different blend modes instead of Soft Light.
- Change the color and shade of the bottom layer. Make sure the color layer is the active layer in the Layers palette and then press Ctrl U (Mac: Cmd U) and adjust the sliders.
- Duplicate your pattern (texture) layer by making sure it is the active layer in the Layers palette and then press Ctrl J (Mac: Cmd J.) Then press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T) and rotate that layer 90 degrees and resize it just a little larger. This is particularly useful when the pattern you’ve chosen has a distinct repeat and you want it to look more random.
- Stack different pattern (texture) layers. Repeat the steps using a different pattern. Because we are using blend modes and reducing the opacity of the layers, you can stack and combine several for a really cool look.
- One final note… If you have chosen a pattern that has color to it (other than grayscale), it will distort your color layer. To help with this problem (if you think it is a problem), you may want to remove the color from the pattern layer. Do this by making sure the pattern layer is the active layer in the Layers palette and then choose Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.
- Of course, if you’ve read my tips for very long, you know I love to burn the edges of just about everything, including paper. To do this, choose the Burn tool from the Tool bar, choose a very large soft brush, and click and drag around the edges of your paper.
And don’t forget to save your finished paper as a jpg so you can use it again and again!
Here are some papers I created in just a few minutes using this technique. Have fun, and have a great week!
Credits: Tutorial by Jenny Binder, www.HeirloomScrapbooks.com.
Download a PDF version of this “Secret Textures” tutorial
Leap Frog To The Next Level!
Tired of learning a bit here and a bit there? Our CD, Learn Digital Scrapbooking, takes you step-by-step from rank beginner to confident digital scrapbooker in a fraction of the time!
Find out more and get a free sample video lesson.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the paper tutorial! How about a version that shows us how to make patterned papers with colored designs. I loved the notebook paper technique. How do I make the intricate diamond patterns that I see so often? I know there has to be an easy trick to it.
)
Hi Shana,
We just covered patterns in last month’s Digital Scrapper Premier membership lessons. The two lessons were called “Offset Patterns” and “Random Patterns” and they’re now available in our store. You can find them at this URL: http://www.scrappersguide.com/premier-video-lessons/
There is an easier (I think) way to do this. (of course there are always about 100 ways to do stuff in ps! lol!) Just fill your bottom layer with your color (and make sure it is not a ‘background’ layer – if it is, just double-click it in the layers palette and hit “OK” on the dialogue-box that comes up), then add a layer-style: pattern overlay. Select the dark course weave and set your blend mode to overlay or soft light (or whatever you like best.) Doing it this way, you can also scale the pattern (make larger/smaller), and select the opacity in the layer-style. You can also move the pattern around to get the edges ‘just right’ (just drag the pattern around while you have the pattern overlay open in the layer-styles dialogue). (I am using PSCS2, not sure if this is all available in Elements)
Oh, wow, you are absolutely right!! I knew I could do that in Photoshop, but somewhere along the way they added it to Elements and I didn’t realize it! And since I try to teach the same thing in Elements and Photoshop, I went with the “old way”, but you’re right, this way is much easier! Thanks for pointing that out!
Thanks for the tut. I read the tut a few times, as I didn’t understand why the rectangular marquee tool was used to draw a square, since then in the step after that, it is resized to cover the 12×12 paper. Assume with some textures they could become distorted possibly. Layer>NEW FILL LAYER>PATTERN>OK>then select the pattern would allow for a scalable pattern on the 12X12. Or there is Edit>FILL>Pattern (not scalable) or pattern overlay as was mentioned above.
Agree textures are cool. Love seeing any kind of tut regarding them. More, more! Thank you!
Oh!
I want to thank you so much for all the tips you give us. I am a premire member under another account and I LOVE everything I have learned and am still learning.
I also love the downloadable PDF. Keep up the good work ladies.
dmrdm:
I was confused by this method as well and wondered why a method that would distort a pattern/texture would be used! Glad I wasn’t the only one who caught this! I use the Artist Surfaces all the time to texture papers but I do it by adding a Pattern Adjustment Layer by clicking on the little black/white ball on the Layers Palette (PS or PE). This allows the pattern to be scaled/edited/changed at any time. I can also use blend modes and opacity settings on the adjustment layer.
Finding this a few years later .. but I’d always wondered how textured paper was created. Thanks! I could play with these for hours!