Photoshop CS Timesaving Techniques For Dummies [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Filling with Patterns

You have three ways to fill areas or selections with patterns in Photoshop:

Using the Paint Bucket tool is really straightforward. Select an area or layer that you want to fill, select a pattern by using the Pattern picker on the Options bar, and also set a blending mode and opacity, if you want. Then, click within the selection. Done deal.

The Fill command also lets you fill a layer or selection with a pattern. While selecting a pattern by using the Fill dialog box, you can also select an opacity and blending mode. I don’t recommend setting a blending mode or opacity by using the Fill command because after you apply the command, that’s it. You can’t change it. Instead, use the Layers palette to set blending modes and opacity; you can change either setting later.

Creating a fill layer is an infinitely flexible way to apply a pattern. A fill layer is used to apply a pattern to a layer or selection by using another layer instead of applying the pattern to the actual image, altering the image pixels forever. Because the fill layer is a separate layer, you can set blending mode and opacity at any time. Also, you can change the selected pattern and if you decide that you don’t like the effect, delete the fill layer altogether. I discuss fill layers in detail in Technique 21; if you want to apply a pattern by using a fill layer, turn to the directions there.

Here’s how to fill a layer or selection with the Fill command:

Use the Layers palette to select the layer to which you want to apply the pattern.

If you want to apply the pattern to an area on the selected layer, use the selection tools to create the selection.





Choose Edit>Fill or press Shift+F5.





Select a pattern with the Pattern picker in the Fill dialog box, as shown in Figure 29-1.




Figure 29-1: Select a pattern in the Fill dialog box.






In the Blending area, use the Mode drop- down list to select a blending mode and use the Opacity slider to set the pattern’s transparency, if you want.





Select the Preserve Transparency check box if portions of the selected area or layer are transparent and you don’t want the pattern to fill those areas.





Click OK.

The pattern fills the selected area or layer.