Multiply something to create a pattern in Adobe Photoshop

Published on July 3, 2022

Create a pattern

In this blog I’ll show you how to multiply one object to create a pattern in Adobe Photoshop.

Rather watch the video with instructions? Then click here or scroll down to the end of this page.

Click here to download the image I used.

Step 1: Cut out subject/object

To create a pattern, you need a subject or object with a transparent background. If your image already has a transparent background, you can skip this step and continue with step 2.

My image doesn’t have a transparent background, so I’ll remove the background first. To do that, navigate to ‘Select > Subject‘. Photoshop has now selected your subject. Add a layer mask to make the background transparent.

Step 2: Create a pattern

Select the move tool and press CTRL+T. Make your object a bit smaller.

Select your object by clicking on the thumbnail of that layer (don’t select the layer mask). Then select the rectangular marquee tool and make a selection around your object.

Navigate to ‘Edit > Define pattern‘ and name your pattern. Click OK.

Press CTRL+D to deselect. You can now make the layer with your object invisible (click on the eye icon). Create a new layer.

Then navigate to ‘Edit > Fill‘. Select pattern and pick the pattern you just made. I use random fill, but you can also use a different script.

Click OK. The window shown in the image below now opens. You can see the settings I used in this image, but you can also use different settings.

If you don’t like the way your pattern looks with these settings, simply delete the layer, create a new layer and again navigate to ‘Edit > Fill’. Try again with different settings (also look at the preview to see what changing the settings does to your pattern).