Wallpaper

Duplicating Full Size Wallpaper Patterns

Part 2

Requirements: Photoshop or GIMP 

This next wallpaper is the currently hanging in my kitchen.   Image 1 is a sample so you can see the pattern.  The entire image, image 2, has a highlight in the center with a darker periphery.   This tutorial is how to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  I probably should have chosen image 2 as my original as you can see the problems I had to later deal with.  As it is, I chose image 3 as my starting source.

Image 4 is using the edit - transform - rotate tool within Photoshop.  You select the entire image and then use this freehand tool to rotate the image.  The hearts are visually lined up vertically so the pattern will repeat straight up and down.

Image 5 is the pattern chosen to use to duplicate the wallpaper.  I eyeballed the paper and chose the minimal amount of pattern which repeats.  I drew my selection box covering mostly white space between the pattern and lined it up as best I could.  Choose the best horizontal and vertical match that you can.  This is the new image.  In photoshop, use the selection tool to draw a box around the area.  Copy the selection.  Create a new image with the new command.  Use the default size chosen as it exactly matches the newly copied image.  Then paste the copied selection into the new image.

Image 6 was created using the offset command within GIMP.  Photoshop can also be used.  In GIMP use image - transform - offset to pull up the filter.  Image 7.  This filter lines up the outside edges of any image which allows you to "paint" a better match for the four edges.  As you can see, I have a pretty good match on my pattern but the background is very unevenly illuminated.

Image 8 is the initial mask using the magic wand ( as described in the previous wallpaper tutorial ) and then the "similar" command to expand the selection.  If the lighting was even, the initial mask would require little touch-up.  Image 9 is the "fixed" mask used to select the background.

Image 10 is the background of the image colored white.  Use the new mask to select the background and then fill the selection with white.  The clean white background points out how lousy the colored pattern is.  There is too much red in the pattern.  Talk about a sow's ear....

Images 12 and 13 are selection masks of the flowers and leaves.  There is some overlap between the masks but more of each is selected in the different masks.  These were created with the color range selection tool as described in image 11.  This is experimentation but not too hard to get the hang of it.  The endpoint does not have to be perfect to work.

Image 14 is the color balance tool.  Here we will subtract out the red and add blue or green where needed.  Again, practice makes perfect.  Image 15 is the final pattern which prints quite nicely.  It is just a little too large so I shrunk it from 2.84 inches by 1.41 inches (at 300 dpi) to 2 by 0.997 inches at 300 dpi.  I chose 2 to make it an even multiple for printing my full sheets of wallpaper.  My protrait oriented wallpaper sheets will be 8 x 9.97 inches - simple math.  My landscape oriented wallpaper will be 10 x 7.97 inches.  The final pattern can be download here.  The printable wallpapers here.... vertical/protrait and horizontal/landscape

Wallpaper #3

Wallpaper Sample - 1

  1. Sample of wallpaper taken with my digital camera.  

Wallpaper Sample Source - 2

  1. Image source for the above sample. 

Starting Image - 3

  1. The lighting is too dark but I thought more even than the above partial photograph.  Also it is crooked which is easily fixed.   

Rotate and square up image - 4

  1. You just grab a corner handle and move it to rotate the image.  When it is lined up press the Enter/return key.  If it is a little off, just do it again. 

Initial Repeating Pattern - 5

  1. This is my chosen wallpaper pattern.  I will clean up the edges, fix the colors, and size the image to match 1/12 scale 

Offset Filter to better correct edges - 6

  1. The gimp offset filter lines up how the foure edges will meet lets you manually fix them.  If you run it again. the image will be put back as it originally was with the four tiles in the correct locations. 

GIMP Offset Filter - 7

  1. Make sure Wrap around is depressed.  Press the offset by (x/2), (y/2) button.  Then press OK. 

1st Mask of Background - 8

  1. The magic wand was used to select the background into a selection.  Keep the tolerance to less than 25.  You can vary the tolerance to help select more of the background and less of the pattern.   I then used the "similar" command to expand the selection. 

2nd Mask of Background - 9

  1. Clean up the mask using a brush and white to clean up the black trash in the mask.  This is a little tedious but necessary.

White Background - 10

  1. The background is now clean and white but the pattern is way, way too red.  There are different shades within the red hearts, blue flowers, and green leaves and stems.  We will take advantage of this to create a mask of the flowers and one of the leaves.

Color Range Selection tool - 11

  1. Use the eyedropper to click an area in the image to select a color.  You can add or subtract from the selection by clicking additional colors and using the +/- eyedroppers on the lower right.  You click in the image and watch your selection in the color range box.  Fuzziness can be varied to broaden or narrow your color selection.

Flowers Mask - 12

  1. The flowers are primarily selected.

Leaves Mask - 13

  1. The leaves are primarily selected.

PS Color Balance Tool - 14

  1. The sliders will let you subtract red out of the leaves and flowers and blue or green where needed.  You can reapply the tool to get a more pronounced effect.  You can also select either shadows, midtones, or highlights within your image.  Stick with midtones in this type image.  Also preserve luminosity to keep from changing the lightness or darkness.

Recolorized pattern - 15

  1. The final recolorized pattern which works fine but needs to be shrunk when I eyeballed the printed pattern.

 

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