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Learn how to turn your basic striped pattern into a fun wavy line pattern using the wave filter in Adobe Photoshop.
Setting up your pattern
In order to use the wave filter you first need to create a horizontal pattern.
Open Photoshop and click to create a new document. For this tutorial I use the dimensions 180 x 180 px with resolution set to 300 dpi, RGB color mode and transparent background.
Selecting the marquee tool we are going to create a rectangle. When using the marquee tool in the top menu make sure Style is set to fixed size and then you can enter your dimensions. For the width I used 180 px and the height was 90 px.
When you click on the canvas you will see the outline of the rectangle show. Next we are going to fill in this area with the foreground color. To reset your foreground (black) and background (white) colors to default you can hit D on the keyboard. To fill the area in with the foreground color I like to use the keyboard shortcut: option + delete (Mac) or alt + backspace (PC). This will cause your rectangle to fill with color. The final step when using the marquee tool is to hit cmd/ctrl + D on the keyboard to deselect the area.
Next, access the Move tool (keyboard shortcut – V). Drag the rectangle to the center of the canvas. To save a horizontal stripe pattern go to Edit > Define Pattern. You can give your pattern a name and then select Ok.
How to create wavy line pattern using wave filter
Now that you have your horizontal stripe pattern saved the next step is to create a new document. The end goal is to create a digital scrapbook page which is typically 3600 x 3600 px, but using this technique we are going to start with a larger canvas the size of 4000 x 4000 px.
In the bottom of the layers panel select the half filled circle icon to create a new pattern fill layer. From the drop down select the newly created horizontal stripe pattern. When the pattern fill dialogue box is open you have the option to scale your pattern and change the angle. You can even reorient the pattern on the canvas if you like. When making adjustments you can get back to the original by clicking on snap to origin. Click ok to save your pattern settings.
Selecting your pattern fill layer, right click and select Convert to Smart Object.
Next, from the top menu click on Filter > Distort > Wave. Under the Type setting select Sine.
For the Number of Generators select 5. Increase the wavelength. The settings I used are 209 for Min and 210 for Max. In this case you want the min and max to be within one point of each other.
For the Amplitude – Min – 32 and Max – 37. Click on Ok to save your settings and you will see your horizontal pattern distort into wavy lines using the wave filter.
Next, trim your canvas down to 3600 x 3600 px using the Marquee Tool (M – keyboard). With style set to fixed size change width and height to 3600 px. Click on the screen to make you selection and then you can move it around to position the selection where you want.
With you selection crop your canvas by selecting Image > Crop. This will crop your canvas down to the selected area. Finally deselect the area by hitting cmd/ctrl + D on the keyboard.
Changing the Color of Your Pattern.
To change the color of your pattern create a Color fill adjustment layer. Select the color you want and then making sure the color fill layer is positioned above your pattern fill layer in the layers panel. Right click and select create clipping mask. To change the background color add another solid color fill layer below.
How to Save your pattern as Digital Scrapbook Paper
To save your file as digital scrapbook paper. Click on File > save a copy. Select where you want to save it and then under the file type select JPG.