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The key to making good tileable textures
By Relic25  Last changed Jan 28 2001

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Here's a quick tip for those who are having a tough time making tileable textures from photos, etc.

In your favorite graphics editor, crop/resample the image down to the size of the texture you will be using (step 1), then copy the whole image. Paste 4 copies (as objects or levels) and position them in a 2X2 arrangement so that the place where the 4 corners meet are over the center of your texture (step 2). Work on the seams (they probably won't blend smoothly without help) until the edges are blended and hard to detect or gone completely. When working on the seams, copy irregular patches (step 3) from other parts in the texture and place them over the seams. Be as random as possible and you will see good results (step 4). Flatten your image, and repeat this process again (steps 5 & 6). Your texture should tile fairly well at this point. :)

Obviously, this works best with irregularly textured images. When working with images containing regular patterns (brick/stone walls, leaves, etc.), the process becomes somewhat easier. Follow the steps above, but follow the contours of objects or groups of objects in the image.

(click to enlarge)

Hope this helps someone!

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