Pattern 24

Tuesday, February 3, 2015
My next polka dot pattern is a bit more complicated as I am going to explain how I create what is called a 'half drop' pattern.  This is a popular repeat as it appears to flow well and has a less grid-like appearance.  This is what I typically associate with a traditional polka dot pattern.  I started with my original grid based dot pattern which had only one dot in the center of a square.  Here is how I created it:

Step 1 - Open the dot file from Pattern 21 in Photoshop Elements.  It is a .png file with a center dot and a transparent background.  Turn your grid on so you can see the center point of your one inch square.  View -> Grid

Step 2 - Since this dot fills most of the square, I need to reduce the size.  Using the Move tool, drag a corner and make the diameter of the dot a little over one half inch.  Make sure you keep the center of the dot right at the center of the square.

Step 3 - Using the Rectangular Marquee tool, I made a selection of exactly one half of the circle on the left side.  By having the grid turned on, I can see exactly where the center is.  Start in the upper left corner and drag down to the exact center at the bottom of the square.

Step 4 - Edit -> Copy and then Edit -> Paste.  This will create your half circle as a new layer.  Using the Move tool, drag this half circle so that old 'center' is now centered and touching the right side of the square.

Step 5 - Duplicate the layer of the half circle.  Then go to Image -> Rotate -> Flip Layer Horizontal.  Drag this half dot to the other side of the square.  Make sure it just touches the edge and that it is perfectly centered. 

Step 6 - Go back to your original dot layer, and do the same procedures again, only this time select the top half of the circle.  Edit -> Copy and Edit -> Paste.

Step 7 - Drag the half dot on this new layer down to the bottom of the square.

Step 8 - Duplicate this new layer and flip it vertically.  Image -> Rotate -> Flip Layer Vertical.  Then drag this half dot to the top of the square.

Step 9 - You should now have four layers of half dots lined up on the outside edges of your square.  Turn the visibility of your original dot off so you only see the half dot layers.  Your image should look like mine below.  Now Select -> All, and save the pattern.  When you fill a space with this pattern, you will see that the dots from one row line up exactly with the center of the space between the dots from the previous row.  And there you have your polka dot pattern!