Wood texture example

Wood texture

INTRODUCTION

Creating a well-crafted texture may seem like a challenge at first, but it’s not as hard as it looks. Pixelmator comes equipped with tools that can be used to produce diverse graphical images. Create a lifelike wood texture in 10 simple steps.

Effects, Layer Masks, the Brush Tool and other features of Pixelmator are used in this tutorial.

RESOURCES

PXM File

STEP 1

Open Pixelmator and create a new document. The image size used in this tutorial is 900×600 pixels. Select the Paint Bucket Tool (N) and fill the “Background Layer” with brown (color code – #6d4524). Next, create a new layer and name it “Clouds”. Then, open the Effects Browser by choosing View > Show Effects. Choose the Generator group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Clouds thumbnail. Click OK. Then, choose the Blur group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Gaussian thumbnail. Set Radius to 30 px and click OK. Finally, change the “Clouds” layer’s Blending to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to 30%.

STEP 2

Next, start working on the wood grain. Create a new layer and name it “Noise”. Use the Paint Bucket Tool (N) to fill the layer with white. Then, choose the Stylize group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Noise thumbnail. Set Amount to 100% and click OK. Next, choose the Blur group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Motion thumbnail. Set Radius to 20 px and Angle to 0º. Click OK.

STEP 3

Now, choose the Blur group in the Effects Browser. Then, select the “Noise” layer and double-click the Median thumbnail. Next, make the pattern in the “Noise” layer slightly wavy. Choose the Distortion group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Glass thumbnail. Set Scale to 20 px and click OK. Then, choose the Sharpen group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Sharpen thumbnail. Set Sharpness to 50% and click OK. Change the “Noise” layer’s Blending to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to 30%.

Now, highlight the lighter parts of the wood grain. Duplicate the “Noise” layer and rename the copy to “Noise 2”. Change the “Noise 2” layer’s Blending to Vivid Light and increase the Opacity to 50%.

STEP 4

Next, accentuate the darker growth rings. Duplicate the “Noise 2” layer and rename the copy to “Noise 3”. Then, choose the Other group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Solarize thumbnail. Set Levels to 10 and click OK. Next, choose the Color Adjustments group in the Effects Browser. Double-click the Invert thumbnail. Now, choose the Stylize group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Noise thumbnail. Set Amount to 3% and click OK. Change the Blending to Soft Light and reduce the Opacity to 70%.

Now, make the darker growth rings more defined. Duplicate the “Noise 3” layer and rename the copy to “Noise 4”. Finally, change the “Noise 4” layer’s Blending to Linear Light and reduce the Opacity to 40%.

STEP 5

Now, diversify the pattern of the growth rings. First, select the “Noise 2” layer in the Layers Palette. Then, choose the Distortion group in the Effects Browser and double-click the Linear Bump thumbnail. Set Radius to 100 px and Angle to 0º. Then, set Scale to 50% and use the rope to point to the upper part of the canvas as in the example below. Click OK. Do not close the Effects browser, because various effects from the Distortion group will be used in the following steps.

STEP 6

Next, add a branch knot. First, adjust the wood grain so that it flows around the knot. Select the
“Noise 2” layer and double-click the Bump thumbnail in the Effects Browser. Set Radius to 200 px and Scale to 100%. Then, use the rope to point to the upper left corner of the canvas. Use the image below as a reference. Click OK.

Now, create the actual knot. Select the “Noise 4” layer and double-click the Bump thumbnail in the Effects Browser. Set Radius to 100 px and Scale to 100%. Use the rope to point to the same spot as before and click OK.

STEP 7

Repeat the actions from step 5 on the lower part of the canvas. Select the “Noise 2” layer and double-click the Linear Bump thumbnail in the Effects Browser. Set the settings as in the example below. Then, use the rope to point to the lower part of the canvas and click OK.

STEP 8

Now, add another branch knot. Once again, start with adjusting the growth rings around the knot. Select the “Noise 2” layer and double-click the Bump thumbnail in the Effects Browser. Set Radius to 100 px and Scale to 100%. Then, use the rope to point to the lower right part of the canvas as in the example below. Click OK.

Then, create the actual know. Select the “Noise 4” layer and double-click the Bump thumbnail again. Use the same settings as before, only reduce Radius to 50 px. Then, make sure that the rope points to the same spot as before and click OK.

STEP 9

Now, make the size and shape of wood grain differ in some places. First, select the “Noise 2” layer. Then, double-click the Twirl thumbnail in the Effects Browser. Set Radius to 500 px and Angle to 1º. Use the rope to point to the middle left part of the canvas as in the example below. Click OK.

STEP 10

As a finishing touch, darken the wood knots. Control-click the “Noise 3” layer in the Layers Palette and choose Duplicate from the shortcut menu. Then, position the copy on top of the other layer in the Layers Palette. Control-click the “Noise 3 copy” layer and choose Add Mask from the shortcut menu. Then, use the Paint Bucket Tool (N) to fill the mask with black. Next, select the Brush Tool (B). Use a soft rounded brush to add strokes of white over the branches in the “Noise 3 copy” layer’s mask. Use the image below as a reference. Finally, change the “Noise 3 copy” layer’s Blending to Multiply and set the Opacity to 70%.

CONCLUSION

Congratulations, you’re done! Realistic textures and patterns can be immensely beneficial when creating various types of graphical design. In the example below you can see how a lifelike wood texture could be transformed into a wooden floor.