# How to tile one small pic across entire canvas in Paint?



## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

I have a small jpeg image I want to use as the background for a project. It's just a blue square with a few dots in it - meant to be tiled as a background. I will add text on top, paste pics on it, etc. I don't see the control in Paint or Irfranview to tile it so that I can work with it. I see tiling it as wallpaper but that's not workable - want it to multiply and fill the entire canvas. How do I do that?


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Copy-paste it several times onto a blank image the size of your final desired image (exact multiples of the original pixel size would be best)

I dont believe those image editors have the "tile" ability automated that you would want?


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## i hate ram (Jul 28, 2003)

if you want, i can do it with photoshop. (or you can, if you have that)

PM me if you're interrested


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

That's very kind of you to offer. We have Photoshop but I've only used it a few times and only to heal some photos. I will take a look! - thanks for that suggestion. I'll report back.
The C&P procedure - I did try that, but kept making small overlaps and minor misalignments - it wasn't looking good, so gave up.


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## i hate ram (Jul 28, 2003)

photoshop:

1: open the image in PS
2: select the whole canvas
3: Edit > Define Pattern
4: Pick a cute name 
5: 6: Close the original (don't save if it asks)
6: File > New
7: Set the length x width to the size you want the background to be
8: Blank canvas, choose the paint can
9: Top-left corner of the screen there will be a dropdown that says "Foreground" in it. Change to 'Pattern"
10: A little to the right there will be a box that says "Pattern:" hit the dropdown on that one and choose the icon of the pattern you want to use
11: Click the paintcan anywhere on the canvas
12: Voila!


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

I'm kind of with you, up until here:
_*8: "Blank canvas, choose the paint can"*_ - don't know what that means - ?

Also after I close the original (choose not to save), another canvas opens but the thing that's in it isn't my gif, it's a canvas of gray & white checks. I'm working with something gray but have never seen the thing in the window before. 
This happens at the same point when I also don't get instruction #8 above, so I am doubly stumped. 
I've gotten that far 4 times, that same graphic always opens at the same time.

How extremely nice that you came back with instructions!


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## i hate ram (Jul 28, 2003)

the grey/white checkboxes means that you have a 'transparent' background and there is nothing on the page. i guess you're using an older version of ps... i'm using CS 8.

on step 8, i mean that now you should have a blank canvas on your screen (in this case, with the little checkboxes). on the tool panel on the left side, choose the paint can. if you don't see it, look for something that looks like a gradient and switch it to the paint can.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

There are also lots of effect plugins you can get.

http://www.mehdiplugins.com/english/seamlessborder.htm

No install needed. Just put in a plugin folder.

http://www.redfieldplugins.com/filterSeamlessWorkshop.htm

With the Redfield Plugins it has most all of them in one install but you can pick what pluins you want to install.


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

I end up with something that doesnt look like the pattern, just a grayish piece of vague texture. It could possibly be a hugely magnified portion of one of the lines in it, that's just a guess. It could be another file entirely, doesn;t look like what I started with. I've tried it with several other different patterns now. Does it matter if they're small to start with? My design is a gray-plaid, 32x32. I end up with a gray texture-appearing thing - no pattern just a texture of sorts. All I can think is it's something in extreme closeup.

Also I don't actually see the design in the dropdown menu, all colors seem wrong and nothing really looks like what I started with there, either. I take a stab, pick something that looks close. But eventually I DO end up trying most of them anyway, except none are the right ones.

Gee, sorry, you didn't mean to start running a whole lesson for me - sorry-


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=seamless+tiles

Also Titling Software

http://www.bakhter.com/html/3d/titling_software.html


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Also it you got the image you want a tile of post it and I can play with it for you because I have tile programs.


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## belithrawien (Aug 6, 2003)

First of all, check to be sure you are in RGB mode, and not grayscale.
To create a tiling pattern in photoshop, you can also use this method.

1. Select the pattern you wish to tile
2. Press CTRL+A ( Selects the entire image for you )
3. Go to Edit > Define Pattern ( choose a name or use default )
( you can close this image without saving now )
4. Create your new blank document that you wish to fill the tiling image with.
5. Go to Edit > Fill ( Choose Pattern ) and scroll to the pattern you just created.

( some screenshots to help are below )


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## sekirt (Mar 28, 2003)

Easiest way....if you use Outlook Express (Don't use Outlook but probably similar)

1) Open blank email. Click Format->Background->Picture->Navigate to your image.
2) Click File->Save As...
Save it in a .MHT format. It will say .EML, but just type the full filename, such as *Tile.MHT* and click OK.
3) Open the .MHT file you just saved, in Internet Explorer.
4) Take a screen shot and open that in Paint.
5) If the screen shot isn't large enough to fill your requirements, copy and duplicate it in Paint.

sekirt


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## marie500 (May 6, 2002)

GOT it! Looks good. My idea will work now. 
Appreciate the step-by-step hand-holding. (* sorry I needed so much of it...)
The blank email trick works too, hey that's pretty clever.

I like the tiling software, now I want that too. I know you're into graphics, hewee, count on you for the good stuff. 
You guys were extremely kind even volunteering to do it yourselves. So glad you always have your thinking caps on..feels REALLY good to get things the way we want.

_(I'm going to save all the attachments and instructions, thanks for a lot of hard work to help me.)_


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

There are so many types of tile programs out there ans ways they work.

Then I got to thinking I knew I had other tile programs and there are others that are used for making tiles etc for doing textures. etc for 3D programs.

Buttonz & Tilez is free and does cool effects.
http://www.feldfunker.de/software/bt.htm

It also lets you load images but you can not do as many effects but you can still tile the image.


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