Ever saw those nice backgrounds that have those repeating diagonal lines on them on some super-cool website?

I used to save them, blow them up, modify them and use them on some of my works - however this give you limitation if you want some different style. This guide will show the fundamentals of making this kind of lines.

What you need?

  • Photoshop (I am using CS in this tutorial, but it should be ok from 6.0 onwards)
  • Some patience

Okay, let’s get started.

First, create a new image with the following settings :

4 x 4 pixels, transparent background

Fig.1

Next, choose the pencil tool (click and hold on the brush tool in the toolbar to bring the pencil tool). Set your foreground color to solid black (#000000), and zoom in as far as you can (usually 1600%).

Fig2

Set the pencil size to 1 pixel,

Fig3

… and then manually draw the following patterns in the image:

Fig4

Once youre done, from the menu bar, choose Select -> Select All (or just press Ctrl+A), then choose Edit -> Define Pattern. Put any name that is easy to recognize and press Ok.

Fig5

You may close this 8 x 8 image now - saving it is optional.

Next, create a new 200 x 200 pixel image. Fill the background with any color you want (I used #0076A3).

Now, create a new layer on top of the filled layer. From the menu, choose Edit -> Fill. Under the ‘Use‘ dropdown menu, choose ‘Pattern‘, and select the pattern you created earlier. Press Ok once youre done with it.

Fig6

Ok, from here let your creativity run wild. I usually would adjust the opacity of the top layer, so the lines are not too vivid. Some Examples you can get from the image created just now:

Have fun ^^. If you have anything to say, ask, etc - just post in Comments.

Eg1 Eg2 Eg3 Eg4