Create 'marl' background: striped effect in Photoshop or Illustrator

up vote
8
down vote

favorite

I am trying to create the effect in the below 2 photos for a t-shirt.

enter image description here

How can that background (maybe called marl) be created in Photoshop or Illustrator?

I've have limited success creating it with Filter > Sketch > Graphic Pen.
What would be the best method. If possible something which could easily allow me to change the colours in it, on an ongoing basis.

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

1

Hi mmc501, welcome to GDSE and thanks for your question. If you want to know more about the site or the SE model in general, please see the tour or the help center to get you up to speed. Keep contributing and enjoy the site!
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:53

A practical comment (which is why its not an answer), the T shirt printer is not going to like any complex bitmap so after Photoshop you would be better creating a vector (VectorMagic better than Illustrator for bitmap to vector). Then he can print in a single ink. Also, I tend to go for a patterned fabric base shirt (i.e. a cotton with marl in it) and print graphics over the top - simpler, more reliable if you repeat run.
â€“Â Applefanboy
Sep 7 at 10:09

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
8
down vote

favorite

I am trying to create the effect in the below 2 photos for a t-shirt.

enter image description here

How can that background (maybe called marl) be created in Photoshop or Illustrator?

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

1

Hi mmc501, welcome to GDSE and thanks for your question. If you want to know more about the site or the SE model in general, please see the tour or the help center to get you up to speed. Keep contributing and enjoy the site!
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:53

A practical comment (which is why its not an answer), the T shirt printer is not going to like any complex bitmap so after Photoshop you would be better creating a vector (VectorMagic better than Illustrator for bitmap to vector). Then he can print in a single ink. Also, I tend to go for a patterned fabric base shirt (i.e. a cotton with marl in it) and print graphics over the top - simpler, more reliable if you repeat run.
â€“Â Applefanboy
Sep 7 at 10:09

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
8
down vote

favorite

I am trying to create the effect in the below 2 photos for a t-shirt.

enter image description here

How can that background (maybe called marl) be created in Photoshop or Illustrator?

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

I am trying to create the effect in the below 2 photos for a t-shirt.

enter image description here

How can that background (maybe called marl) be created in Photoshop or Illustrator?

adobe-photoshop adobe-illustrator background

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

edited Sep 3 at 14:24

WELZ

4,88841450

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

asked Sep 3 at 8:29

mmc501

1413

1

Hi mmc501, welcome to GDSE and thanks for your question. If you want to know more about the site or the SE model in general, please see the tour or the help center to get you up to speed. Keep contributing and enjoy the site!
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:53

A practical comment (which is why its not an answer), the T shirt printer is not going to like any complex bitmap so after Photoshop you would be better creating a vector (VectorMagic better than Illustrator for bitmap to vector). Then he can print in a single ink. Also, I tend to go for a patterned fabric base shirt (i.e. a cotton with marl in it) and print graphics over the top - simpler, more reliable if you repeat run.
â€“Â Applefanboy
Sep 7 at 10:09

add a commentÂ |Â

1

Hi mmc501, welcome to GDSE and thanks for your question. If you want to know more about the site or the SE model in general, please see the tour or the help center to get you up to speed. Keep contributing and enjoy the site!
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:53

A practical comment (which is why its not an answer), the T shirt printer is not going to like any complex bitmap so after Photoshop you would be better creating a vector (VectorMagic better than Illustrator for bitmap to vector). Then he can print in a single ink. Also, I tend to go for a patterned fabric base shirt (i.e. a cotton with marl in it) and print graphics over the top - simpler, more reliable if you repeat run.
â€“Â Applefanboy
Sep 7 at 10:09

Hi mmc501, welcome to GDSE and thanks for your question. If you want to know more about the site or the SE model in general, please see the tour or the help center to get you up to speed. Keep contributing and enjoy the site!
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:53

A practical comment (which is why its not an answer), the T shirt printer is not going to like any complex bitmap so after Photoshop you would be better creating a vector (VectorMagic better than Illustrator for bitmap to vector). Then he can print in a single ink. Also, I tend to go for a patterned fabric base shirt (i.e. a cotton with marl in it) and print graphics over the top - simpler, more reliable if you repeat run.
â€“Â Applefanboy
Sep 7 at 10:09

add a commentÂ |Â

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

up vote
12
down vote

In Photoshop, make a brush like this

enter image description here

Then in the Brush Settings, add the following settings

Brush Tip Shape: Spacing 10%

Shape Dynamics: Size jitter 70%

Scattering: Scatter 360%, count 2

Noise

enter image description here

Note: my screen recorder seems to mess up the brush cursor, so please ignore that.

edited Sep 3 at 10:25

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

How can i make the initial brush that shape?
â€“Â mmc501
Sep 3 at 11:16

@mmc501 I used the Pen Tool to draw a shape, then filled it black.
â€“Â Billy Kerr
Sep 3 at 14:01

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
6
down vote

Illustrator

From an ellipse, create a Scatter Brush

Scatter Brush

Make two vertical paths and apply this brush on each one separately

brush

Select both paths, apply a stroke color

Select both paths, Menu Object > Blend > Make

Menu Object > Blend > Blend Options > Specified Steps = increase the number of steps

Blend

Select the Blend, Menu Effect > Stylize > Feather

Feather

Make a rectangle on top of the Blend

Select the Blend and the Rectangle, Menu Object > Clipping Mask > Make

Using the Direct Selection Tool click the mask edge to select it and fill it with color

pattern

edited Sep 3 at 9:33

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

1

Nice technique. How heavy, byte-wise does this become? Same question for 'oh-my-graphics-card-is-starting-to-sweat-wise' ;)
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:55

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
5
down vote

This is a randomised 'Clouds' pattern that has been scaled down vertically but not horizontally. In Photoshop:

Create a document as wide as you want the pattern to be, and twenty times as high;

In that document, choose the darkest you want the pattern to become as your foreground colour; and the lightest colour you want as background colour;

Choose Filter > Render > Clouds;

enter image description here

Select all contents of the current layer with Cmd/Ctrl+A;

Choose Image > Free Transform (or press Cmd/Ctrl+T);

In the control bar on top, find the 'H' value (100% now) and make sure the link it has with 'W' (width) is broken (click the link icon to switch between linked and broken);

Click in the H value's field and key in a value around 5% and press Return / Enter;

Crop your image as needed (Image > Crop with the selection still active works great) or copy and paste the result as needed.

marl result in Photoshop

In practice, I'd advice you to take black and white as the original colours (as I did in the example), so you can tweak the colours using a gradient map layer later.

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

add a commentÂ |Â

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3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

up vote
12
down vote

In Photoshop, make a brush like this

enter image description here

Then in the Brush Settings, add the following settings

Brush Tip Shape: Spacing 10%

Shape Dynamics: Size jitter 70%

Scattering: Scatter 360%, count 2

Noise

enter image description here

Note: my screen recorder seems to mess up the brush cursor, so please ignore that.

edited Sep 3 at 10:25

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

How can i make the initial brush that shape?
â€“Â mmc501
Sep 3 at 11:16

@mmc501 I used the Pen Tool to draw a shape, then filled it black.
â€“Â Billy Kerr
Sep 3 at 14:01

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
12
down vote

In Photoshop, make a brush like this

enter image description here

Then in the Brush Settings, add the following settings

Brush Tip Shape: Spacing 10%

Shape Dynamics: Size jitter 70%

Scattering: Scatter 360%, count 2

Noise

enter image description here

Note: my screen recorder seems to mess up the brush cursor, so please ignore that.

edited Sep 3 at 10:25

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

How can i make the initial brush that shape?
â€“Â mmc501
Sep 3 at 11:16

@mmc501 I used the Pen Tool to draw a shape, then filled it black.
â€“Â Billy Kerr
Sep 3 at 14:01

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
12
down vote

In Photoshop, make a brush like this

enter image description here

Then in the Brush Settings, add the following settings

Brush Tip Shape: Spacing 10%

Shape Dynamics: Size jitter 70%

Scattering: Scatter 360%, count 2

Noise

enter image description here

Note: my screen recorder seems to mess up the brush cursor, so please ignore that.

edited Sep 3 at 10:25

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

In Photoshop, make a brush like this

enter image description here

Then in the Brush Settings, add the following settings

Brush Tip Shape: Spacing 10%

Shape Dynamics: Size jitter 70%

Scattering: Scatter 360%, count 2

Noise

enter image description here

Note: my screen recorder seems to mess up the brush cursor, so please ignore that.

edited Sep 3 at 10:25

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

edited Sep 3 at 10:25

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

answered Sep 3 at 9:57

Billy Kerr

23.1k21952

How can i make the initial brush that shape?
â€“Â mmc501
Sep 3 at 11:16

@mmc501 I used the Pen Tool to draw a shape, then filled it black.
â€“Â Billy Kerr
Sep 3 at 14:01

add a commentÂ |Â

How can i make the initial brush that shape?
â€“Â mmc501
Sep 3 at 11:16

@mmc501 I used the Pen Tool to draw a shape, then filled it black.
â€“Â Billy Kerr
Sep 3 at 14:01

How can i make the initial brush that shape?
â€“Â mmc501
Sep 3 at 11:16

@mmc501 I used the Pen Tool to draw a shape, then filled it black.
â€“Â Billy Kerr
Sep 3 at 14:01

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
6
down vote

Illustrator

From an ellipse, create a Scatter Brush

Scatter Brush

Make two vertical paths and apply this brush on each one separately

brush

Select both paths, apply a stroke color

Select both paths, Menu Object > Blend > Make

Menu Object > Blend > Blend Options > Specified Steps = increase the number of steps

Blend

Select the Blend, Menu Effect > Stylize > Feather

Feather

Make a rectangle on top of the Blend

Select the Blend and the Rectangle, Menu Object > Clipping Mask > Make

Using the Direct Selection Tool click the mask edge to select it and fill it with color

pattern

edited Sep 3 at 9:33

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

1

Nice technique. How heavy, byte-wise does this become? Same question for 'oh-my-graphics-card-is-starting-to-sweat-wise' ;)
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:55

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
6
down vote

Illustrator

From an ellipse, create a Scatter Brush

Scatter Brush

Make two vertical paths and apply this brush on each one separately

brush

Select both paths, apply a stroke color

Select both paths, Menu Object > Blend > Make

Menu Object > Blend > Blend Options > Specified Steps = increase the number of steps

Blend

Select the Blend, Menu Effect > Stylize > Feather

Feather

Make a rectangle on top of the Blend

Select the Blend and the Rectangle, Menu Object > Clipping Mask > Make

Using the Direct Selection Tool click the mask edge to select it and fill it with color

pattern

edited Sep 3 at 9:33

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

1

Nice technique. How heavy, byte-wise does this become? Same question for 'oh-my-graphics-card-is-starting-to-sweat-wise' ;)
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:55

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
6
down vote

Illustrator

From an ellipse, create a Scatter Brush

Scatter Brush

Make two vertical paths and apply this brush on each one separately

brush

Select both paths, apply a stroke color

Select both paths, Menu Object > Blend > Make

Menu Object > Blend > Blend Options > Specified Steps = increase the number of steps

Blend

Select the Blend, Menu Effect > Stylize > Feather

Feather

Make a rectangle on top of the Blend

Select the Blend and the Rectangle, Menu Object > Clipping Mask > Make

Using the Direct Selection Tool click the mask edge to select it and fill it with color

pattern

edited Sep 3 at 9:33

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

Illustrator

From an ellipse, create a Scatter Brush

Scatter Brush

Make two vertical paths and apply this brush on each one separately

brush

Select both paths, apply a stroke color

Select both paths, Menu Object > Blend > Make

Menu Object > Blend > Blend Options > Specified Steps = increase the number of steps

Blend

Select the Blend, Menu Effect > Stylize > Feather

Feather

Make a rectangle on top of the Blend

Select the Blend and the Rectangle, Menu Object > Clipping Mask > Make

Using the Direct Selection Tool click the mask edge to select it and fill it with color

pattern

edited Sep 3 at 9:33

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

edited Sep 3 at 9:33

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

answered Sep 3 at 9:09

Danielillo

12.5k11750

1

Nice technique. How heavy, byte-wise does this become? Same question for 'oh-my-graphics-card-is-starting-to-sweat-wise' ;)
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:55

add a commentÂ |Â

1

Nice technique. How heavy, byte-wise does this become? Same question for 'oh-my-graphics-card-is-starting-to-sweat-wise' ;)
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:55

Nice technique. How heavy, byte-wise does this become? Same question for 'oh-my-graphics-card-is-starting-to-sweat-wise' ;)
â€“Â Vincent
Sep 3 at 9:55

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
5
down vote

This is a randomised 'Clouds' pattern that has been scaled down vertically but not horizontally. In Photoshop:

Create a document as wide as you want the pattern to be, and twenty times as high;

In that document, choose the darkest you want the pattern to become as your foreground colour; and the lightest colour you want as background colour;

Choose Filter > Render > Clouds;

enter image description here

Select all contents of the current layer with Cmd/Ctrl+A;

Choose Image > Free Transform (or press Cmd/Ctrl+T);

In the control bar on top, find the 'H' value (100% now) and make sure the link it has with 'W' (width) is broken (click the link icon to switch between linked and broken);

Click in the H value's field and key in a value around 5% and press Return / Enter;

Crop your image as needed (Image > Crop with the selection still active works great) or copy and paste the result as needed.

marl result in Photoshop

In practice, I'd advice you to take black and white as the original colours (as I did in the example), so you can tweak the colours using a gradient map layer later.

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
5
down vote

This is a randomised 'Clouds' pattern that has been scaled down vertically but not horizontally. In Photoshop:

Create a document as wide as you want the pattern to be, and twenty times as high;

In that document, choose the darkest you want the pattern to become as your foreground colour; and the lightest colour you want as background colour;

Choose Filter > Render > Clouds;

enter image description here

Select all contents of the current layer with Cmd/Ctrl+A;

Choose Image > Free Transform (or press Cmd/Ctrl+T);

In the control bar on top, find the 'H' value (100% now) and make sure the link it has with 'W' (width) is broken (click the link icon to switch between linked and broken);

Click in the H value's field and key in a value around 5% and press Return / Enter;

Crop your image as needed (Image > Crop with the selection still active works great) or copy and paste the result as needed.

marl result in Photoshop

In practice, I'd advice you to take black and white as the original colours (as I did in the example), so you can tweak the colours using a gradient map layer later.

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

add a commentÂ |Â

up vote
5
down vote

This is a randomised 'Clouds' pattern that has been scaled down vertically but not horizontally. In Photoshop:

Create a document as wide as you want the pattern to be, and twenty times as high;

In that document, choose the darkest you want the pattern to become as your foreground colour; and the lightest colour you want as background colour;

Choose Filter > Render > Clouds;

enter image description here

Select all contents of the current layer with Cmd/Ctrl+A;

Choose Image > Free Transform (or press Cmd/Ctrl+T);

In the control bar on top, find the 'H' value (100% now) and make sure the link it has with 'W' (width) is broken (click the link icon to switch between linked and broken);

Click in the H value's field and key in a value around 5% and press Return / Enter;

Crop your image as needed (Image > Crop with the selection still active works great) or copy and paste the result as needed.

marl result in Photoshop

In practice, I'd advice you to take black and white as the original colours (as I did in the example), so you can tweak the colours using a gradient map layer later.

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

This is a randomised 'Clouds' pattern that has been scaled down vertically but not horizontally. In Photoshop:

Create a document as wide as you want the pattern to be, and twenty times as high;

In that document, choose the darkest you want the pattern to become as your foreground colour; and the lightest colour you want as background colour;

Choose Filter > Render > Clouds;

enter image description here

Select all contents of the current layer with Cmd/Ctrl+A;

Choose Image > Free Transform (or press Cmd/Ctrl+T);

In the control bar on top, find the 'H' value (100% now) and make sure the link it has with 'W' (width) is broken (click the link icon to switch between linked and broken);

Click in the H value's field and key in a value around 5% and press Return / Enter;

Crop your image as needed (Image > Crop with the selection still active works great) or copy and paste the result as needed.

marl result in Photoshop

In practice, I'd advice you to take black and white as the original colours (as I did in the example), so you can tweak the colours using a gradient map layer later.

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

answered Sep 3 at 9:51

Vincent

18.8k1572109

add a commentÂ |Â

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