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How to Create a Repeating Pattern Swatch from an Image

When you’re done with this tutorial, check out my free Ultimate Guide to Becoming A Textile Designer.

This quick tutorial will show you how to take any image (from the internet, a photo, or a scan), crop it in Photoshop and turn it into a repeating pattern swatch in Adobe Illustrator.

You will learn:

  • 00:29 How to crop the image in Photoshop to create one repeat tile
  • 03:07 How to quickly copy your artwork from Photoshop to Illustrator
  • 04:00 How to get an image from your computer into Illustrator
  • 04:35 How to tell the difference between embedded and linked images in Illustrator and why one of them won’t work to make a repeating pattern
  • 06:40 How to turn your image into a pattern swatch in Illustrator
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