1bree Netpond Admin 5+ yrs Netpond Member 9 yrs View all articles | Contact author

How to make a brick background.
by Bree

1. Open a new document. 300 x 250 is good -- it will give you lots of room to work. Fill the background with #FDC689 color.
2. Using the marqee tool, draw a rectangle. Fill with #851515.
3. Now copy and paste two times.
   
   
   
4. Use the marqee tool to select a portion of the pattern you've created. Be sure to select it just the way it is in the image above. If you select too much space around the lower brick you'll end up with too much space when the pattern is created.
5. Go Edit--->Define Pattern. Name your pattern.
6. You can close your document. And open a new one. The size you used before is okay.
7. Go Edit-->Fill and choose Pattern from the list. Make sure that you choose your pattern.
8. Use the magic wand and select the yellow color. Go Filter-->Noise -->Add noise. You choose the settings. Mine were set to 12.5, Gaussian, and Monochromatic. Click OK.
9. Go Select--->Inverse.
10. Edit --->Copy. Make a new layer. Paste.
11. Filter-->Add Noise.
12. Effects--->Drop Shadow (you pick settings). In the effects dialog box, click on Bevel and Emboss. use defaults or tinker a bit. Click on OK.
13. Bricks!!
14. You can add cracks or discoloration. Make a new layer. Set the layer to "Overlay" then use Airbrush at a very low opacity level and set to Dodge or Burn.
15. Finally, to use as a background, you select a portion of your wall, copy, paste into a new document, and save it as brickbg.jpg.
    
    
    
16. This is what this selection looks like as a page.