Photoshop: Multicolored Stripes

Yesterday, I drove down the Peninsula to the typewriter store. At some point on the road, my stomach started driving and it spontaneously turned at Sand Hill Road and took us (me and my stomach) to the Stanford Shopping Center to buy some Sprinkles Cupcakes. On the walk to Sprinkles from my car, I saw the Kate Spade store and was astonished to see that it was decked out in their Color of the Month: MULTI.

Check this out guys: gold was their color in June and chocolate was the theme last month, and this month, it’s multiple colors. It’s cool how their branding extends from their website to their blog, through their ads and materializes in their retail stores. The consistency is very impressive.

Simple How-To

Anyway, as tempted as I was to buy this, I settled for taking some photos. Just looking at the floor made me all happy and giddy inside. Don’t worry, I didn’t actually act on my feelings at the time, but I did get the idea for creating a short and sweet tutorial about making your own multi-colored vertical (or horizontal) stripes. You can follow the step-by-step instructions below to learn how to make your own — it’s really easy and fun. I was going to do this with Stripe Generator initially, but their colors are limited to 2. Enjoy, guys!

P.S.
Oh, by the way, I eventually got to the typewriter shop and I’ll tell you more about it later. :)

Step 1: let’s begin!

Create a new 400 x 40 pixel document. Please feel free to alter these dimensions if you want narrower stripes.

Step 2: grid setup

Open File >> Preferences and set the Gridline to every 40 pixels.

Step 3: make the grid visible

From the menu, go to View >> Show >> Grid. Magnify document 300%.

Step 4: choose a background color

Open the Layers Palette (Window >> Layers). At this point, there’s only one layer — make sure it’s selected. Then, from the Menu, go to Layer >> New Fill Layer >> Solid Color. Choose a base/background color.

Step 5: Define your first color

From the Tool Box, choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool. Make sure your document is active and then select the 2nd grid (box) from the left. Right after you make the selection, go to the Menu and then go to Layer >> New Fill Layer >> Solid Color. Choose a color and hit OK.

Step 6: create a palette

Repeat Step 5 with the even numbered boxes, choosing a different color for each box.

Step 7: define your striped pattern

From the Menu, go to Edit >> Define Pattern. A dialogue box will appear. Name your new pattern and click on OK.

Step 8: Use your new pattern

Create a new document and then go to Edit >> Fill. A dialogue box will appear. Select the pattern you just made and click OK. That’s it — you’re done!

Optional: Save your PSD file

Save your work as PSD files. When you do, rename the layers with something meaningful (ie. numeric numbers for the colors in the order that they appear from left to right). When you save your work in PSD format, you can quickly access it later to add changes without having to recreate it from scratch.

Downloads (Freebie & Perk)

I made 4 multi-striped 1000 x 1000 pixel JPGs that everyone can download. And, all you members who want to create multi-colored stripes with your own colors, please download the 2 ready-made PSD files and customize to your heart’s content.

One more thing

If you enjoyed this tutorial, you may also want to check out my Parteee Confetti post!