Variations with leather textures

[ReMake]

This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to view or download it.

In this tutorial, we will try some variants for creating leather textures.

 

Required plugins:

Cell Texture by @davidf

Mosaic by @Tim!

Hexagonal Grid by @MadJik

MultiSpline by @Red ochre

Random lines by @MadJik

Ripple by @Ed Harvey

Emboss+ by @ReMake

PSFilterPdn by @null54 (for Variant 10)

Stained Glass (PS Filter for Variant 10, see Applying effects from Photoshop's Filters menu in paint.net.)

 

I used 600x450 px canvas in all variations.

 

Variant 1

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px.

 

2. Apply the Clouds () effect (Effects -> Render -> Clouds) with Scale 5 and Roughness 0.

 

3. Then apply the Pencil Sketch () effect (Effects -> Artistic -> Pencil Sketch) with Pencil tip size 1 and Range 0.

4. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle -45, Height 1, and the rest of the default settings.

5. Now apply the Motion Blur () effect (Effects -> Blurs -> Motion Blur) with Distance 5, and the rest of the default settings.

6. Add a new () layer and fill () it with the color you want (I used 1E4664).

 

7. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply and Opacity about 180.

8. Merge both layers () and we will get this texture:

 

Variant 2

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. Set the default color ().

 

2. Apply the Cell Texture effect (Effects -> Render -> Cell Texture) with Cell size 20, Intensity 0,25 and Subtract nearest two neighbors method, and the rest of the default settings.

3. Repeat steps 3 and 4 of Variant 1 with the same settings.

4. Apply the Surface Blur () effect (Effects -> Blurs -> Surface Blur) with Radius 2-3 and Threshold 25. Repeat (Ctrl+F) if necessary.

5. Repeat step 6 of Variant 1.

 

6. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply or Difference, and set the Opacity according to your preference.

7. Merge both layers () and we will get next texture:

 

Variant 3

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. Set the default color ().

 

2. Select the Paint Bucket () tool with "Shingle" Fill variant and fill the canvas.

3. Apply the Rotate / Zoom () effect (Layers -> Rotate / Zoom) with a rotation angle 155-165, and  Zoom about 1,50.

4. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Height 1, and Angle -20.

5. Apply the Surface Blur () effect (Effects -> Blurs -> Surface Blur) with Radius 100 and Threshold 60.

6. Repeat step 6 of Variant 1 with Solid Color.

 

7. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Color Burn, and and Opacity about 170.

8. Merge both layers () and we will get another interesting texture:

 

Variant 4

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. Set the default color ().

 

2. Select the Paint Bucket () tool and fill the canvas with gray (A0A0A0).

 

3. Apply the Mosaic effect (Effects -> Artistic -> Mosaic) with Tesserae Width and Height 12, Adhesive Thickness 1, and checked Antialias check box.

4. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle 45, Height 1, and Amount 15.

5. Repeat step 6 of Variant 1.

 

6. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply or Color Burn, or Difference, and set the Opacity according to your preference.

7. Merge both layers () and we will get another relief texture:

Note: Earlier @lynxster4 in Leather Texture tutorial described how to get such a texture using other effects.

 

Variant 5

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. Set the default color ().

 

2. Apply the Hexagonal Grid effect (Effects -> Render -> Hexagonal Grid) with Horizontal and Vertical Size 9, Draw mode: Center (between Left and Right), and Brush width 1.

3. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle -45, Height 1, and Amount 20.

4. Repeat step 6 of Variant 1 with color 0094FF.

 

5. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply and Opacity from 100 to 200.

6. Merge both layers () and we will get next relief texture:

 

Variant 6

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. Set the default color ().

 

2. Apply the Add Noise () effect (Effects -> Noise -> Add Noise) with Intensity 100, Color Saturation 0, and Coverage 100.

3. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle -135, Height 1, and Amount 110.

4. Now apply the Surface Blur () effect (Effects -> Blurs -> Surface Blur) with Radius 100, and Threshold 50. Repeat (Ctrl+F) if necessary.

5. Repeat step 6 of Variant 1 with color 004A7F.

 

6. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply and Opacity from 220 to 255.

7. Merge both layers () and we will get another relief texture:

 

Variant 7

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. Set the Primary color to FF5959  and fill () the canvas.

 

2. Add a new () layer and set the default colors (). Apply the MultiSpline effect (Effects -> Iterative lines -> MultiSpline)  with the next settings:

• Horizontal points 95,
• Vertical points 90,
• Horizontal maximum displacement -120,
• Vertical maximum displacement 75,
• Opacity 200-210,
• Spline colour - Black,
• Background - White

and we get this weave:

3. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle -45, Height 1, and Amount 12.

4. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply.

 

5. Merge both layers () and we will get another original relief texture:

 

Variant 8

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 600x450 px. 

 

2. Add a new () layer. Apply the Clouds () effect (Effects -> Render -> Clouds) with Scale 5 and the rest of the default settings.

3. Add a new () layer. Apply the Random Lines effect (Effects -> Render -> Random Lines) with Quantity of lines 35, Thickness of the lines (max.) 1, and the rest of the default settings:

and we get this image:

4. Apply the Ripple effect (Effects -> Distort -> Ripple) with Amount 3, Ripples 1, Angle 0, Highlight 0, and the rest of the default settings.

5. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply and Opacity about 190.

6. Merge () Layer 3 and Layer 2. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply for Layer 2.

 

7. Next, apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle -45, Height 1, and Amount 25.

8. Go to the Background layer. Set the Primary color to FF2A00 and fill () the canvas. Merge both layers () and we have completed another texture:

 

Variant 9

Spoiler

1. Open a new () image and resize () it to 601x451 px. Set the Primary color to orange (FF6A00) and fill () the canvas. Set the default color ().

 

2. Add a new () layer. Apply the Clouds () effect (Effects -> Render -> Clouds) with Scale 100, Roughness 0.25, and the rest of the default settings.

3. Apply the Median () effect (Effects -> Noise -> Median ) with Radius 15 and Percentile 10.

4. Duplicate () Layer 2 twice.

 

5. Go to the topmost Layer 2 and select all (Ctrl+A). Use the arrow keys to move the layer one pixel up and one pixel to the right.

Crop to Selection ( or Ctrl+Shift+X) and set () the Xor blending mode.

Merge down () the top two layers.

 

6. Apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle 45, Height 1, and Amount 500.

Move () this layer under the middle Layer 2.

 

7. Go to the top Layer 2. Set () the blend mode to Overlay and the opacity to 80.

8. Merge () both Layers 2. Set () the blend mode to Multiply and the opacity from 120 to 180.

9. Merge all the layers () and we get another fancy texture:

Note: In Step 4, try applying the Crystalize () effect (Effects -> Distort -> Crystalize) with Cell Size 12 and Quality 2 after the first layer duplication.

Then duplicate () this layer and continue from step 5. The result of this will be another fancy texture:

 

Variant 10

Spoiler

Note: For this variant, use a canvas with dimensions increased by 1-3% compared to the size of the image you need. This is necessary to remove artifacts resulting from the use of the Stained Glass filter.

 

1. Create a new () image with 608x458 px.

 

2. Run the 8bf Filter effect (Effects -> 8bf Filter). Click the arrow next to the Texture line. Select the Stained Glass filter and run it with the default values (Cell Size 10, Border Thickness 4, Light Intensity 3).

Click OK in the Stained Glass dialog box, then click OK in the 8bf Filter dialog box.

3. Add a new () layer and fill () it with white. Repeat (Ctrl+F) the 8bf Filter effect. Set () the the layer opacity to 128.

Merge () both layers.

4. Apply the Add Noise () effect (Effects -> Noise -> Add Noise) with Intensity 64, Color Saturation 0, and Coverage 75.

5. Invert the colors ( or Ctrl+Shift+I) and apply the Emboss+ effect (Effects -> Stylize -> Emboss+) with Angle 135, Height 1, and Amount 50.

6. Add a new () layer and fill () it with red. Go to Layer Properties () and set the blend mode to Multiply and opacity about 165.

Merge both layers () and change () the canvas size (Image -> Canvas Size) to 600x450 px with the Middle Anchor.

Now we have got another relief texture:

If the surface of the leather seems rough to you, then apply the Gaussian Blur () effect (Effects -> Blurs -> Gaussian Blur) with Radius 1.

 

Note: All settings described in this tutorial are approximate and depend on image size and the desirable end result.

Edited September 27, 2022 by ReMake
Stylistic has been edited

[Seerose]

 @ReMake!

 

Both leather types are very nice. Thank you so much.  

 

[ReMake]

@Seerose, a good illustration of the tutorial using, Thank you for sharing.

[ReMake]

Added Variant 3.

[Pixey]

Wonderful results @ReMake I used variant #3 in this one.

 

[ReMake]

Added Variants 4 and 5.

Thanks @Woodsy for the idea of variants!

[Seerose]

 @ReMake! Thank you very much for the addition.  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Seerose

[ReMake]

@Pixey & @Seerose, beautiful outcomes!

[ReMake]

Added Variant 6 and completed.

[Woodsy]

A PDF has been added.

[ReMake]

Thank you, @Woodsy!

[lynxster4]

Bravo @ReMake for bringing all these different variations together in one tutorial!

 

Between all the 'graveyard' resurrections and tuts like these, you are keeping very busy for the betterment of the PDN community!    

 

[ReMake]

Thank you, @lynxster4

[MJW]

A method not mentioned, that I find works well, is to use (with slight variations) Yellowman's Styrofoam method. The details of which are explained in a follow-up comment.

[ReMake]

Yes, it's an interesting method, and @yellowman  left us a mini tutorial.

@MJW, thank you for the reminder.

[ReMake]

Added Variant 7.

 

I was sure I had finished this tutorial, but today I found the effect that interested me - MultiSpline by @Red ochre. Using this effect can give you a great choice for creating embossed textures. Thank you @Red ochre for this good effect.

 

Perhaps this tutorial is getting cumbersome, but I'm not sure that this was the last variant.

[lynxster4]

11 minutes ago, ReMake said:

Perhaps this tutorial is getting cumbersome, but I'm not sure that this was the last variant.

 

No, no, it's not.  Please keep adding variants when you think of them! 

 

It's like a 'one-stop' shop for making leather!    

[ReMake]

I simplified the tutorial a bit for variants 1, 2, and 3 by changing the Emboss+ effect settings to eliminate inverting colors.

[Seerose]

 @ReMake! Thank you so much for variant 7.  

 

  @Woodsy! Thank you for the pdf.  

 

[Woodsy]

I updated the PDF!

[ReMake]

3 hours ago, Woodsy said:

I updated the PDF!

Thank you!

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Thank you Woodsy!

[ReMake]

Fixed variant 7 and added variant 8.

[Seerose]

 @ReMake! Thank you so much for variant 8.  

 

  @Woodsy! Thank you for the pdf.  

 

 

 

[ReMake]

Added variant 9.