Let’s make a pattern
🧠 What you’ll learn
- Make your first pattern with Repper
- Export it on a 3D mockup to share your work
I’m excited you want to give Repper a go. I promise you’ll get the hang of it in minutes. If you’ve already tried it and got the hang of it, feel free to skip this chapter. Otherwise, follow along and let’s make our first pattern 🚀
Log in
- Go to repper.app/design/
- Since you are in the masterclass, you already have an account. Simply choose “Log in”
- Use the same login option as you did when you signed up: Google, Facebook, or good old email
💡 Is your trial already expired?
Maybe you had a slow start with the masterclass. No worries, send us email at support@repper.app and we’ll help you.
Pick a source image
When you are logged in, you’ll may see the demo collection or none. In either case, hit
+ New collection to create a new collection. Give it a catchy name… or just call it “First pattern” if you’re unsure 😉Any pattern starts with a source image, so in the next step you get to choose one. You have 3 options:
- Upload your own
- Use one the demo images
- Use our image search (millions of free images!)
My recommendation? Pick one of the demo images. They are hand-picked by yours truly for their great pattern possibilities and are free to use. You’ll have ample time to try other images soon 😊
👁️ Looking ahead: How to find source material or create your own
Finding great source material is so important to making great patterns with Repper, that we’ll dedicate an entire module to it (coming soon).
The sample selection
With an image picked, you’re back in the editor. As you can see, there’s already a pattern!
Look at the source image with the selection box on top: this is where the magic happens, the beating heart of the app.
Try dragging the selection box around, then try resizing it. Observe what happens with the pattern? The bit within the selection is your “sample”, which is turned into a pattern. But how? Let us see.
Tiling options
Via the tiling selector, you get access to a whole range of tilings.
Each tiling is effectively a recipe for how to turn the sample into a pattern. Have a look around: there are seamless and seamed tilings, simple and complex ones, 40 in total.
Some tilings (like the Cairo) have additional controls to let you tweak the way they look, giving even more creative possibilities.
Curious how tilings exactly work? We made a video about it some years ago:
👁️ Looking ahead: Deep dive into tilings
There’s a lot more to say about tilings, which we’ll get to in the 3rd module (The language of patterns).
Effects
You may have noticed there is a tab called
Effects. Here you can find useful color effects like black & white, duotone, and photo filters.One effect you should definitely try is the Metamorphosis. It’s by far my favorite and can create truly mind-boggling effects, like this one:
Save your first pattern
Are you already hooked? Many users have told me over the years that they can get lost for hours making patterns in Repper. Unlike AI generators, there is no token limit, so go wild 😊 But for now, let’s settle on a first design.
Here I’ve created a pattern with one of my favorite tilings, the Persian Star. I click the Plus button in the sidebar and a snapshot my of design will appear.
💡 Tip: Save everything, sort out later
In just a click, you make sure you don’t lose any gems. You can always review and narrow down later, which we’ll cover in the 4th module on the Design Process.
3D preview
We’ve made our first pattern, so let’s proudly share it with the world!
In the top bar, you see 3 shapes:
- Tile: A single repeatable tile
- Surface: The pattern repeated over a surface
- 3D: Show your pattern on a 3D model
Let’s pick the 3D option. As you can see, this isn’t just a scrappy product preview: it so realistic you almost can touch it. You can use the mouse to rotate and zoom. Even more fun: you can edit the pattern while in 3D preview!
There are more 3D models to choose from, like a t-shirt and blanket. Pick one you like and then let’s take the final step.
💡 Tip: Navigating in 3D
You can rotate, zoom, and move the 3D model. Here’s a handy video about how to navigate the ”camera”.
