Create a cool mosaic effect in Photoshop

Mosaics may date from the 3rd Millennium BC but this month we’ve given them a very 21st Century look. We’ll show you how to apply the Photoshop Mosaic filter to an image to turn it into solid colour blocks so that it looks lusciously pixelated.

We’ll show you how to create a semi-transparent shape that matches the size of the blocks in the image exactly. You’ll take this new shape, make it into a pattern and then fill a new layer in the mosaic image with the pattern so that the mosaic tiles peek through the transparent areas in the pattern overlay. There are lots of tools and techniques at work here but the effect is simple and quick to create.

Step 1. Run the filter

Drag the file ‘Mosaic_eye.jpg’ at the top of this post into Photoshop to open. Choose Filter>Convert for Smart Filters and click OK. Now choose Filter>Pixelate>Mosaic and adjust the Cell Size to give a boxy effect on your image. In this case, we used a value of 35. Click OK.

Step 2. Make a new file

Choose File>New and set the Width and Height in Pixels to the values used for the Cell Size. Set Background Contents to Transparent and click OK. With the Elliptical Marquee tool, draw a large circle inside this image.

Step 3. Create the pattern

Choose Select>Inverse to invert the selection. Set the foreground colour to white and press Alt+Backspace to fill the selection. Choose Select>Deselect then Edit>Define Pattern. Type a name for it and click OK.

Step 4. Finish the effect

Close the pattern image. Target the original image. Choose Layer>New Fill Layer>Pattern and click OK. Select your new pattern, which is the last in the drop-down list. Set Scale to 100 per cent and click OK.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2012 at 10:24 am and is filed under Tutorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.