Adding Patterns to Clothing in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, we will be adding patterns to clothing in Affinity Photo. This technique is good to use when creating mockups, and you want to showcase your designs.

Go to the following links to download the images for the tutorial:

• T-Shirt
• Camouflage Pattern

Step 1

First, go to File > Open and select the image of the man.

Step 2

Second, go to the Tools Panel and grab the Pen Tool. Take the pen tool and make a selection or an outline of the right sleeve.

Step 3

After you’ve finished selecting the right sleeve with the pen tool, go to the Context Toolbar and click Selection.

Step 4

Next, go to the Channels Panel. Scroll down to Pixel Selection. Right click on Pixel Selection and select Create Spare Channel. Then, right click on the spare channel that was created and click Rename. Name the channel Right Sleeve. After that, press CTRL + D to deselect the sleeve.

Step 5

Now, grab the Pen Tool again. This time make a selection of the left sleeve.

Step 6

Once you’ve selected the left sleeve, go to the Context Toolbar and click Selection.

Step 7

With the sleeve still selected, go to the Channels Panel. Then, right click on Pixel Selection and click Create Spare Channel. Right click on the new channel and click Rename. Name this channel Left Sleeve. Then, press CTRL + D to deselect the selection.

Step 8

Next, go to the Tools Panel and select the Pen Tool. Take the pen tool and select the middle area of the shirt.

Step 9

After you’ve finished creating the selection, go to the Context Toolbar and click Selection.

Step 10

With the selection still active, go to the Channels Panel and right click on the Pixel Selection. Then, click Create Spare Channel. Right click on the new channel and select Rename. Name this selection Body. Then, press CTRL + D to deselect the selection.

Step 11

Now, here comes the adding patterns to clothing part. Go to File > Open and select the camouflage pattern. Next, copy the pattern and paste it onto the file with the man. Then, grab the Move Tool and stretch the pattern over the t-shirt area.

Step 12

With the pattern still selected, go to the Layers Panel and decrease the Opacity of the pattern to about 40%. Then, go to the Liquify Persona.

Step 13

In the Liquify Persona, select the Liquify Freeze Tool. Take the liquify freeze tool and start selecting the creases of the shirt. When adding patterns to clothing, it’s good to maintain the creases in the clothes so that the designs you put on them can have a realistic look. To increase the size of the brush, press ] right bracket key. To decrease the size of the brush, press the [ left bracket key.

Step 14

After you’ve selected the creases of the shirt, select the Liquify Push Forward Tool.

Step 15

Once you’ve moved the pattern around, press Apply. This will put you back in the Photo Persona.

Step 16

Now, select the pattern in the Layers Panel. Press CTRL + J twice to make 2 duplicates of the pattern. You should have a total of 3 pattern layers.

Step 17

Select the first pattern layer and name it Right Sleeve. Next, select the second pattern layer and name it Left Sleeve. Then, select the third pattern layer and name it Body.

Step 18

After that, select the Background layer in the Layers Panel. Then, go to the Channels Panel. Right click on the Right Sleeve channel and select Load to Pixel Selection.

Step 19

Now, select the right sleeve layer in the Layers Panel. Then, click the Mask Layer icon in the Layers Panel to add a mask to this sleeve layer. Then, press CTRL + D to deselect the selection.

Step 20

Next, turn the left sleeve layer back on. Then, select the Background layer.

Step 21

With the Background layer selected, go to the Channels Panel. Right click on the Left Sleeve channel and click Load to Pixel Selection to activate the left sleeve selection.

Step 22

Then, select the Left Sleeve layer in the Layers Panel. Then, click the Mask Layer icon in the Layers Panel to add a mask. After that, press CTRL + D to deselect.

Step 23

Now, turn the Body layer on. Next, select the Background layer. Then, go to the Channels Panel.

Step 24

In the Channels Panel, right click on the Body channel and click Load to Pixel Selection. Then, select the Body layer in the Layers Panel.

Step 25

After that, click the Mask Layer icon in the Layers Panel. Then, press CTRL + D to deselect.

Step 26

In the Layers Panel, select the 3 layers of the shirt: right sleeve, left sleeve, and body. Make sure the Opacity of these layers are back at 100%. Then, change the Blend Mode. For this shirt design, you could use Multiply, Color Burn, and possibly Overlay. I chose to use Multiply.

Congratulations, the adding patterns to clothing tutorial is complete! For more Affinity Photo tutorials, check out this tutorial on how to create a text portrait effect in Affinity Photo.