How to Tile an Image in GIMP
Not everyone likes Photoshop because of its price and its slightly complicated nature for beginners. Thanks to its free alternatives like GIMP, you can perform almost any image manipulation task without Photoshop. If you want to tile your image, GIMP would be a good choice for doing this. GIMP takes fewer resources compared to Photoshop.
For the ignorant, tiling an image means making a repeating pattern from an image. The image to be tiled is smaller than the larger image.
There are two ways to create a seamless model in GIMP. One uses the native tile function and the second uses offset and tile help for a more realistic approach. Let’s check them both to cover an image.
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Method 1: Create a pattern in GIMP by tiling it
In this method, you must first create a small blank image, then add your image as a layer over which you want to create a pattern. Then use the Tile option.
Here are the steps in detail:
Step #1 Launch GIMP on your computer.
Step #2 Click File> New.
Step #3 The “Create New Image” dialog box opens. In image size, width and height must be the same. You can keep it 50×50, 100×100, 150×150, etc.
The size of the image depends on the size of your background. For example, if you want to create a 1920×1080 image, choose 250×250 pixels. Otherwise, the pattern in the final image would appear congested and small. Likewise, if you want an image with 1280×720 pixels, choose 200 pixels or less. I will go with width and height to 200 pixels.
Now click on Advanced Options in the same dialog and select Transparency under the Fill with option.
Here’s what the result would look like:
Step #4 Access the File option again. Select Open as layers. Navigate to the image you want to mosaic and open it.
Step #5 If the image is larger than the canvas, you will see that only part of the image would be visible. You will have to reduce it so that it fits inside the original canvas.
Point: You can skip this step if the size of your image is the same as or smaller than the canvas. In this case, you will see the full image inside the blank canvas.
To scale the image, click on the Scale tool or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + S. There are two ways to do this. You can manually resize it to fit inside the blank canvas by dragging the corners.
Otherwise, enter the pixels manually in the Scale box. Keep the pixels slightly lower than those of the blank canvas. This is done to keep some space between the repeating patterns. Click Scale. For example, if its resolution is 200 x 200 pixels, choose a width of 150 pixels. Make sure the chain icon is selected in the Scale area so that the height is adjusted automatically.
In this case, the image would appear outside of the blank canvas. You will only see the borders. Using the Move tool, drag it to the center of the blank canvas.
Your image should look like the following screenshot at this point.
Step #6 Now you need to merge the two layers. To do this, right-click a layer in the Layers panel and select Merge Visible Layers. Click Merge in the box that appears.
Alternatively, you can also save the image in PNG format from File> Export As. Then reopen the image in GIMP.
Step #7 After merging the layers, go to Filters> Map> Tile.
Step #8 The Mosaic dialog box opens with the Width and Height options. Enter here the size you want for your final background, that is to say the background on which you will tile your image. Let’s go with 1280×720 pixels. Check the box next to Create a new image and press the OK button.
Step #9 Here is a preview of the final image.
Now, to save it, go to File> Export As. You can save the image in PNG format to keep its transparency.
Note: Reduce the image in step 5 if the final image appears wrapped.
Method 2: Create a model in GIMP with the offset tool
In the above method, the image is tiled horizontally and vertically. If you want a different pattern like the one shown below, you must first shift the image.
Let’s check the steps in detail.
Step 1: Repeat steps 1 to 6 mentioned above. In other words, create a blank canvas, add your image, reduce it, then merge the canvas and the image to get the next image.
2nd step: You must duplicate your layer. To do this, right-click the layer in the Layers panel and choose Duplicate Layer.
Step 3: Select the newly created duplicate layer and click on the layer in the top menu. Choose Transform and go to Offset.
Step 4: In the Layer Offset dialog box that appears, click the ‘By width / 2, height / 2’ button. Click on Ok.
You will see that a pattern appears.
Step 5: You will have to merge the two layers again. To do this, click on one of the layers and choose Merge visible layers.
Note: At this point, you can save this image as a pattern and add it to the patterns in GIMP. You can then use it to fill your images from the pattern fill. Follow the instructions for the same in our bonus section below.
Then:
You can also mosaic an image without GIMP with simple tools on your Windows 10. Discover 4 easy ways to tile the image from the following link.
Video for How to Tile an Image in GIMP
Instead of placing each an image or pattern over and over again learn how to seamlessly create a tile in Gimp. Using the tile filter we can easily create a clean repetition of image or pattern for your designs.