I was testing out a possible project and, as always, learning something new along the way. I want to do Kaleidoscopic Photos of some sort to talk about repetition and pattern. I found a tutorial that was pretty good
HERE. But, my image didn't look as amazing as his did in a x4 pattern. I wanted a true kaleidoscope look with
lots of segments. I suppose I could have done the math to extend the content of that tutorial to a more complicated pattern. But, a suggested video after the tutorial led me to a site where someone has already done just that! And he has posted them complete with instructions for anybody to use
HERE. No need to reinvent the wheel. I just downloaded the zip file and got to work. The part that was new information to me was the proper way to use a smart object in Photoshop. I didn't know that you could double click on a smart object's layer and it opens in a separate window where you can edit, save, and it automatically updates your file. So the kaleidoscope templates work like this: you double click on the bottom layer (the first smart object), it opens in a window, you copy and paste your image in there, stretch it to fit, save, close, wait a few seconds, and voila! Your kaleidoscopic photo is a new surprise every time! If you don't like how it looks repeat the process and select a different photo or part of the photo.
Click Here to see the original photo from a frigid visit to the Oro Grande Bottle Tree Farm last year.
