Ambient Design Ltd.

Step 4: More Materializer.

This step adds thread patterns to the result so that our cloth looks a bit more realistic. To do this, we create a cross hatch pattern and run it through the same settings as the previous Materializer apply so that we get the same pattern of ripples. Step one of the process is to get some noise on the layer so that we can build our cross hatching.

We only want the cross hatching to appear inside the area of the cloth, and to match the Materializer settings we should reproduce our cloth steps exactly. So here's where our saved selection comes in handy.

Add a new layer at the top.
To load in our old selection, select Select > Load Selection and select the channel that was created when we saved our selection. Alternatively, go to the Channels palette and Ctrl/Cmd-Click the channel it was saved to.
Set the Foreground colour to White.
On the new layer, select Edit > Fill and fill with the Foreground colour.
With the selection still active, select Filter > Noise > Add Noise.
Make the noise quite strong. A 50% Gaussian noise in Mono mode gives us a nice array of noisy dots.
Apply the noise.

With the selection still active, select Filter > Blur > Motion Blur

Apply a 0 degree angle, 25 pixel blur.

You'll note that the edges of the selected area get slightly transparent as you apply the motion blur, don't worry about it, we're going to be making this mostly transparent layer anyway.

We've now got a single horizontal set of 'threads'. We need to make a vertical set to give it a woven look.

Duplicate the layer you just created by selecting Layer > Duplicate Layer

Rotate the layer 90 degrees clockwise by selecting Edit > Transform > Rotate 90 Clockwise.

Set the layer blend mode to Multiply using the blend mode popup at the top of the layers panel.

Merge the layer down on to the first noise layer by selecting Layer > Merge Down.

You've now got a single layer that has a rectangular pattern of cross hatching. It's time to convert that to a rippled cloth!

Make sure nothing on the layer is selected.

Load KPT6 Materializer.

Repeat the process we used the first time to set settings. Note that Materializer loses some settings sometimes, so you may need to set it up even if you have changed nothing yourself since the last apply (it's probably only Texture Rotation that's changed). Load in the Cloth Basics preset if you want to speed this up.

Apply the filter.

Your threads are now rippled in the same shape as the cloth beneath and we can finish off the effect.

Group the threads layer with the previous layer (the Brightness/Contrast layer) by selecting Layer > Group With Previous.

Set the layer opacity to 30% and the layer blend to Darken.

If we had wanted to, we could have applied the cross hatching to the cloth before applying Materializer the first time. However, doing it this way gives us more flexibility in the result, as we can tweak how visible the threads are without having to re-apply the entire effect.

Summing Up.

If your cloth seems a little dark, there are a couple of things you can do to fix it. The first is look at your Clouds layer. If the clouds are too dark (and that sometimes happens with a random filter like that) you can recreate them by selecting that layer, applying Clouds (with the colours indicated), and repeating the Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + F until it looks right. You could also try adjusting the Brightness/Contrast layer until it looks as you want it.

This effect can be used on a number of different material types. The basic principle of rippling a layer's contents can be extremely useful to understand

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