Creating Scanlines
Before I learned how to do this, I created scanlines the hard way - I used the line tool to draw each individual line. DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO. Here is a way to create scanlines, both horizontal/vertical and 45 degree, the easiest way.
45 Degree Scanlines
These are scanlines that run directly at a 45 degree angle, or otherwise known as angled scanlines. These tend to be more popular than the horizontal and vertical scanlines because their effect is more pronounced. Here is how I create them:
- Create a new Photoshop document that is 3x3 pixels. This is the easiest size to work with. The value you put for Resolution doesn't matter, but set the Contents to "Transparent."
- Using the pencil tool set to black, zoom all the way in until the work space is magnified by at least 1600% (or the farthest it will go) and copy this design:
- It is not necessary to fill in the transparent parts with white.
- Next, got to Edit > Define Pattern... in order to create your pattern.
A box should come up asking you to name your new pattern. Choose an appropriate name for it, and you now have your 45 degree scanlines!
Here's how to use them:
Go to Edit > Fill... to fill either a document or a selected region with a pattern. If you would like to fill a path with a pattern, right click on the path with you have the Pen tool selected.
The scanline pattern should be listed among Photoshop's presets now. Enjoy your scanlines!
Making vertical or horizontal scanlines is a bit different in the following ways.
First, instead of choosing "Transparent" for the Contents when you open a new document, choose "White." This is necessary because the pattern maker will cut out the transparent space because there are no pixels in that row or column. If the whole document is filled with a color, in this case white, then the Define Pattern... function will also read the white.
Creating the pattern for the scanlines is a lot simpler. Just draw a straight line with the pencil tool, either horizontal or vertical.