How to Rotate With Step and Repeat in Photoshop

The step-and-repeat command is one of the most powerful tools available to digital graphic designers. With one keystroke you can make as many copies of an object as you want and tell them exactly where to go and how much you want them to rotate. Photoshop doesn't make things quite that easy, but you can use step and repeat to rotate a series of objects.

Instructions

1. Open a digital image file. Select the pixels you want to repeat and copy them to a new layer (hold down the "Command" and "J" keys). You can also create a repeating element (such as a dingbat or pattern tile) from scratch.

2. Choose "Free Transform" (hold down the "Command/Control" and "T" keys). You will see a bounding box around the element. Set the transformation reference point in the tool options menu. Rotate the object in any direction (type the values into the tool options palette for precise transformations). You can move and scale the object as well.

3. Duplicate the layer. Choose "Again" (hold down the "Command/Control," "Shift" and "T" keys). Photoshop will remember the last transformation settings and reposition and/or further rotate and scale the new layer. Duplicate each new layer and apply the "Again" command until your series is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use multiple layers to create the repeating element. Use as many layers as you need to build a design element then select all over the layers in the "Layers" palette. Choose "New Group from Layers" in the palette options menu to collect all of the layers in one group. You can apply the step and repeat process to the entire group as though they were a single layer.