Wood has always been an element that evokes nature, the natural, the rustic ... We have used it for furniture, or even for ceramics, turning one element into another thanks to new technologies. But also in the design we can use and achieve the texture of wood, a peculiar way of creating a set that has a lot to do with the natural world without being something real in its own right.
But What should you know about wood texture? And where can you use it? That is what we are going to talk about today.
Where does the wood come from
Everyone knows that real wood comes from trees. These are not only responsible for providing a raw material with which to manufacture furniture and other elements, but also serve as a habitat for many animals and plants, to give food, to manufacture pharmaceutical items, etc.
In the world, there are many types of wood, some of them depending on the tree they come from; others according to the color, the visual effect, the location of the trees ...
And, obviously, in the design also the wood texture it can imitate those colors and patterns so characteristic of this material. In addition, it is quite simple to do and is one of the most used in different projects. You want to know more?
Wood texture
Focusing directly on the wood texture, we must tell you that it is not something that has emerged recently. Quite the opposite; It has been used on websites for a long time and is a way of highlighting important elements or even giving more depth to what is displayed.
And this is due, above all, to the peculiarity offered by the wood textures. In this case, the waves or lines that can be created in wood, which in case you don't know, in real wood there are never two alike; as well as the color and its combination with other shades of it.
What to use the wood texture for
Imagine that you have a project in front of you and the possibility of using the wood texture arises. Would you use it? If you have not done it before, or you did not know all the uses that you can give it, the most likely thing is that you do not even take it into account. But, What if we let you know the reasons why this texture can improve some of your designs?
It will give a greater personality to the company
Everything related to nature, be it plants or wood, always generates a calm, relaxing environment, etc. For example, imagine that you have to make a website for a yoga company. The wood texture can give the page a feeling of inner peace, relaxation ... which will make users stay longer on the page, blend in with it and feel so good browsing your design that they are animated to contact the company.
And this is what achieves this texture, a form of give identity to the brand and at the same time personality with something related to it.
You will use elements with which the physical company is related
Especially if they are SMEs or that have a website for people to find them and make an appointment to offer them services (kitchen stores, physiotherapists, yoga, relaxation therapies ...).
Where to use the wood texture
Despite everything we have told you before, a design where everything is wood can end up tiring, or having the opposite effect, that you want to leave the page as soon as possible (as if you were covering a room completely made of wood and feeling suffocated from being in her).
If you are going to use the wood texture in your designs, it is important that choose those according to the essence of the company or client, especially in terms of color, elegance, line, etc.
You should also locate it in suitable areas. We recommend that you put them in the main background, or in the backgrounds for important sections: sidebar, sliders, footer, etc.
How to get the wood texture
Now that you know a little more about wood texture, it's time to get down to business and tell you how to do it on the computer. Actually, you have many ways to get it.
Taking a picture of the wood itself
If you have the possibility of going to a wood store, or you have wooden furniture at home, one of the first ways to achieve the texture of wood is, without a doubt, take a picture of it.
Of course, try to make several, and always with good lighting. In this way, when it comes to transferring it to the computer, you will be able to see which one is the most successful for the design you have in hand.
Find a wood texture in image banks
Another option is to use the image banks to find images with a wood texture. It is quite simple and you will not only find paid images, you will also have them free and of good quality. This is important because otherwise it will appear pixelated or too blurry, creating a bad impression.
Create wood texture
The last option you have is to create the wood texture yourself. This can be done through image editing programs, be it Illustrator, Photoshop, GIMP ...
For example, In the case of Illustrator, the way to create it is as follows:
- Start by drawing a long (not very wide) rectangle. The best thing is that you do it in the color of the wood that you want to put on it, in the shade of brown that you want.
- Now, go to Effects / Gallery Effects. Here in Sketch, go to Graphic Pen. In this way, it will look like stripes and is very much like wood texture. You can modify the length of the texture lines; or the width of the lines. Finally, you have to place the direction of the lines (vertical, diagonal, horizontal ...). Hit ok.
- Now, to object, you have to go to expand appearance. Then to Window / Image Trace and it will activate a window. You have to go to "black and white" and you can modify, in advanced, with the following values:
- Path setting: 1-2px
- Minimum area: 1-2px
- Corner angle: 1-2
- Ignore white.
- Back to Object / expand and it will change to a blue hue. Now you will have to paste it on another layer to be able to change the color.
- You will only have to change that color for a wooden one that is consistent. In principle, this would be a good result, but you can hit the blur button to slightly modify the lines and thus give it a more natural look.