Create a Solid Color layer, convert it to a Smart Object, select Filter → Noise → Add Noise, apply a Vector Mask to match your element, set the layer blending mode to Luminosity and reduce the layer’s opacity. It’s a fairly involved process, but it can accommodate a combination of effects that can be remade if the document gets scaled.
- Scales: Yes, texture will be remade automatically
- Works with Color and Gradient layer styles: Yes
- Works with any texture:
Start by creating a noise or repeating pattern in a new document, then choose Edit → Define Pattern. Once you’ve defined the pattern, it will be available in the Pattern Overlay layer style options. As with previous methods, using Luminosity as a blending mode and reducing the opacity to suit it yield great results. The Pattern layer style is composited below the Color and Gradient styles, ruining an otherwise perfect noise and texture method. However, you can create a second layer that just holds the texture if you need to, or start with a Gradient Fill layer, sidestepping the limitation.
Lastly comment
Although a little cumbersome, creating a Gradient Fill layer, adding a Pattern layer style, then creating a Vector Mask seems to be the best method possible. This can be used to create flexible, scalable and editable single-layer UI elements with texture. As a bonus, Gradient Fill layers can be dithered and so also produce the highest quality results (Gradient layer styles cannot be dithered). We’ve created some examples below and included the source document so that you can see how they were built.
