What Are Patterns in Adobe Illustrator?
A pattern is a design that is repeated throughout an artwork. In Adobe Illustrator, you can create and import patterns to use in your works. These patterns can be simple, such as a formation of straight lines, or sophisticated, like dried leaves on a jungle floor.
In Illustrator, you can make a pattern out of any design you want. Once you make a pattern, it’s added to the Swatches panel where you can use it in your art.
How to Create a Pattern in Adobe Illustrator
To create a pattern in Illustrator, you need to first design a motif. A motif is an element of a design that’s going to get repeated to form a pattern. There are no rules for designing a motif; you can design whatever you want.
Since the motif is repeated next to itself, it’s important to make sure that it will look good when placed next to a copy of the same image.
In this example, we’re going to try and make a simple brick pattern. You can accomplish this by drawing a rectangle and then creating a pattern with brick tiles.
Here’s how to get started:
Create a new file in Illustrator. Select the Rectangle Tool (M). Draw a rectangle. Change the fill color to #DC5539 and the stroke color to #CB4154. You can also use any other colors of your choosing.
This rectangle is going to be a single brick, and will serve as the motif for the pattern you’re going to make. To create a brick wall, you need to create a pattern of this brick and put it on top of and next to itself.
Select the rectangle. Go to the Object menu and hover your cursor on Pattern. In the Pattern menu, click on Make. This will instantly create a pattern from the rectangle you had selected. Once you click Make, the Pattern Options toolbar will appear along with a message box saying that the pattern has been added to the Swatches panel. Click OK in the message box. You can now see a preview of your pattern.
From this point on, the pattern has been created and added to the Swatches panel. However, that pattern is not set in stone and you can still edit it. This means that you can select the original rectangle and change its size, color, or other attributes, and the rectangles in the pattern will change as well.
Now it’s time to give the bricks an actual brick wall formation.
In the Pattern Options tab, open the Tile Type menu. This is set to Grid by default. From the Tile Type menu, select Brick by Row. In the Name box, enter a name for your new pattern. Finally, in the bar under the file name, click on Done.
Depending on the kind of pattern that you want to create, you may want to choose a different Tile Type option.
Trying Out Your New Pattern
You’ve successfully made your own pattern, and now it’s time to actually use it. Your patterns will appear in the Swatches panel. For this example, we’ll show you how to insert the brick pattern into a circle.
Create a new file in Illustrator. Select the Ellipse Tool (L). Draw a circle. Select the circle and go to Properties. Under Appearance, click the square next to Fill. This will bring up the Swatches panel. From the Swatches panel, select the pattern you made.
Voilà! You can now use this pattern in your art in Illustrator. You can use this same technique when applying patterns to other areas of your artwork as well.
Forge Your Own Patterns
Humans seek to find patterns in everything. Using Illustrator, you can make patterns and use them in your art. This makes creating a design even more efficient.
