Adobe Illustrator: Create a pattern - how it works

Patterns can make working with Adobe Illustrator much easier. Graphics can be placed quickly and easily in your projects. To create a pattern in Adobe Illustrator, do the following.

Create pattern: prepare graphic

Before you start using the pattern function in Adobe Illustrator, you need to prepare and select a graphic. Since the specified pattern is copied over and under each other again and again in Illustrator, self-contained graphics are best suited.

Create and edit a pattern in Adobe Illustrator

After you have prepared the graphic for use within the pattern function, you can create your pattern.

1. Select the desired graphic with the mouse and mark it.
2. Navigate to "Object" in the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on "Pattern" and then on "Create Pattern".
3. Your pattern will now appear in the color swatches in Adobe Illustrator.
4. To make subsequent adjustments to the pattern, navigate again to "Object", then to "Pattern" and click on "Edit pattern".

Apply patterns in Adobe Illustrator

After you have created a pattern, you can use it in future Illustrator projects. To fill an object with the pattern, proceed as follows:

• Select the object to be filled with the pattern by clicking on it.
• Then select the pattern from the "Swatches" palette.
• If the "Color swatches" palette cannot be seen, it can be displayed via the "Window" tab in the navigation bar.