Transcripts
1. Intro: Well, welcome to my newest pattern design class. Over the next few videos, I'm willing to go over several tips and tricks of using the pattern tool in Illustrator. Now let's get started.
2. Dots: to get started. I'm just going to make a very simple, polka dotted pattern. This works really great as texture or a background for a card or really any illustration. All you need to do is to grab your ellipse tool when, if you don't see it just clicked down on your rectangle tool and you will see the Ellipse stole. You could also use the keyboard shortcut. L. I am going to hold shift so that it remains a circle instead of it oval and right now is white with a black stroke. So I want to turn the stroke off, and then I'm just going to change this color to blue to get started in the pattern tool. If you haven't used it before, I go to object pattern and then make, and you'll see it has already tried to create a pattern for you, and normally, if you're using it for the first time or if you haven't removed this, it will dim all the other copies. I do not like the copies dimmed, so I always make sure to uncheck that, and then I usually bump it up to nine by nine, and you consume out using command and the minus sign that gives you a really good idea of what the pattern will look like if you go up to the width and height. Right now, I'm just using my mouse with a scroll bar and you can see I'm scrolling up and it is adding space between all of the dots. So this is what just a simple repeating pattern looks like with a great thing about the pattern tool is that you can change the type of pattern so this we could use, like 1/2 drop, which would be the brick by column. And you can see that the rose every other row has dropped down the half brick by row is basically the same thing. But instead of the columns, it's that rose that are shifting by half, and you can also do an offset so doesn't have to be half. You can do 2/3 or 3/4. This is kind of fun to play around and get a different field and say you want to adjust that dot with the selection tool, you can select it when a hold shift in Ault. I'm just going to bring that down and then you can adjust the size of your doubts. Just save a copy click done, and once you get out, grab the rectangle tool. Really any shape and you're or pattern is going to you and your swatches, and now you have a polka dotted pattern. Like I said, this works really, really great, even in like illustrations. It could be like for clothing. You don't use it backgrounds for cards. So it's nice to have just a simple, very easy pattern to go to, and you can save it, so it's easy to get to whenever you need it.
3. Lines: the next pattern we're going to do is a striped pattern. So with the rectangle tool, just going to make a rectangle doesn't really matter what size you make it just going to turn the stroke off and then once again go back to the pattern tool And right now, it just looks like a big block. If you do exactly like we did last time and, you know, scroll up. It's moving that space between the object, which you don't want it to dio on the with. But you want to do it on the heights. So I'm just gonna stroll back down, click this box that looks like chains, and this will make sure that it is not moving both directions. So I'm just gonna go toe height and to roll up, and there you can get the striped pattern and I'm just going to delete this. I know my art board is 1000 pixels by 1000 pixels, so I'm just going to create the square of the same size, and then I'm going to center this on the art board. If you see a line to and you're align panel, click that and make sure that it's aligned to art board, just aligned horizontally and vertically. Now, with the striped pattern selected, you can see it has created the stripes exactly as you want it. And once again it's really great in illustrations you can really use as texture to your designs. One thing that I really like to do with the striped patterns is to rotate it by 45 degrees . So if you go to object, transform and rotate, I'm going to type on 45. Make sure to uninsulated transformed objects and then preview. You can see you can really like change up the look and feel by using your rotate tool and the pattern tool.
4. Half-Drop Repeat: So my absolute favorite way to use the pattern tool is to create half drop repeats. I'm not going to fully go into how to create 1/2 drop. Repeat, if you are interested in that, there is a link below. I have a class here on skill share on how to create you're half drop, repeat from beginning to end. But to summarize, you need to move any of your motifs. Icons, clip art, whatever you want to call it, um, the over the full width of your art board, and then you want to drop it down my half. So say, if this art board is 1000 pixels, you're going to move this over by 1000 pixels, and then you're going to drop it down by 500. But once you are at this stage, what I like to dio to get ready for the pattern tool. So select the background and then a copy and paste in front so the keyboard shortcut is command, see, and then command F and I like to right click arrange, bring to front, and then you need to remove that fill color. Once you select everything you're going to make a clipping mask. So command and seven. And the reason I do this once you take it into the batter and tools to create your half drop repeat. It can get a little wonky if you do not create the clipping mask. So for me, it's just easier to go ahead and create the clipping mask and then go into the pattern tool . And, as you can see if it sets it up exactly like a regular pattern, you can see things they're not lining up correctly. So you need to do is go to tile type and then brick by column, and it's already at the half. And as you can see, everything looks to be lining up exactly as it should be. Save a copy, create a rectangle and fill it with your new pattern, and you have created your half drop. Repeat. It's that easy
5. Groups: So these or something else that I have created in this girl share class all on creating full principles. If you are interested in that at all the link is below. So for using the pattern told this way. Say you already have some motifs that you like and you know that you want to set up in a pattern. I'm just going to pull these three to the side and kind of group them so they're kind of grouped together. Say that you really like this group. Select those and then go to your pattern tool. That could be your pattern. As it is, he could try to dio ah, half drop, Repeat so you can play around with the spacing to move it tighter or further apart. You could even move an object in your group. And if you don't like how something is overlapping, if you go down to the bottom and overlap right now, it's left on front. You can switch right to front, and that can really change up how your pattern looks. And then I also have top on front, but you can switch it to bottom once again. It really kind of changes up how it looks gonna move these back over. Use your rectangle tool, and that's the pattern from a group. And most of these we haven't actually had a background. So if you ever want to add in the background with that, your pattern selected, it could be in C command. Be so that has copy and pasted that pattern and back. I'm just going to select like a tan color. So it has switched from a pattern to a solid color bill. It is easy is that to add in a back room.
6. Fish Scale: the fish male pattern is extremely symbol. With the pattern tool. All you need to do is used the Ellipse tool. I'm going to use that blue again, and I actually am going to keep that stroke on. I'm just going to bump that up to say 10 points. I'm going to copy and paste that ellipse in place by using, coming and seeing command F and then using shift an option or all. I'm just going to hold those down and bring in that ellipse and just to do something a little different, I'm going to add some dashes to the stroke as opposed to that solid line and your stroke panel. If you don't see it, go to window and stroke going to change that cap to a round cap and then click dash the blinds. And as you can see, it has created a dash line for you. If you would like dots instead of like bashes, you can do zero in that first column and the gap, I'm going to dio want to double the weight sold to 16. I'm going to copy and paste in front again. Bring that down slightly and I will change this one back to a solid line. So grab all three of your ellipses and go into your pattern tool. And if you click this at the very top right under pattern options, it is your pattern tile tool. Click that, and you can see that your lines have popped up around your ellipses. Bring this in about halfway and you can bring it in on the sides and you can see how you're making your Fishkill pattern. I think you're not sure if it's overlapping the way that you want. Once again, you can go into your overlap settings and change of the direction in which it's going, and you can always go in and change these colors so you don't like the blue. You want to change it to green. Just need to do it for all of them. As you can see, the fish scale pattern is extremely easy to make. It is actually really fun to make. If you ever want to see your pattern smaller, you go to object, transform and scale. Make sure to un select transform objects
7. New Design: for the very last pattern tool tip. This is kind of a lot like the group, but instead say you have your icons road heaves ready to go, but you're kind of not sure exactly where you want to place them or exactly how you want to do the pattern. Using the pattern tools a really great way to give your design some clarity, and you can get a really good idea of how it's going. Toe look, so select all of your motifs. Go to the pattern tool. I typically like to make half drop repeats, so I'm going to go ahead and switch to brick by column. I want to move these off to the side, and I'm also going to duplicate them and make them smaller cause I like to have different sizes of motifs as un designing. So, one by one, select your objects, and as you can see, it's already setting up that repeat for you. You will have to move things out of the way, like to get the bigger ones all the way first. And as you can see your patterns really already starting toe take shape and then you can start duplicating and moving things around unfailing in that pattern. And if you notice you're missing anything, I like to add on some dots, actually, usually with the blob brush tool. You can always do that as well. So once you have created your pattern completely in the pattern tool, make sure to save it just like before. I like to scale it down, copy and paste and back. And now, if you ever want to switch your colors, all you have to dio is go up to your re color artwork button, which is kind of like half way at that top toolbar, and you can always switch your colors actual like it like this. But you can always switch that background color to something different as well. It's always fun to play around with the colors. Thank you for watching. I hope you learned a lot about using the pattern tool in Adobe Illustrator. If you liked this class, please give it a thumbs up. And if you have created anything using the pattern tool and the tips that you found in this class, please leave a project in the project tab below. Thanks again, guys