Apply Distress Using Adobe Illustrator CS6

Learn how to apply a distress file using Adobe Illustrator with this quick "How To" guide.

Distressing artwork is a common technique used to create a worn, vintage, or textured appearance for printed designs. Adobe Illustrator CS6 provides tools that make it easy to apply distress effects to vector artwork while maintaining print quality and production accuracy. This article walks through the process of applying a distress effect in Adobe Illustrator CS6 and preparing your artwork for use within InkSoft.

Open Artwork

• Open the downloaded artwork the distress file should be applied to. 

Bring in the Distress

• In this example, the Distress file was dragged right into Illustrator.
• Another option would be to use the Place option under the File menu.

Resize the Distress to Fit the Canvas

• In this example, the sizing tabs around the image were used, but there are other ways this can be accomplished.

Rasterize the Distress

• From the Object menu, select Rasterize.

Options to Select when Rasterizing

• Select Bitmap in the Color Model dropdown, as well as the Transparent option under Background.

Change the Fill Color to White

• The Fill Color should show a "?" at this point, click it so the Color Picker comes up and assign White(#FFFFFF).
• Click Ok when done.

Ready to Print

• Some final touching up may be required depending on the art, but it should be ready to print.