How To Create a Seamless Sample in Adobe Illustrator
Since adding the Object> Pattern> Create workflow to Adobe Illustrator in CS6, creating seamlessly repeating patterns has never been easier! Previously, graphics had to be placed manually so that they repeated themselves from edge to edge, but now all of this can be done visually using Illustrator’s sample surface. Follow this tutorial to learn how to create a seamlessly repeating pattern in Adobe Illustrator. We put together a number of illustrations, then I’ll show you a useful tip for adding a background color directly to your swatch.
Since it’s almost Christmas (well, it’s at the time of this tutorial’s publication) I’ll be creating a festive design that will put several doodles together to create some sort of wrapping paper pattern. If you see this after the holidays don’t worry, the same techniques can be applied to any type of repeating pattern.
First, let’s create a series of simple illustrations that we can put together randomly as part of our pattern. Double-click the Blob Brush tool to edit its settings. Change the size to 1pt, the drop-down menu to pressure and the variation to 1pt.
Use your mouse or Wacom tablet to draw some simple fun doodles. Create different drawings on the theme of holidays … gifts, trees, stars, robins, snowflakes, etc. Don’t worry about inaccuracies, the simpler and more childlike the doodles, the better! Create a nice arrangement of elements so there are lots of elements to mix up the pattern.
Draw a selection around each graphic and group each individual vector shape. This way you can select the entire object with a simple click and eliminate the risk of losing details.
Select all of the illustration art and go to Object> Pattern> Create to start creating a repeating swatch using these components.
Make the graphics smaller to allow more space to duplicate and fill in the space within the guides with randomly placed graphics. It helps to ensure that the Show tile edge option is selected in the Pattern Options panel.
Hold down the ALT key and drag any of the graphics to make a copy and move it to an empty space within the pattern boundaries. Rotate the object slightly to easily distinguish its appearance from the original.
Continue ALT + dragging copies of each illustration into an empty area to fill in the pattern tile while keeping the same spacing between them.
As you move elements over the edge of the tile, Illustrator’s pattern surface automatically flips the artwork onto the opposite side to create the seamlessly repeating effect.
To easily see what the pattern will look like, deselect the Show tile edge option. You can now move objects around to perfect the layout. Look for awkward spaces or clusters of a particular illustration concentrated in an area.
Add a background color to the pattern by drawing a rectangle that fills the pattern tile. Place the rectangle below the main graphic by selecting Arrange> Send to Back from the context menu.
Draw a selection around all of the objects, then click the rectangle while holding down the Shift key to deselect and leave only the illustration graphics selected. Give them a white fill color.
There is a strange problem that happens when a background shape is added to a pattern, the elements can no longer be repeated. Changing the overlap options fixes the problem either horizontally or vertically, but not together.
Instead, move the background rectangle so it only fills the upper left quarter by aligning its center point with the corner of the pattern tile. The pattern now repeats itself flawlessly with an all-over background color.
One final test is to set the Number of Copies option to 5 × 5 or 7 × 7 and zoom out to see how your pattern repeats over a large area. Pay attention to obvious repetitions of objects and adjust the layout if necessary.
Click Done on the top toolbar to save your pattern as a pattern that can be applied to any element as a fill. The pattern is repeated to cover the area no matter how big it is.
To resize the pattern within an object, go to Object> Transform> Scale. Deselect Transform Objects and leave only Transform Patterns selected. The scaling amount now only applies to the pattern so you can enlarge or shrink it.
This festive pattern would be great for custom Christmas paper, gift tags, or greeting cards, but the same techniques can be used to create seamlessly repeating patterns in any style. Whatever graphics the pattern contains is mirrored from one edge to the next using Illustrator’s pattern function.
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