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Apply Artistic Effects to Image in Illustrator CS6

Edited by Freya, VisiHow, Kim Rene\'e Shaklee, Eng

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Video: Apply Artistic Effects to Image in Illustrator CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. This tutorial will show you how to apply an artistic effect to an image in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7.

Apply An Artistic Effect To An Image On Adobe Illustrator CS6.mp4-canvas324 197227.jpg

Steps

1
You should have Illustrator open and a document ready
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In this video, a photograph is used; but you can use digital or even scanned drawings. Either way, try to use a high-quality image.

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2
Click the "Selection Tool" black arrow from the top-left side of your vertical toolbar to select your object
.

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3
Click your object
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This will bring up a blue outline with corners. This lets us know that our object is selected and can be edited.
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4
Now, locate and click "Effect" at the top of your screen
.

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5
When the drop-down menu appears, move the cursor to "Artistic"
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It will expand.
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6
You can click the effect you need
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For this tutorial, the "Colored Pencil..." effect is clicked. A large dialogue box will appear with a preview on the left-hand side.

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7
Zoom into and out of the preview by clicking the small minus and plus icons in the bottom-left corner
.
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8
You can click different effects in the "Artistic" panel
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Those are the same effects that have been listed before in the menu. They have a small preview thumbnail. You can experiment to choose the one you like. The settings on the right side of the window may change depending on which effect you have selected.

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9
You can also click the zoom percentage and type a new value
.
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10
Alternatively, click the arrow next to the zoom percentage to select another value
.
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11
Click the new value
.
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12
You can click and drag the screen to move the preview image around
.
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13
Click the drop-down box on the right-hand side
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This will offers more styles and effects to choose. It is recommended to become familiar with those.
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14
You can adjust the "Pencil Width" value by clicking and dragging the scroller
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You can also just click somewhere on the scroller line. Alternatively, type the value in the input box to the right of "Pencil Width". This will affect the strokes.
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15
You can adjust "Stroke Pressure" in a similar fashion
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It takes some time to get the preview updated.
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16
Finally, you can adjust "Paper Brightness" in the same way
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This will lighten or darken the whole picture.
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17
Your preview will update accordingly, but may take a moment
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Be sure to allow a short time for your preview screen to update before applying additional changes.
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18
When you're satisfied with the settings, simply click "OK" to apply any changes
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The "OK" button is located in the upper-right corner of the window above the "Cancel" button. The effect will be applied to the photograph.
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19
Otherwise, click "Cancel" to discard any changes
.
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20
Press "Ctrl" + "Z" to step back
.
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21
Click "Effect"
.
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22
Move the cursor to "Artistic"
.
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23
Click "Palette Knife..."
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You can see how different effects change your photo. The effect will change the photograph so that it looks like it has been created with a palette knife. It can be an interesting effect if you are creating artwork to go onto a wall or if you experiment digitally. In the settings section on the right-hand side, you can see that options have changed since a different effect to apply to the image is selected. The settings for "Palette Knife" effect include "Stroke Size", "Stroke Detail", and "Softness".
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24
You can adjust "Stroke Size" again
.
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25
You can adjust the "Stroke Detail" value
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The lower the "Stroke Detail" value is, the more abstract the image becomes.
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26
You can adjust the "Softness" value
.
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27
Click "Paint Daubs"
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The options on the right will change according to the artistic effect that you'll have selected.
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28
Click "Neon Glow"
.
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29
Click "Plastic Wrap"
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30
Click "Smudge Stick"
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31
Click "Underpainting"
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32
Click "Sponge"
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33
Click "OK" to apply the changes"
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The "OK" button is located in the top-right corner of the window.
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This concludes our tutorial showing you how to apply an artistic effect to an image in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments regarding this video or the program used, add them to the comment section below. Thank you for choosing VisiHow!