How to Make a Pattern Swatch in Illustrator from an Image

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This quick tutorial will show you how to take any image (from the internet, a photo, or a scan), crop it in Photoshop and turn it into a repeating pattern swatch in Adobe Illustrator.
You will learn:
00:29 How to crop the image in Photoshop to create one repeat tile
03:07 How to quickly copy your artwork from Photoshop to Illustrator
04:00 How to get an image from your computer into Illustrator
04:35 How to tell the difference between embedded and linked images in Illustrator and why one of them won’t work to make a repeating pattern
06:40 How to turn your image into a pattern swatch in Illustrator
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[@SewHeidi]

😫Illustrator is HARD. I’ll show you how to make a FAST and SIMPLE.
Stop screaming at your computer and finally get the software to just do what you want 😄.
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[@matthewduboski5064]

3 years later still relevant. Helped me reach a solution for another problem, I was trying to make a shape out of a vector image to clip mask over a jpeg I downloaded, proved to be kinda complicated. I instead turned the jpeg into a swatch, and penned an outline of my vector art and filled it in. Tyvm!

[@mizzezfizz0]

I was desperately searching for this, thank you!

[@SewHeidi]

So glad you found it!

[@inactiverahul]

Such a great video! Exactly what I needed to know and straight to the point.

[@thecountrygarden]

I am so much appreciate what you have been teching us. Thank you Heidi for your kindness.

[@user-cy3vg5uv7c]

Thank you !!!!It is great! I have search it for an hour!!!Easy to follow up !!!

[@LeosRoses27]

Let me start off by saying THANK YOU!!!!!!! Do you know how many videos I have seen, and How many times I have spoken to adobe and no one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE KNEW how to do this on illustrator? Because of you NOW I CAN USE IT WITH MY BRUSH TOOL!!!
And for people who don't have Photoshop you just need to place the pattern (usually jpg) in illustrator then save it as an illustrator file (.ai) and then you can follow from the embedding step till the end and save it :)

[@SewHeidi]

You are so welcome! Can't believe no one else could help you with this!!!!!

[@LeosRoses27]

@@SewHeidi Me either!!! Thanks again, you're awesomeeee!!!

[@studiumoma6691]

Thank you for your thoroughness! Great video.

[@DND866]

GREAT INFO! been searching for this thank you

[@amandapoetry4741]

Thank you sooo much for this video. It's very detailed and just what I needed

[@itsmejeandre]

Thanks for the tutorial!

[@becbowman8031]

Thank you!!! so quick & easy

[@LegendaryGoatMeat]

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!!

[@NightSensationTG]

Great tutorial! Thanks a ton!

[@Pyxelles]

Great tips. Thank you!

[@nurulemanbukhari9010]

Best video ever explaining how to make a pattern swatch in Illustrator I really needed that thank you Sew Heidi!

[@SewHeidi]

Oh yay so glad!

[@expressioncomfort]

5 Years late. You made everything so simple. cheers & subscribed

[@shrutibumb6862]

Thanks a lot. it was a big help in a short time

[@soliman6714]

EXCELLENT VIDIO .. i wondered why I some objects doesn't become a swatch... now I know how to make all. Well done . Thanks a lot Heidi

[@ophelielewis4327]

Was so useful ! Thank you so much :)

[@KariSinkko]

Awesome, thanks a bunch!

[@ozakarisozacra6499]

Nice, thank you for sharing...all best!!

[@anissairving]

ahhhh! thank you so much!! i knew there was an easier way to do this! very helpful!
🤓

[@bec3935]

thank u so much, this was really helpful

[@amaruf2008]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@SewHeidi]

So glad!

[@SootyHunt]

Thanks for the video.... Just what I was looking for.... Cheers 👍

[@omarherndon782]

Well youre officially amazing.. helped me so much today.. and its 2022.. i love you..

[@gladysdowning7682]

i love you. seriously you are amazing

[@SewHeidi]

Aww thank you so much!!

[@anitaifeadi4346]

Thanks, Helpful!

Thanks so much!

[@amirnafar6661]

thank you so much .. i use this way to make gold swatch for text and vectors
fast way :)

[@oliviarose4436]

THANK YOU!!!!

[@zaratec2565]

thank you very much!!!!!!!

[@aryaboustani6359]

Thanks for this tip with turning link to embedded prior to dragging it to swatches. I was dragging it and it wasn't showing in the Swatches. I forgot my tips from last year!

[@Almaateeq.maryam]

Yyyyeeeeeesssss thhhannnkk youuuu ,, youu saave my liiifffee ❤️❤️❤️

[@SewHeidi]

You're welcome! So glad it helped you out :)

[@Sulekha.11]

Thanks a lot...👍😍

[@ndivhuhothavhana]

thank you. now i also know what "embed" means

[@rafaelasantana6765]

Amo os seus vídeos😀❤

[@nhtl.w]

thank you so much

[@heidiestrada299]

This is AMAZING! thank you(:

[@SewHeidi]

AMAZING! You’re welcome 🥰

[@itsjonna5070]

thank you

[@JanetCaterina]

Thanks, I am learning a lot here

[@SewHeidi]

Amazing!

[@daylematthews]

WOW!!!! How did I never think of this myself??

[@SewHeidi]

Haha yes it’s a good one!

[@rajanvarghese1]

Thanks for the Video. Very helpful. Can you please explain how to add vector swatches for making pattern

[@forhadhossain5437]

excellent

[@highgear4550]

Such a great video! Exactly what I needed to know and straight to the point. Liked and Subbed. ps if you hold ctrl / cmd the snapping at the edge of image is temporarily disabled for precise cropping.

[@SewHeidi]

Ohh great added tip!

[@kaialoha]

mahalo Heidi - exactly what I needed to know in simple terms without constant repeating. like and sub. aloha

[@SewHeidi]

Awesome - so glad to help!

[@gregames8872]

super helpful.. i wonder why Adobe tutorials can't be this easy to understand?

[@SewHeidi]

Haha yes that is a really good question! Glad you enjoyed :)

[@allyncia]

how do you find the pattern for use in future artwork?

[@marycortes4201]

Hi Heidi I really have problem on seamless print from an image can it you help every time I put it into sketch it looks with lines all breaking

[@cordneyellis442]

when I did this, my pattern repeated in my fashion sketch, I saw a lot of straight lines. Is this because I have it scaled down to 25%?

[@amabelbarlow8046]

Dear sew Heidi,
How do you save or export your pattern as a image or adobe pdf?

[@gladysdowning7682]

Heidi, is there way you can make a tutorial on how to make textured pattern on illustrator?

[@SewHeidi]

I am working on an entire course on repeating patterns - make sure you're on my email list (successfulfashiondesigner.com) to hear when it's ready ;)

[@RayaGeo]

Thanks for this - I didn’t know about the embedding....if I make a pattern from a photo (raster) and fill a vector shape with it, does the pattern become vectorised? Will it scale? Or wd I need to image trace first to do that? Does it even matter for a typical pattern?

[@graceannebyrd8449]

I would also like to hear about creating a pattern out of imbedded images (like placing images in a certain way and creating a seamless repeat from them) - when I bring my watercolor objects from Ps and embed them in Ai, they have a white background. I do not want to vectorize my watercolors, so how can I remove the background of an embedded object to use for a pattern?

[@matthewduboski5064]

@@graceannebyrd8449 Use the pen tool to trace an outline of your watercolor, in Ai, if need be use bezier curves for accuracy. From there you can create a clip mask and essentially crop the white BG out of it. With my limited knowledge that's what I'd do.

[@matthewduboski5064]

@@graceannebyrd8449 A quick google also garnered this:
1; Click File and "Save as“. You want to choose Illustrator EPS from the menu that will appear. Press Save.
2; Go with Tiff (8-bit Color) from the next menu (Format) underneath Preview in the EPS window that will show up. You want to make sure it’s Transparent, so click that and press OK and - hey presto! - you have an EPS file with a transparent background.

[@wise_owl13]

Hello Heidi, how do you make the pattern square sizes smaller please?

[@SewHeidi]

This tutorial should help: successfulfashiondesigner.com/tutorials/how-to-move-and-scale-patterns-in-illustrator/

[@derekwilken8181]

Heidi,I have an image that has stamps all over from my Graduation photo and I want to copy the background,save it and then cut myself out and then without the (do not copy) stamp all over my face and the lifetouch company down in the bottom corner,Iam trying to rack my brain and it's giving me headaches over the simplest thing,I actually found your video here and I said "now that's what I've been looking for!!!" The stamp and the background eraser tool is just making kind of visible splotches and because of the light background,it's hard to do that,you still see the paint brush circle marks.Can you help me with this,I know that girls and women have a clear mind and are pros at doing things rather than men.Iam guilty for saying that cause Iam a man so I love seeing girls and women doing these youtube tutorials for a change!!!

[@heenavaidvaid1149]

Hi

[@sourcingape1839]

does embeding the image make it less quality or anything

[@SewHeidi]

Nope, not at all :) Just makes your AI file size a bit larger!

[@branlin9353]

If you are just seeking for how to make an image into a swatch, skip all the way to 6:41 LOL

[@brebbiamats]

yes lmao thats all I was looking for already looked up like 10+ boring tutorials fully and couldn't find it lmao. Tysm dude.

[@joaomaria_santos]

appreciate it man

[@GK-fy9dd]

Thank you!

[@christorres4048]

so I need photoshop to make a image a swatch?

[@stephenlucas5740]

that was a LONG explanation for something simple. Jump to: 6:43

[@SewHeidi]

Not everyone knows all the steps :)