How to Use the Appearance Panel in Adobe Illustrator
Posted on 18th June 2023
Overview
Adobe Illustrator is a powerful vector drawing program that allows you to create complex graphics and illustrations. The Appearance panel is a handy tool that gives you control over the appearance of your objects. In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to use the Appearance panel in Adobe Illustrator.
Creating a New Document
To get started, let’s create a new document in Adobe Illustrator. To do this, go to the File menu and choose New. In the New Document dialog box, set the width and height to 8 inches and click OK.
Drawing a Shape
Next, let’s draw a shape. To do this, select the Rectangle tool from the Tools panel. Then click and drag on the canvas to draw a rectangle.
Adding a Fill
Next, let’s add a fill to our rectangle. To do this, open the Appearance panel by going to the Window menu and choosing Appearance. Then click the Add New Fill button at the bottom of the panel.
Adding a Stroke
Next, let’s add a stroke to our rectangle. To do this, click the Add New Stroke button at the bottom of the panel.
Changing the Appearance
Now that we have a fill and a stroke, we can change their appearance. To do this, simply click on the fill or stroke in the Appearance panel and make your changes. For example, you can change the color, opacity, or blending mode.
Applying a Graphic Style
Graphic styles are a handy way to save your appearance settings. To apply a graphic style, simply select an object and click the Graphic Style button in the Appearance panel.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we’ve learned how to use the Appearance panel in Adobe Illustrator. We’ve also learned how to add a fill and a stroke, and how to change their appearance. We’ve also learned how to apply a graphic style.
Creating and Applying Graphic Styles
Graphic styles are a quick and easy way to apply consistent formatting across your artwork. You can create a graphic style from any selected object, then apply that style to other objects in your illustration.
To create a graphic style:
1.Select the object you want to use to create the graphic style.
2.Click the New Graphic Style button in the Graphic Styles panel.
A new graphic style appears in the panel, with the name of the selected object.
To apply a graphic style:
1.Select the object or objects you want to format.
2.Click the graphic style you want to apply in the Graphic Styles panel.
The selected object or objects take on the formatting of the applied graphic style.
Editing Graphic Styles
You can edit a graphic style at any time to change the formatting it applies.
To edit a graphic style:
1.Double-click the graphic style you want to edit in the Graphic Styles panel.
2.Make the changes you want in the Graphic Style Options dialog box.
3.Click OK.
The changes you make to the graphic style are applied to all objects to which the style is applied.
Deleting Graphic Styles
You can delete a graphic style from the Graphic Styles panel at any time.
To delete a graphic style:
1.Select the graphic style you want to delete in the Graphic Styles panel.
2.Click the Delete Selected Graphic Style button at the bottom of the panel.
The selected graphic style is deleted from the panel.
Organizing Graphic Styles
You can organize the graphic styles in the Graphic Styles panel into folders to keep them organized and easy to find.
To create a new folder:
1.Click the New Group button at the bottom of the Graphic Styles panel.
2.Enter a name for the folder in the New Group dialog box.
3.Click OK.
A new folder appears in the panel.
To move a graphic style into a folder:
1.Drag the graphic style you want to move into the folder.
The graphic style is moved into the folder.
To delete a folder:
1.Select the folder you want to delete in the Graphic Styles panel.
2.Click the Delete Selected Group button at the bottom of the panel.
The selected folder and all the styles it contains are deleted.
How to Use the Appearance Panel in Adobe Illustrator
Adding New Attributes
To add a new fill, stroke, or effect to an object, select the object, and then click the New button in the Appearance panel. A new blank row appears in the panel.
To add a fill, stroke, or effect to multiple objects, select the objects, and then click the New button in the Appearance panel. A new blank row appears in the panel for each selected object.
Editing Attributes
To edit an existing fill, stroke, or effect, select the object whose appearance you want to change, and then do one of the following:
- To change the order of the attributes, drag the attribute up or down the list.
- To change the options for the attribute, click the attribute name, and then make the changes in the Options area.
- To delete the attribute, click the attribute name, and then click the trash can icon.
Applying Attributes to Objects
To apply the appearance of one object to another object, drag the appearance attribute (fill, stroke, or effect) from the Appearance panel of the first object to the Appearance panel of the second object.
Saving and Applying Attributes
You can save the appearance attributes of an object as a graphic style and apply the style to other objects. Graphic styles are particularly useful for applying the same attributes to multiple objects or for creating object variations based on the same appearance.
To save the appearance attributes of an object as a graphic style, select the object, and then click the New button in the Graphic Styles panel. A new graphic style appears in the panel, named after the selected object.
To apply a graphic style to an object, select the object, and then click the graphic style in the Graphic Styles panel.
