How to quickly create a vintage style halftone.
Texture and halftones can replace multiple colors in a design to keep the aesthetic looking interesting while keeping the production costs low.
How to:
- Create a simple halftone block
- Add it to existing artwork for a vintage feel.
In the previous tutorial I also talked about the swatches panel and how to use it to edit, delete, or merge colors. But what if the colors in the image aren’t actually showing up in the panel or there are multiple versions of an identical color? Instances like this can be a nightmare for printers because Illustrator might not recognize these colors when outputting them as color separations.
Creating a Vintage Style Halftone
Building your own halftone to add texture
A great way to add character to your images is to create a vintage looking halftone. Using this technique for shading will give your design a classic illustration feel and add texture without increasing the number of colors and will help to keep production costs low.
Create a simple line halftone.
Begin by creating a rectangle with simple lines. Next break up the lines randomly with the eraser tool. Select all of the elements and create a compound path.
Scale the halftone grid to the appropriate size to create the texture you are wanting.
Duplicate the grid as many times as you need to completely cover the image you want to add texture to.
Finally, use the eraser tool to erase the areas you don’t want the halftone in.
Pro Tip: Create a compound path before you deselect to keep all of the elements in the halftone together as one single unit.
Add text and other details.
This is the final version of a pickleball shirt design I did for ALT5280 Pickleball. The texture and halftones do a great job of completing the image while giving it a vintage feel.
Use my pre-made images or create your own.
I have lots of images in this style. Plus it is very easy to take images that don’t already have this texture and add the texture to them.
I hope you found this short tutorial on editing colors in Adobe Illustrator helpful. There are more short Illustrator tutorials in my hints and secrets area. Don’t forget to browse my clipart images before you start your next t-shirt design project.
Need a printer for your t-shirts and team apparel? Call my print shop at 1-800-315-9411 for a quote or visit us at ChromaCustomApparel.com
