Adjust Color Balance For Adobe Illustrator Pattern Swatches Tutorial Beginner's Guide

By Andrew Buckle, Video Tutorial Creator / Designer

Updated : 2021

The pattern swatches can be re-colored in a number of ways. you can use the powerful adjust color balance feature in Adobe Illustrator.

 

The adjust color balance command can be found in the edit menu

1. select path

2. apply pattern swatch by using the swatches panel

3. go to the edit menu

4. then edit colors

5. adjust color balance

6. change the red / green / blue etc for the fill / stroke

Turn the pattern swatch color into grayscale

If you have a selected path and colorful swatch, you may wish to turn the artwork into a black and white (grayscale) vector pattern then you can use the convert command

1. select path and colorful swatch

2. edit menu and edit colors and adjust color balance command

3. select the convert check

4. set to grayscale (if available)

5. change the black setting to left or right (left for lightness)

You can turn any colorful pattern swatch such as an arrow pattern swatch into a grayscale design

Turn the pattern color into a red design using the adjust color balance

You can take any colorful pattern into a red design (or a green design or blue design etc).

 

You can do this by using the adjust color balance.

1. select the path / swatch

2. go to the edit menu and edit colors and adjust color balance

3. select the preview on

4. go to the red slider

5. slide to the red to the extreme right

The pattern swatch is modified in the path as well as in the key swatch panel. It is not changed in the original library unless you edit the actual original source AI document.

 

If you wish to change the pattern swatch to green, just slide the slider for the green to the right. If you wish to change the pattern swatch to more blue swatch then change the blue slider to the right. You can also tweak the color in many other ways by moving the slider for the green to the left and the red slider to the right to create a more purple look with the patten swatch

Alternative approach via the pattern editor

You can always edit the original source swatch by double clicking the swatch in the panel and then selecting paths in the pattern editor and then using the adjust color balance, such as changing the color from green to blue etc. The advantage is that you can always tweak the artwork using the color adjust balance and then use the save a copy command to capture the new colorful pattern after each change and create multiple colorful pattern swatches from a single swatch (as well as edit and transform the artwork)

1. display swatches panel

2. double click the swatch

3. select the paths in the pattern editor

4. use the edit menu and edit color and adjust color balance in Adobe Illustrator

5. save a copy

6. done

Duplicate swatch before re-coloring

As the pattern swatch in the panel is updated with the new color. You can always duplicate the original pattern.

1. Go to the swatches panel

2. select the pattern swatch

3. right side menu

4. duplicate swatch

5. edit the swatch using the color adjust balance