Change Background Color in Illustrator

Introduction to Change Background Color in Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics program that is generally designed and created for graphic designers and 2D artists. The latest version of Adobe Illustrator is the CC version, a part of Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. The program is used to create video games, logos, print materials, advertising, and promotional items and other 2D artworks. A program is a vector-based software that enables the user to create efficient and resolution-independent materials.

Adobe Illustrator has a powerfully built set of tools and functions that help the user create artworks from its design template library, known as Adobe Stock, with more than 80 million videos, templates, images, and other materials of the users.

The software is an enormous program that allows and defaults the library’s presets for their projects and presentations. In this document, we will learn how we change the Background color of any document in Illustrator. The background of any particular document is a very important part of the process of making objects and artworks. Basically, it is the initial step that any designer would take to create a graphic artwork on the program.

How to Change the Background Color?

Following are the steps to change the background color of any document in Illustrator; there are two main methods to achieve the same.

Method 1 – Document Setup Option

In this method, we will change the background color of the document from the document setup options. We will understand the process in deeper detail with the steps given below.

Step 1: Launch Adobe Illustrator. Open a document by clicking on File > New.

Step 2: A dialog box will appear, select the necessary details about the document properties and click OK.

Step 3: Next, Click on File > Document Setup to open the setup properties of the document.

Step 4: As soon as the Document Setup opens, click on the SIMULATE COLORED PAPER option in the Transparency and Overprint Options. This option will enable us to see the background color on the document itself.

Step 5: After this, click on the box below as shown in the image.

Step 6: The box will open the color palette for use. Once the color palette is shown, select any color of your choice to set as the background color. Click OK.

Step 7: After this, Click OK again on the Document Setup Dialog Box.

Note: this document is chosen for the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key) color model. That means the artwork created on this document will be used for printing purposes. When a user creates a document with the CMYK model, it is used for printing and has to be in hard copy. While, when an artwork is created in an RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) model, it is used for webpages and websites.

Step 8: The color model of the document can be modified from the File Menu, using the DOCUMENT COLOR MODE Option.

Method 2 – Creating a Rectangle

In this method, we will simply create a rectangle of the document’s size and apply color to it. This does not change the background color, but we can still use this method for quick use. This layer can then be locked so that it does not get edited or modified while working on the document. The steps for the same are given below.

Step 1: Launch Adobe Illustrator. Create a new document from the File menu.

Step 2: Assign the document, its properties, and attributes in the properties panel.

Step 3: Click on the Rectangle tool and drag the cursor to create a rectangle of the same size as of the document.

Step 4: Choose the color of your choice.

Step 5: Give this rectangle a color.

Step 6: Now, go to Windows, then Layers. This will open the Layers panel to see the different layers available.

Step 7: The 1^st layer is the rectangle layer, double click on the layer icon, and you will see a dialog box as shown in the image.

Step 8: In the dialog box, check the unchecked button for LOCK. This option will lock the layer.

Step 9: This will provide a benefit to the user as the layer gets locked and unmoved or unmodified for any changes.

To unlock the layer, double click on the layer and uncheck the LOCK option.

Conclusion

Changing the background color is an easy task in Illustrator but a little tricky as compared to Photoshop. While in Photoshop, the user just needs to use the shortcuts for Background and foreground color; this is not the case with Adobe Illustrator. The user may seem to be lost sometimes while changing to the background color in Illustrator, those who have earlier worked on Photoshop.

In this document, we learn the two easy methods of changing the background color without any confusion or much use of tools. It’s just that the user should be aware of the particular option and function of that option. While there is no shortcut key to change the background color, the user can use the options and functions and change the same.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Change Background Color in Illustrator. Here we discuss two different methods of changing the background color with a few illustrations. You can also go through our other related articles to learn more-

1. Layers in Illustrator
2. 3D Effects in Illustrator
3. Blending Modes in Illustrator
4. Logo Design in Illustrator