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Arrow Pattern Swatches for Illustrator CS5 CS4 CS3 etc

 

Arrow Illustrator swatches work with: Windows 7 + Vista + XP + MAC OS X (All versions)(Intel/PPC) G4 G5 Adobe Illustrator CS5 CS4 CS3 CS2 CS 10 (All Creative Suites), AI format, Commercial use license, royalty-free, all are by graphicxtras.com (Andrew Buckle)

 

Arrow pattern swatch packs for Illustrator CS5 CS4 CS3 CS2 etc

Opening arrow pattern swatches in Illustrator tutorial

The arrow patterns are AI files, standard AI files - they contain the Illustrator pattern tiles as well as the patterns stored in the swatches. You can open the AI file using Illustrator and use the paths as normal arrow designs. If you want to use the arrow pattern swatches

 

1) window > swatches

2) right side menu

3) open swatch library

4) Other library command (found at the bottom of the swatch list)

 

Browse for the swatches library (GX28_Arrows etc)

 

5) Open

6) Select arrow swatches and the swatches will be added to the document library

Arrow patterns with Illustrator 3D extrude tutorial

1) Open the arrow file (GX28 etc) - this is the source file

2) Select one of the designs / arrow paths

3) effect > 3D > extrude and bevel

4) Apply 3D effect

5) Drag the beveled design to the swatches palette

 

Apply the swatch to any normal path and it will be filled with 3D arrow designs

 

Or

 

1) Open a new document

2) Open the arrow swatches library via the swatch palette

3) Apply an arrow design to a normal path (square, say)

4) Object > transform > scale (de-select the object, leave pattern to scale the arrows)

5) object > expand on the arrows

6) clipping mask > release

7) Select one of the arrow designs in the released area

8) ungroup / ungroup until you can select the bounding box for the arrow

9) select > same > fill and stroke

10) delete all the bounding boxes

11) select all the arrows (in the released area)

12) pathfinder > unite

13) effect > 3D > extrude

 

extrude arrow swatches

Arrow swatches used as normal paths in Illustrator

The arrow designs (in pack 28 etc) are also just standard paths

 

arrow swatch

 

You can drag the design from the swatches palette and then use in Illustrator as a normal path.

 

However, the design needs to be ungrouped as it is also linked to a bounding box - if you set the color of the visible shape you also set the background path to the same color (resulting in a square).

 

Use the object ungroup command on the selected design and then remove the background definition box / background. You can then re-color the shape, apply effects as required.

 

ungrouped path

 

At this point you can also modify the swatch design and add new path elements to the design, modify the arrow design and much more. Added December 29th 2011

 

 

arrow circles

example from pack 28 - arrow design applied to a basic square in Illustrator

 

arrow star Illustrator

example from pack 28 - arrow circular pattern applied to a star path in Illustrator

 

arrow combo

example from pack 28 - three different paths with the same patterns in Illustrator (but rotated) combined to create the letter T

 

arrow frame

example using pack 28 arrows in Illustrator - two square paths combined using the pathfinder subtract to create a frame and filled with the pattern swatch

 

arrow circle

example from pack 11 - a swatch is re-saved as a pattern brush and applied to a circle path in Illustrator against a green background

 

stroke pattern

example from pack 11 - a circle path has a stroke added (200 pts) and the stroke is filled with an arrow pattern. The stroke is further modified by a width profile. in Illustrator CS5

 

t-shirt arrow pattern

example using a pattern from pack 11 applied to a T-shirt in Illustrator

 

arrow tile swatch

example from pack 27 - the arrow designs are vectors for any size of work - they can be transformed via the object menu transform scale etc commands in Illustrator (as well as rotated, sheared etc)

 

shear arrows

example from pack 27 (the same pattern as before) this time the pattern has been sheared at 45 degrees.

 

shadow arrow pattern

example from pack 29 - shadow arrow pattern applied in Illustrator

 

combined arrow patterns

example from pack 29 - Illustrator arrow swatches combined (the top layer slightly offset)

 

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