How To Apply Textures with Adobe Illustrator

Texture masking is a great way to add a worn, aged look to your vector designs. In this tutorial I’ll be demonstrating how you can apply a distressed texture with Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator is typically used for vector graphic design, but in some instances you can use raster images to enhance your vector creations. Texture masking is a great example of such, and in Illustrator we can use the opacity mask feature to accomplish this.
You can grab my bundle of free distressed textures here: logosbynick.com/15-free-grung...
If you want to learn more about logo design, be sure to check out my Logo Design Academy - an interactive 18-part video course where you will learn my entire creative process for coming up with logo ideas and implementing them: logosbynick.com/learn/
Need a logo? Check out my portfolio and hire me at: www.logosbynick.com
Intro song: "In Da Mood" by Combustibles, used with written permission

[@paulcurtis5730]

Everyone else makes these opacity masks so complicated. With this tute, it just clicked! Finally! Thank you!

[@bikeranch]

I have watched a lot videos and yours finally provided the instructions I need to distress my artwork. I also appreciate all the free textures. Thank you for talking slow enough, providing enough time to see what you were doing and how to get some of my tools viewable again. I'm a fan now!

[@JBJones66]

I love how short and sweet this is no filler whatsoever. Thanks!

[@paulbrown6089]

Can I just tell you how incredibly intuitive and easy this tutorial made it for me? I've been struggling with this FOREVER and most videos take 20mins just to get to the point where they OPEN illustrator. I love this. SUBSCRIBED!

[@anime-nn9kl]

IKR. I bought some plug in, and it STILL took 20 minutes, and the result wasn't half as easy to edit. SUBSCRIBED!

[@Imustfly]

Your videos are the most straight forward, informative Illustrator content on KZbin. I watch, and then I do !! You explain like no other, and offer practical tools that dove tail into what I need at my shop. Thank you for taking the time to share such practical info with knuckle draggers like me !!

[@DilipkumarJadhav]

Thank you for doing this in 3 min and not ranting for 30 min 🙏 What most YT forget is that people watching these basic videos are novices who are also working under a deadline.

[@loganmagnan]

SO HELPFUL!!! I was struggling with figuring out how to do this for three days. You saved me! It was such a relief to find out how to do it. Thank you!!

[@darkreigncometh]

YEEESSSSS!!!! Finally, a tutorial that explains this clearly and in less than three minutes! I couldn't subscribe fast enough.

[@thetoonsaloon]

Agreed!!! Finally

[@phillipderek5150]

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[@tuckerezekiel4349]

@Phillip Derek instablaster :)

[@phillipderek5150]

@Tucker Ezekiel i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and Im trying it out atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@phillipderek5150]

@Tucker Ezekiel It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thanks so much you really help me out :D

[@JakkQuill]

Man if there's one thing I love about your channel is that you guys stick to your channel's name. This truly is design made simple. Thanks for the great content

[@JazzKumarISP]

Loving these so simple videos and tips! I have learnt more from your videos in one week than I did in 4 years. Thank you so much Nick!

[@anime-nn9kl]

IKR!

[@alishabajracharya9301]

i love how u break down things into small parts because u are the best youtuber when it comes to graphic design

[@Spookymerbabe]

Incredible tutorial! I used to use image trace and pathfinder and ugh it was too complex and took forever. I had no idea about opacity masks! You saved my life!

[@mankpick]

WOww... this is the shortest, simple, and clear tuts that i've ever seen. Really helpful, thanks. Directly subscribe.

[@jenniferwatson7162]

WOW! thank you! I have watched so many videos on how to do this with no success! this one was so easy and it worked perfectly, I can't thank you enough and now have the perfect finishing touch for my logo

[@martsuha]

Oml thank you so much for this tutorial. This is just what I needed for my character design project. For those of you a bit confused on going back to your original layers, just click the original image in the transparency box and it should take you back!

[@karlachin7314]

OMG I couldn't figure out how to get back to my original layers! Thank you for posting that!

[@mahannaUugly]

Thank you for this. I couldn't figure it out!

[@faiblu.]

THANKK YOUUUU 😂😂 I LITERALLY WAS LOOKING FOR THIS EXACT COMMENT 😂😂❤

[@freneticallyYT]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

[@tiegangarnett]

Nick, this is so unbelievably helpful. Thank you so much! Ps for the guys who want the white negative space to be black or a different colour I have found duplicating the 'logo', changing the duplicated logo's colour and sending it to back worked best! If you can improve my process give me a hala! Thanks again nick, so awesome!

[@Jeels]

I´m using KZbin for ages now, watching tons of tutorials every week and never commented before. But this tutorial really made me comment - many channels make it so complicated with photoshop and lots of steps - this one is just on point. LOVE IT! Thank you so much for saving me time and making my day! And even more: I appreciate that you don´t say: Please subscribe - Either you bring your A game and get the subscription or not. You deserve times 10x subscribers!

[@KalponicGames]

illustrator is lot more simpler than those raster programs. Its very fast to make what u want to make and u can probably make more money faster using Illustrator than ai. Funnily those concept artist are paid less than ui/logo/etc artist lol. Since every artists be like i want to make concept art especially characters. So, there are way too many of them

[@Katelin101]

Seriously. This is the 4th video I’ve watch. Thank you so much for making it simple and to the point!

[@DonnaLynnMacInnis]

Yes, finally an easy and quick tutorials, thank you the files too!

[@thatonedude4890]

Simple, easy, beautiful results!! THANK YOU.

[@maryhalatutavaha3618]

Thank you, Lord!! Design made Simple, the quickest and easy to understand method I've found, You're a great teacher. I went through two others and was totally confused. Yay!!!

[@orrangetv5553]

Now that's what you call a great tutorial video easy, simple and quick yet useful at fullest. Thanks a lot buddy.

[@karmac2023]

Finally I understand this! Thank you for your clear and understandable methods of teaching!

[@jmacuna]

of all the tutorials I have come across, this is the fastest and easiest one. Thank you!

[@chasgiv4]

I am going to be honest. You saved the day. I couldn't get the thumbnails to show up and I was about to flog someone. Thank you!

[@monirmaftah9594]

OMG you are the best easy clean tutorial!

[@CosminSerbanDesign]

Hi, I appreciate that you shared the tutorial, I learned a lot about textures! Thank you for sharing your work!

[@JustMeMorgane]

The possibilities this unlocks.... Amazing

[@kimwatson3271]

Thank you so much! You had the easiest explanation I'd ever seen. Thank you as well for the Grunge Texture starter pack!

[@daisyr2022]

Such a good quick and straightforward tutorial, I implemented the free textures thanks so much

[@jeremytodd77]

Quick and simple! Brilliant tutorial man and thanks for the free textures to make the steps even easier to use in my work!

[@sammcilveen8952]

finally a clear and concise tutorial on masking, this always seemed so simple but every other video makes it look like 4D space chess

[@jrich5682]

yes thank you i second this . Maybe im just an idiot but ive always found masking unintuitive and have to come back and google it over and over.

[@colleenburrs5926]

That was the best solution! I've been looking for a simple way to do this for hours. Thank you!😃

[@Veronica-pt6hu]

I can't thank you enough, this helped so much and the 15 distress templates for free. You're amazing. Liked, commented, & subscribed!!!

[@Storm4Peace]

Great tutorial, super beginner friendly. Thanks for the free textures!

[@RelateGREAT]

Thank you! Super helpful and so kind of you to offer the textures, too! Made this super easy for a first timer.

[@boyinavault]

Quick, practical, simple and much needed. Thank you.

[@saloniohri-centralpeelss2514]

Thank you so much for the textures, they helped me a lot in a personal project. Appreciate your generosity.

[@kenkanada131]

Thanks. I watched 5 other videos about this. And yours was the only one that made sense.

[@erinfjeldahl9074]

Thank you so much for making this quick and easy tutorial!

[@julius_lewis]

So easy! I really needed this simple tut today. Muchas gracias! 🙌🏾

[@nadjisouilamas2141]

Thanks a lot! I have seen so many videos before learning how to do it properly from yours

[@farizalazamuddin6306]

Omaigosh...Thanks for the great tutorial. Extremely short and concise.

[@seulkang846]

Short, clear, and very informative. Thanks!

[@rafaelmartinsdecastro7641]

The video is pretty good. The only comment I would add is that when you select the black square and paste your mask onto it is like you are pasting it on a separate "opacity mask canvas". When I understood that, it made it easier for me to understand the overall mechanics behind the whole process.

[@RalphHarrisComedy]

Brother.... I can't tell you - How much this quick and TO THE POINT Tutorial has helped me today. I am literally in my House Screaming YES YES YES YES..... Thank YOU. I am subscribing to your page, to learn more. Again - Thank YOU

[@MarianNieuw]

thank you so much! Short and simple and love the free templates!

[@walterjohnson8127]

AWESOME! Straight forward and to the point! Thanks!

[@SinCityDetail]

Thanks for this. I had to recreate and T-Shirt design with a distressed look, and this worked great!

[@stevendomingo5569]

the best tutorials ever...easy to follow, thank you

[@mundiamachima7036]

Simply amazing. Exactly what i was looking for..🔥🔥

[@handsewnlove]

Great tutorial, just what I was looking for, thank you very much!

[@erlissemorgan9210]

Thank you ! this tuto is the easiest I could find on youtube !

[@Jack-vh5km]

Your channel is excellent. You help me very much with learning new stuff in Adobe Illustrator, thanks😊

[@CodyQualley]

Exactly what I needed. Clear and consice tutorial. Thank you!

[@kyleportwood71]

Great video! Thanks for the valuable information and images!

[@rahuldeshpande9997]

Dude this was super helpful, thank you for explaining and making this video!

[@alighanem8493]

TNice tutorials is just the pick up I needed, thanks man

[@TimWielandt]

Awesome! So simple an quick. Thank you very much!

[@johnta17]

I never remember how to do this and I always have to return to the internet to learn it anew, this is probably the version I'll remember. Thanks.

[@mrkleanup1872]

love your videos so straight to the point

[@brentpatteson8894]

This was so helpful and just what I was looking for!

[@joelhall649]

Thanks a lot. I look forward to applying it to my next project.

[@eva7290]

Oh my god, this has been a god send, thank you so much!!

[@margaretclavell4101]

Thank you so much Nick, this is exactly what l was looking for.

[@noequinonez592]

Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing and make it easy.

[@rainy6987]

Never seen a most efficient tutorial lol tyvm!!

[@amirloucif]

Just Amazing , thank you so very much ...really simple and easy to follow .. keep it going

[@annelyticsocials3671]

Very helpful! Thank you for the free textures

[@krislynnretz7127]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

[@bajarequesas4090]

Clearly explained and in a rapid manner! great!!!

[@KanobiPollard]

Awesome tutorial! finally a process thats simplified :)

[@hannahbruce9056]

THANK YOU FINALLY A VIDEO THAT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND!

[@amankhanna354]

JUST THE THING I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!!!!

[@achraf785]

easy brilliant and free textures appreciate man !!!

[@trishaestiller]

You really make designing easy! Thanks a bunch

[@aklimaakter6517]

It's Really Helpful, Thank You For This Amazing Tutorial .

[@secretboxkevin]

우와 엄청 간단하고 좋은 방법이네요!! 감사합니다.

[@nagegfx6306]

Thank you nick. Just Downloaded the template pack, i appreciate it Thank you and God Bless

[@blossomemma-nwachukwu4112]

Thos was so helpful, yet simple and short. Thanks a lot!!

[@extremeflext]

incredibly clear and helpful. thanks!

[@may998]

Short, simple, and clear.

[@agunghidayatullah5236]

Quick and simple step! thank you so much!

[@elat1on]

loved it especially the way you explain ♥

[@isabellewest3013]

Great, simple tutorial. Thanks!

[@alexandrugrecov8964]

Thanks for textures, they are great !

[@toxicdrawings]

Thank you for the textures helped me a lot!

[@bigbangtop26]

Thank you. simple and very straight forward explanation. subscribed.

[@hotpinkstudio184]

Thank YOU!! Just what I needed to learn today :)

[@jsy4904]

I love this tutorial. Thank you so much

[@newhollywoodense]

excellent video! straight to the point

[@EmeryWenz]

This was incredibly helpful!!

[@kenzokedi436]

thanks! concise video for texture

[@intancahya9947]

TNice tutorials tutorial was worth it, I understood everytNice tutorialng now

[@bohohairandmakeup2720]

This is great thank you. How do I change the colour of the texture to a colour other than black?

[@ashley0238]

thank you for making a helpful and efficient tutorial

[@thanhakhanhlinh5872]

Hi, thank you for such a great tutorial! I'm making it work, but the blending mode does not affect the design at all, can you help explain why's that?

[@chamikadilranga7325]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge ❤️❤️

[@SteevMy]

Thanks for this video. Could applying a texture in this way modify the vectorization of the logo itself? Do you risk something in the export?

[@dewipermatasari7625]

these so easy to apply on my artwork, thankyou!