Participant

Answered

Changing Canvas Color

Forum|Forum|16 years ago
August 29, 2009
7 replies
106043 views

How do I change the canvas color in Illustrator CS4? I do not want to alter the Artboard color, just the canvas. Does anyone know how?

Correct answer JETalmage

There is no "canvas" in Illustrator. This is not a raster imaging program.

In Document Setup, Transparency pane, you can use the transparency grid as a fake "background" by setting both parts of the grid to the same color. Effectively, this makes the Illustrator window display as the color instead of white. But this is just an on-screen display, originally intended as a means to view transparency effects. It does not print. It is not the same thing you think of in terms of the "canvas color" in a raster program.

If you want your document to actually have a colored background, draw one. Get the Rectangle Tool and draw a large color-filled rectangle. Sent it to the back and lock it. Or put it on its own Layer and lock the Layer.

In Illustrator, you create and work with objects, not regions of different-colored pixels as in a raster program. If there is no object, there is no color, because there is nothing to which to apply the color.

JET

V

veronikacreativitydrive

Participant

I found the solution here: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/user-guide.html/illustrator/using/large-sized-artwork.ug.html

Essentially, you can create a "large" canvas instead of the default. I did it by using massive dimensions and 17 artboards at the document setup process and it worked. Illustrator CC 2020.

V

veronikacreativitydrive

Participant

I was creating artwork for large window wraps that would span half a block. My initial file was created in inches and I was able to have 17 artboards on it, with no restrictions or error messages whatsoever. I just created a new document in centimeters, with the same exact large scale but... the new doc gave me a canvas error. So I am not sure why or how these two documents are different, and why my original file has no visible "canvas" no throws errors, and this new doc definitely has a rectangle-like shape and won't let me add any more artboards if they stick out of the boundaries. I went back to my first file and switch the measurements to centimeters, and no error still, no warning popups. So I have both files open and can't find anything that would explain why the "canvas" error pops up on the newer doc.

dmitrikal

Participant

Well that was patronizing, and incorrect. Yes, there is a canvas.

A

Anonymous

How can i change the canvas color?

PrepressPro1

Legend

As shown in the previous screen shot, there is a Canvas but the UI limits your ability to color this to Light, Med Light, Med Dark and Dark. There is a Custom in the Pull Down menu but it seems to be greyed out and unselectable. It seems the Canvas is limited to four levels of monochromatic brightness.

P.S. Eight year old threads need love too.

M

MalMcKenzie

Participant

I think I can help.

I just went to View> Overprint Preview and unchecked it (it was turned on) and it turned my canvas color back to the gray that I like.

If you want it to be white, make sure 'Overprint Preview' is checked and turned on.

I struggled to find an answer to this and this finally worked!

Also, I am using Adobe CC. Maybe this is the same for older versions of Illustrator as well...?

Try that.

Hope this helps!

aTomician

Inspiring

Darleeng,

not sure what you are trying to achieve exactly, but you can change the shading of the whole program by going to Edit > Preferences > User Interface

This will only change the way it looks and feels though.

If you actually want to change the background colour of your artwork, I suggest you create a box (shortcut key = M) and add it below all the other layers and fill it however you would like.

Hope that helps, if it doesn't answer your question, can you give us any more information on what exactly you are trying to do?

Tom

Regards, aTomician

Monika Gause

Community Expert

Tomy-rex schrieb:

Darleeng,

not sure what you are trying to achieve exactly,

Please, before you answer a thread:

- read the date. This question for instance is 7 years old.

- check the version. This question for instance is about CS4.

- read the answers that have already been given 7 years ago.

L

Lutz_Pietschker

Participant

There is a function to simulate printing on coloured paper (it is in the document setup window). Would that help you? This simulates on-screen what the art would look like if printed on coloured paper. Of course, this simulated colour does not print.

_scott__

Legend

You simply cannot change the color of the pasteboard (the area around artboards) short of drawing rectangles and filling them with color.

Artboards can be colored in the Document set up dialog as others have posted.

W

Wade_Zimmerman1

Inspiring

Actually I think there i a way of selecting a slightly arker background that will not interfere with the artboard color.

Look in the preferance uner interface or something like that there may be a setting or perhaps in the document setup or the artboard tool settings.

I think you can.

What James suggest will chane the artboard color as well.

I was mistaken the color is a very light gray as it is and no way to change it.

JETalmageCorrect answer

Inspiring

There is no "canvas" in Illustrator. This is not a raster imaging program.

In Document Setup, Transparency pane, you can use the transparency grid as a fake "background" by setting both parts of the grid to the same color. Effectively, this makes the Illustrator window display as the color instead of white. But this is just an on-screen display, originally intended as a means to view transparency effects. It does not print. It is not the same thing you think of in terms of the "canvas color" in a raster program.

If you want your document to actually have a colored background, draw one. Get the Rectangle Tool and draw a large color-filled rectangle. Sent it to the back and lock it. Or put it on its own Layer and lock the Layer.

In Illustrator, you create and work with objects, not regions of different-colored pixels as in a raster program. If there is no object, there is no color, because there is nothing to which to apply the color.

JET

Corsarius

Participant

I don't know why people insist there is no canvas in illustrator. Zoom out, you'll see a border, try drawing something outside it and you'll get an error saying that it's outside the canvas. And it's not a mistake by a programmer: How to set up artboards in Illustrator

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