How to recreate this halftone effect?

[bekreider]

A long time ago this was made using a third party addon for Illustrator (Phantasm) by Astute Graphics. But since then they've changed their model to subscription only for their entire suite and you can't just choose addons to do.

For the life of me, I just cannot figure out how to do this in Illustrator without the addon. With Phantasm I can do a guassian blur and then I can turn it into vectorized dots. I understand there is a halftone option, but when I rasterize the guassian blur pixelate doesn't want to work at all. 

Could anyone walk me through a little bit of a step by step on what to do in this scenario?

[barbara_a]

Have you tried Effect > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Then Effect > Blur with a low blur setting?

[Jim_Rick6879]

Nice example — you can reproduce that soft, vector-looking halftone in Illustrator without Phantasm by rasterizing the blurred artwork, applying a halftone pixel effect, then vectorizing the result. Short, reliable workflow below (plus a Photoshop alternative if you prefer).

Illustrator step-by-step (recommended)

Set high raster resolution first
Effect → Document Raster Effects Settings… → set 300–600 ppi (higher = cleaner dots when traced).

Create the blur you want

Select the object/shape (or group) you want the halftone from.

Effect → Blur → Gaussian Blur… — set radius until you get the soft glow you want.

You’ll see a live preview.

Rasterize that blurred result

With the blurred object selected: Object → Rasterize…

Use the same resolution (300–600 ppi), Background: Transparent, Color Model RGB or CMYK as needed.

Apply the halftone (pixelate) effect

With the raster selected: Effect → Pixelate → Color Halftone…

Max Radius controls dot size (experiment: 4–20 px). Channel angles default are fine (45/75/90/60).

Preview to check dot size/shape.

(Optional) Expand Appearance

Object → Expand Appearance (keeps it as a raster appearance in Illustrator but expands the effect).

Vectorize the halftone (if you need vector dots)

Select the halftoned raster and open Window → Image Trace.

Choose Black and White mode (or Color if your halftone is colored).

Use a high Threshold (so dots are solid), set Paths high and Noise low (1). Toggle Preview and tweak until dots look right.

Click Expand to convert to vector shapes.

Ungroup / clean up as needed.

Tidy & style

You can recolor vector dots, add strokes, clip to shape, or apply blending modes just like regular vectors.

Quick Photoshop alternative (often easier for photo→halftone)

In Photoshop: blur (Filter → Blur → Gaussian Blur).

Convert to Bitmap using Image → Mode → Grayscale → Bitmap… and pick Halftone Screen (set frequency/angle/shape).

OR use Filter → Pixelate → Color Halftone… for CMYK-style dots.

Save/Place into Illustrator and Image Trace if you need vectors.

[Monika Gause]

Use the same template: a blurred black and white version, then use this: https://halftone.xoihazard.com