I need a textured metal look fill in a shape

[maryr18]

Hello, I’m a Newbie.

I am using Illustrator CC to make a logo for myself in a new business. I need a textured metal look added to a shape I have created with the pen tool. I know how to fill a shape with color or a gradient but I need something different like brushed metal or rusty metal or even diamond plate. I don’t mind downloading a file and paying for it. I don’t have the skills, knowledge or time to create a texture myself. So far searching online I have only found “backgrounds”. Also, I need to be able to save this shape as a vector shape that I can move around to different spots within my logo depending on the size of the product I’m using it for.

I would greatly appreciate any instructions or links to tutorials and downloads. I am learning this from scratch and a lot of help from Tasty Tuts on YouTube. (Those tutorials are awesome!)

Please help!  Thanks!

[macpawel · Accepted solution]

Use any photo or bitmap image. It should be large image

Place this picture in Illustrator. Be sure to Embed picture.

Drag this image to Swatches Palette - this way you can make pattern of this bitmap file

Select your shape and select juste prepared pattern as a fill

You can also add some additional gradients or fills - just use Appereance Panel (Shift+F6) and add a new fill and use Multiply or Darken blend mode - to best results - it works fine!

pawel

[sishamIAGD]

You could try something like this..?

Texture fill patterns in Adobe Illustrator - YouTube

[macpawel]

Yes it works:

[maryr18]

Thanks for your answers. I will try both of these options and see what works best for me.

You know sometimes it’s just better to describe a problem and ask knowledgeable people for help than to search randomly online.

Thanks!

Mary

[Myra Ferguson]

You could also try making a graphic style. Because you already know how to add a gradient, you might make one that looks like metal or open your Swatches and use the flyout menu to go to Open Swatch Library > Gradients > Metals and find one you like. Use that as a fill then go to the Effect > Effect Gallery... and try out a combination of effects that give you the brushed metal look. I tried one using the gradient Pewter and applied the effects Accent Edges and Sprayed Strokes. When you find a combination you like, drag it to your Graphic Styles panel. Then you can apply it to your logo, letters, or whatever you like.

Using a graphic style might be better than a bitmap because you might run into problems resizing depending on the resolution of the bitmap. If you do use a bitmap, you could use Image Trace to get around the resolution problem.

[meganchi]

Here is a tutorial on making a diamond plate pattern

Illustrator Diamond Plate Pattern | The Design Playbook