One of the questions that I get asked about a lot when I'm teaching Adobe Illustrator is, how do I add multiple strokes to an object? There's a lot of ways that you can actually do it; there's ways to fake it, and there's ways to actually do it. In this movie, I'm going to be walking you through, step by step, how to add two or more strokes to an object. It's pretty easy, and once you know this little secret, by using the Appearance panel, you will be amazed that you have never been able to do this before. The first thing I am going to do is make sure the Appearance panel is somewhere where I can see it. If you don't have the Appearance panel open, you can drag it out from the panels on the right, or you can hit Shift+F6 to make sure that it's up on your screen.
Once I do that, I am going to choose artwork that I want to add the stroke to. In this case, it's the circle in the background here. So I am going to zoom in a little bit, so we can see this, and I will temporarily hold down the Spacebar key, and position this right in the center of my screen. I am then going to target the circle in the background, and I notice here that when I select it, the Appearance panel tells me that this is actually part of a group. That's one of the handy things about the Appearance panel; it's always going to tell you what you have selected. Now by clicking on this, to me, it looks like I've just selected the circle, but apparently, it's grouped with some other objects.
So I need to go into Isolation mode to get in there. I will double-click, and then I will click the circle. Once I see that the fill color has changed that blue, and also that it says path here in the Appearance panel, I know that I've got just the circle selected, and that's what I wanted. So if you can learn to read the Appearance panel, like I just did there, it's going to go a long way to helping you get the right object each and every time. I am going to scroll down here. I am going to resize the panel here, so we can see everything that's going on, and I am also going to go to the Stroke.
When I target the stroke, I can drop is down, and I can add a stroke to it. I am going to start off by adding a blue stroke. When I do that, it might be kind of hard to see, but I will increase the size a little bit, like so. Once I do that, I now want to add another stroke to it. So I will come down here to the bottom left corner, and I will add a new stroke. The new stroke is right here, and I can now change the way this stroke looks and feels.
First thing I am going to do is change the color. I want this one to be white. Watch what happens when I do this, though. My other stroke seemingly disappears, right? That's because they're both in the exact same position on the path. I have to change the positioning of the stroke in order to make it look like there are two. So I'll come right here to this little link that says Stroke. I will click that, and it opens up the stroke panel. In the Align Stroke section of this dialog box, I can pick which way I want the stroke to go. In this case, I am going to align the stroke to the inside.
When I do that, you'll see the old stroke on the outside. Then I will come back over here, and I'll click Stroke again to close the panel. If I want the original stroke to be the most dominating part of this, I can actually have it overlap the other stroke by clicking, and dragging it up. So I will target it, click, and drag it up there. Once I do that, I've now got a double stroke. I can add as many of these as I want. For instance, I might want to add one more to the outside. So I will come down here, add another new stroke; this time I will make this one a black stroke.
I will increase the weight just a little bit, and then I will drag it down beneath both of them. Once I do that, you'll still see it's on the outside, but I may need to increase the size just a little bit more; something like 10. Then I will click away, and if I want to exit Isolation mode, I will double-click. Now let's zoom out. As you can see, I have completely changed the look and the feel of this particular object, simply by adding in multiple strokes.
It's nothing special; it's just three new attributes that I have added inside of the Appearance panel, but there's a lot of people that would have gone out and created three different circles in order to achieve this effect. However, by utilizing the Appearance panel, you're able to create this on one object by just using these three separate attributes. So the next time your project calls for something like this, you'll know exactly how to do it, and how to maneuver the strokes to get the exact look that you want.
Author
Updated
10/13/2014Released
6/17/2013First, author Justin Seeley explains the basic elements that make up vector graphics—paths, strokes, and fills—and shows how to use each of the program's powerful drawing tools. Then he shows how to create documents and liven up a project with color, plus build complex shapes from simple paths and trace bitmap images and line art. The course also explores the benefits of using layers and symbols, and shows how to edit text, draw in perspective, and much more. The final chapter explains how to output your work in several formats and use Illustrator files in Photoshop and InDesign.
- Understanding vector graphics
- Creating documents for different contexts
- Organizing artwork with rulers, guides, and grids
- Making detailed selections
- Resizing, rotating, and transforming objects
- Creating swatches and color libraries
- Working with fills and strokes
- Using the Shape Builder and Image Trace features
- Drawing and editing paths
- Understanding the difference between point and area type
- Adjusting the appearance of artwork with live effects
- Printing, saving, and exporting artwork
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Q: This course was updated on 6/18/2014. What changed?
A: We revised chapters covering paths, working with type, and the Pen tool. These updates reflect changes to the Pen and Pencil tool behavior in the June 2014 update to Illustrator CC. These tools now offer greater fidelity and previews. We also added one new video, "Packaging your artwork for commercial print," which covers the enhanced packaging workflow.
Q: This course was updated on 10/13/2014. What changed?
A: We added tutorials to cover the most exciting changes to Illustrator CC 2014: the Join and Curvature tools and the all-new Design Libraries. These new movies are marked with the "(CC 2014.1)" tag.
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Adobe Illustrator
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What is Illustrator?1m 14s
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Introduction
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Welcome59s
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1. Getting Started
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Setting preferences8m 12s
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Touring the interface6m 37s
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Exploring the panels3m 18s
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2. Working with Documents
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Creating files for print3m 24s
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Creating files for the web3m 29s
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Navigating within a document5m 21s
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Using preview modes3m 10s
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Locking and hiding artwork3m 43s
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Creating and using artboards7m 44s
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3. Selecting and Transforming Objects
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Using the Magic Wand tool5m 45s
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Using the Lasso tool4m 9s
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Grouping objects3m 7s
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Using isolation mode4m 48s
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Resizing your artwork3m 55s
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Rotating objects2m 10s
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4. Working with Color
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RGB vs. CMYK1m 46s
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Creating spot colors3m 40s
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Using the swatch groups2m 33s
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Working with color libraries3m 17s
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Importing swatches4m 4s
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Using the Color Guide panel3m 51s
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5. Working with Fills and Strokes
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Working with fills4m 58s
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Working with strokes8m 46s
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Using width profiles3m 31s
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Outlining strokes2m 5s
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6. Working with Paths
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Understanding paths2m 34s
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Understanding anchor points3m 43s
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Open and closed paths4m 21s
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Joining and averaging paths3m 57s
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7. Creating Shapes
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Understanding drawing modes4m 23s
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Creating compound paths5m 15s
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Creating compound shapes4m 11s
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8. Don't Be Afraid of the Pen Tool
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Exploring the Pen tool2m 53s
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Drawing straight lines4m 33s
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Drawing simple curves3m 26s
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9. Using Type in Illustrator
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Adjusting your type settings6m 22s
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Creating point and area text2m 54s
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Basic text editing2m 30s
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Creating threaded text3m 44s
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Creating text on a path4m 22s
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Converting text into paths2m 20s
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Using Typekit desktop fonts2m 54s
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10. Adjusting Appearance
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Applying multiple fills3m 1s
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Applying multiple strokes4m 20s
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11. Working with Layers
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Exploring the Layers panel4m 18s
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Creating and editing layers3m 27s
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Using the Layers panel menu2m 42s
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12. Working with Images
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Working with the Links panel3m 37s
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Cropping images with a mask2m 56s
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Tracing photographs7m 29s
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Tracing line art3m 48s
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Converting pixels to paths2m 39s
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13. Creating and Using Symbols
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What are symbols?2m 45s
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Using prebuilt symbols3m 3s
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Using the Symbol Sprayer4m 19s
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Creating new symbols3m 50s
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Breaking the symbol link3m 19s
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Redefining symbols2m 5s
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14. Drawing in Perspective
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Defining a perspective grid4m 29s
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Applying artwork to the grid3m 51s
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15. Printing, Saving, and Exporting
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Printing your artwork3m 58s
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Saving your artwork1m 31s
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Saving templates4m 19s
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Creating PDF files5m 23s
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Saving for the web4m 46s
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Conclusion
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Goodbye1m 12s
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Video: Applying multiple strokes