Transparency panel overview, Show all options in the transparency panel, View transparency in artwork – Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 User Manual
Page 216: Change the opacity of artwork
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Painting
Last updated 6/5/2015
For a video on working with transparency, se
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Transparency panel overview
You use the Transparency panel (Window > Transparency) to specify the opacity and blending mode of objects, to
create opacity masks, or to knock out a portion of one object with the overlying portion of a transparent object.
Show all options in the Transparency panel
❖
Choose Show Options from the panel menu.
Show a thumbnail of the selected object in the Transparency panel
❖
Choose Show Thumbnail from the panel menu. Or, click the double triangle on the panel’s tab to cycle through the
display sizes.
View transparency in artwork
It’s important to be aware of when you’re using transparency, because you need to set some extra options when printing
and saving transparent artwork. To view transparency in your artwork, display a checkered background grid to identify
transparent areas of your artwork.
1
Choose View > Show Transparency Grid.
2
(Optional) Choose File > Document Setup, and set transparency grid options.
Note: You can also change the artboard color to simulate what your artwork will look like if printed on colored paper.
Change the opacity of artwork
You can change the opacity of a single object, the opacity of all objects in a group or layer, or the opacity of an object’s
fill or stroke.
1
Select an object or group (or target a layer in the Layers panel).
If you want to change the opacity of a fill or stroke, select the object, and then select the fill or stroke in the
Appearance panel.
2
Set the Opacity option in the Transparency panel or Control panel.
To select all objects that use a specific opacity, select an object with that opacity, or deselect everything and enter the
opacity value in the Transparency panel. Then choose Select > Same > Opacity.
If you select multiple objects in a layer and change the opacity setting, the transparency of overlapping areas of the
selected objects will change relative to the other objects and show an accumulated opacity. In contrast, if you target
a layer or group and then change the opacity, the objects in the layer or group are treated as a single object. Only
objects outside and below the layer or group are visible through the transparent objects. If an object is moved into
the layer or group, it takes on the layer’s or group’s opacity, and if an object is moved outside, it doesn’t retain the
opacity.