To change all instances of one specific color to another specific color in Adobe Illustrator, the most powerful tool is the Recolor Artwork feature.
The Recolor Artwork dialog box is Illustrator's primary tool for comprehensive color adjustments across selected artwork. It allows you to change colors based on relationships, themes, or by directly mapping old colors to new ones.
Steps to Recolor Artwork
Follow these steps to change colors effectively using Recolor Artwork:
- Select Artwork: Begin by selecting the objects containing the color(s) you want to change. This can be a single object, a group, or your entire illustration.
- Open Recolor Artwork: With your artwork selected, click the Recolor button in the Properties panel on the right side of your screen. This action opens the Recolor Artwork dialog box.
- Utilize the Dialog: The dialog box presents various options for manipulating colors.
Recolor Artwork Dialog Features
Within the Recolor Artwork dialog, you have powerful controls:
- Mapping Specific Colors (Assign Mode): In the "Assign" section (often the default view or easily accessible tab), you'll see a list of "Original" colors present in your selected artwork. Next to each original color, there's a "New" color slot. Click on the "New" color swatch corresponding to the "Original" color you want to change. This allows you to select a new specific color from your swatches, color picker, or libraries. By doing this for a particular original color, you effectively change all instances of that original color in your selection to the new color you choose.
- Color Wheel Adjustments (Edit Mode): The "Edit" section often features a color wheel. Drag one color handle in the color wheel to edit them all. This specific function allows you to adjust the hues and saturations of all colors in your artwork simultaneously, based on their relationship on the wheel. This is useful for shifting the overall color palette or creating harmonious variations, rather than changing one specific color to another specific color instance.
When to Use Recolor Artwork
The Recolor Artwork tool is ideal for various tasks:
- Updating brand colors across a design.
- Creating different color versions of the same illustration.
- Experimenting with color palettes.
- Globally changing a specific color throughout complex artwork.
Using the "Assign" section to map specific original colors to new ones is the most direct way to fulfill the task of changing "all one color to another." The color wheel functionality, while powerful and part of the tool, serves a different purpose of adjusting the overall palette relationally.
