To open and use layer styles in Adobe Illustrator, you generally need to open a file that contains those styles, as Illustrator itself doesn't have layer styles in the same way Photoshop does. Here’s how you can access them:
Accessing Graphic Styles
Instead of layer styles, Illustrator uses Graphic Styles, which you can apply to your layers or objects. Here are the ways to access and utilize graphic styles:
Method 1: Opening Graphic Style Libraries
-
Go to the Window menu. In Illustrator, navigate to the
Windowmenu at the top of the screen. -
Select Graphic Style Libraries. From the
Windowmenu, findGraphic Styles Libraries. -
Choose Other Library. In the fly-out menu of
Graphic Styles Libraries, selectOther Library. -
Locate the .ai file. Navigate to where your Illustrator graphic style file (.ai) is located, then click open.
-
Graphic Styles Panel. The graphic styles from the selected file will appear as a separate panel named "Graphic Styles".
- You can then select an object and click on a style in the panel to apply it.
Method 2: Opening the .ai File
- Open the .ai file directly. You can also open the Illustrator file (.ai) containing the desired graphic styles as you would open any other Illustrator file.
- Access Graphic Styles. In this case, the styles in that file will be available in the standard Graphic Styles panel, often found docked on the right or in your main workspace panels.
- Apply the styles. Select any shape on your canvas and click any style shown in the Graphic Style Panel to apply it.
Key takeaways
- Illustrator does not have "layer styles" in the same way Photoshop does. It uses Graphic Styles instead.
- You need to load or open an .ai file containing graphic styles.
- You can use
Window > Graphic Style Libraries > Other Libraryto load the graphic styles from an external .ai file. Alternatively, you can open the .ai file directly. - Once loaded, the styles will appear in the Graphic Styles panel ready for you to apply them to shapes or text.
