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How do I change the color of an image trace in Illustrator?

Published in Illustrator Graphics 3 mins read

To change the color of an Image Trace in Illustrator, you'll primarily work with recoloring the original image data and then adjusting the Image Trace settings. Here's the breakdown:

Recolor the Original Image

  1. Select the Image: Click on the image trace object you want to recolor.

  2. Access Recolor Artwork: Navigate to Edit > Edit Colors in the main menu. You will see several options for recoloring.

  3. Choose a Recolor Option: Select one of the available recoloring options. Some commonly used options include:

    • Recolor Artwork: This opens a dialog box that allows you to remap colors. You can drag colors around a color wheel to change them, or use the "Edit" tab to adjust the hue, saturation, and brightness of individual colors.
    • Adjust Color Balance: A simplified option to adjust RGB, CMYK, or grayscale values.
    • Convert to Grayscale: As the name suggests, it turns the image into grayscale.

  4. Adjust Colors: Use the controls in the selected recoloring option to adjust the colors as desired.

Adjust Image Trace Settings

  1. Open the Image Trace Panel: Go to Window > Image Trace.

  2. Choose the Color Mode: In the Image Trace panel, look for the "Mode" option.

  3. Select "Color": If you want the trace to use colors from the source image (after your recoloring), make sure "Color" is selected.

  4. Expand (if necessary): If you want to directly manipulate the individual vector paths and colors after tracing, click the "Expand" button in the Control panel or Object > Expand. This will convert the trace into editable vector shapes. Once expanded, you can select individual shapes with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and change their fill and stroke colors.

Important Considerations:

  • If the Image Trace mode is set to "Black and White" or "Grayscale," then the recoloring options are limited to those color modes. Changing to "Color" is crucial to apply the color edits made to the original image.
  • The "Expand" option is destructive. Once expanded, you are working with vector shapes, and you won't be able to adjust the Image Trace settings anymore. Duplicate the image trace before expanding if you want to preserve the original traced object.

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