How do you make a dot grid pattern in Illustrator?

Creating a dot grid pattern in Adobe Illustrator involves designing a single dot and then using the software's built-in pattern creation tool to replicate it in a grid layout. It's a straightforward process perfect for backgrounds, textures, or guides.

Steps to Create a Dot Grid Pattern

Here's a step-by-step guide to making your own dot grid pattern:

1. Create the Base Dot:

   • Start by drawing a small circle. You can use the Ellipse Tool (L).
   • Click and drag while holding Shift to create a perfect circle.
   • Give it a fill color and optionally remove the stroke. This will be the dot in your grid. As the reference notes, "So we can see this is our little dot over here it's very small."

2. Define the Pattern:

   • Select the small dot you created.
   • Go to the top menu: Object > Pattern > Make. This step is specifically mentioned in the reference: "So now to create our DOT grid I'm going to go object then pattern and make."
   • Illustrator will open the Pattern Options panel and take you into pattern editing mode. A dialog box may appear warning you that the new pattern has been added to the Swatches panel; click OK.
   • You can name your pattern in the Pattern Options panel. The reference shows the pattern being named "DOT grid".

3. Adjust Grid Settings:

   • Within the Pattern Options panel, you'll see various settings to control how your dot is repeated.
   • Choose a Tile Type: For a standard dot grid, Grid is the most common choice.
   • Adjust the Width and Height values. These control the spacing between your dots. Increasing the values will increase the space, making the grid more spread out. Decreasing them will make it denser.
   • Use the Copies setting (e.g., 5x5, 7x7) to see a larger preview of your pattern.
   • You can also adjust other options like Overlap if needed, but for a simple grid, the default overlap settings usually work fine.

4. Save and Exit:

   • Once you are happy with the preview and spacing of your dot grid, click the Done button at the top of the document window (or press Esc).
   • This saves the pattern to your Swatches panel.

Using Your Dot Grid Pattern

After saving, your new dot grid pattern is ready to use:

• Draw any shape (e.g., a rectangle, ellipse, or custom path).
• With the shape selected, click on your new dot grid pattern swatch in the Swatches panel.
• The shape will be filled with your repeatable dot grid.

You can further modify the appearance of the pattern within the filled shape using tools like the Scale tool (by double-clicking it and unchecking "Transform Objects" while "Transform Patterns" is checked) or by adjusting fill opacity.

This process allows you to easily create a consistent and scalable dot grid design for any project in Illustrator.