“Filling” Type with an Image

CATEGORIES: Design Tip of the Day, Illustrator | Jeff Witchel | December 13, 2006

In InDesign, you can use Type as a Frame and Place an image into it, by first converting the Type to Outline (Type > Create Outlines) and then Placing the image into the Outlined Type. Is there an easy way to do something similar in Illustrator? Yes, but because images are NOT Placed in Frames, it’s done differently in Illustrator.

Place your image in Illustrator (File > Place) and then type your text in a large size in front of the image using a bold, san serif typeface. Select both the image and the “live” type that’s in front of it and go to Object Clipping Mask > Make. You’ll notice that you do not need to convert the Type to Outline first. You can, but it complicates the process by adding more steps.

Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Certified Adobe® Training Provider.

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