{"id":235616,"date":"2022-01-27T08:58:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T08:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meetanders.com\/?p=235616"},"modified":"2023-01-10T07:44:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T23:44:38","slug":"how-to-crop-image-on-adobe-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meetanders.com\/how-to-crop-image-on-adobe-illustrator\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Crop an Image in Adobe Illustrator in 3 Easy ways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you have to design any material for your content, chances are, you need to crop images or graphics. That can be chopping off areas of your material you don’t wish to show. There may be one way to crop in Microsoft Powerpoint or Canva. But how do you crop an image in Adobe Illustrator?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three ways you can use to crop in illustrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you crop your images, vector graphics, text, and more, you can either remove part of your item completely off from the artwork or only hide the items you’d like to cover, without removing any parts permanently. It may seem like you are cutting objects<\/a>, but cropping an image is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adobe Illustrator is flexible enough to help you with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this tutorial, I’m using Adobe Illustrator 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First method on how to crop an image in Adobe Illustrator using the Crop Image function<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first method on how to crop on illustrator is to use the “Crop Image” function. With this function, you can use it on images or photos only. This function can’t be applied to vector graphics or graphics that are editable using the pen tool in Illustrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can only be applied to images with formats like .eps, .jpg, .png, or rasterized versions. In other words, this function can only be applied to an image that is in one piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no way you can ungroup this one image into smaller individual parts like how a vector artwork can be separated into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alright, let’s get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Decide how you want your image to look in Illustrator<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this example, we will use this cute cat photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How
How to crop an image in adobe illustrator<\/em> with a photo of a very cute cat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this case, if you want to crop away more of the trees and not cut off any part of the cat, make sure the cat stays within the boundaries of the artboard or canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want more of the trees to be visible around the cat in the same artboard dimensions, you can shrink the size of the image. You can do that in the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Click on the image with the “Selection Tool”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Move your cursor to one corner of the image<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Press the “Shift” button on your keyboard and drag the corner at the same time to resize the image <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    How to shrink the size of your image<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Step 2: Click on the Selection Tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you’ve confirmed the size of your image you’d like to crop and what you wish to include in the image, it’s time to select this image that you want to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To be able to select the image, click the “Selection Tool”, which is the black solid arrow you see in the toolbar on the left side of your Illustrator software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Where to find “selection tool”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    If you can’t find the toolbar, go to “Window”, scroll down to “Toolbars” and click “Advanced”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Advanced toolbar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    On a Mac, I click the letter “v” on the keyboard to select the “Selection Tool”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now you will see your cursor changed to a bold black arrow like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Selection tool<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Step 3: Click on the image you want to crop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    With your selection tool selected, click on the image you’d like to crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your cursor becomes like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Selection tool with cursor changed to selecting the image<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Step 4: Go to “Object” and click “Crop Image”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Next, go to the menu bar on top and click “Object”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then click “Crop Image” in the dropdown menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Look for the function “Crop Image”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    A prompt will appear as shown below. Click “OK” to go to the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Notification when cropping image<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    What this prompt is saying is that Illustrator embeds your image after it’s cropped, but your original image file saved in your desktop is not cut up for real. But the image in your Illustrator file is cropped up and the original image size can’t be retrieved via Illustrator itself unless you import the original file back in again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 5: Adjust the cropping area<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once the prompt is gone, you will see a box made up of black dotted lines outlined around your image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can adjust the area you’d like to crop by moving the corners and sides of the box. See below to learn how to do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Adjust the area where you’d like to crop using the cropping tool<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Step 6: Click the “Apply” button to crop your image<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    After adjusting the box and area to crop your image, click the “Apply” button above your image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once you click “Apply”, you will only see the selected cropped image on your Illustrator artboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Click apply to crop your image<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The second method on how to crop an image in Adobe Illustrator using the Clipping Mask function<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes you don’t want to crop an image with regular shapes but with something irregular. In this case, the above method may not work to your advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is another way to crop your image on illustrator. This method is great for both vector graphics and raster images. Even if you want a regular shape cropped image, you can use this method too. The advantage is your original image will still be preserved within your Illustrator file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 1: Draw a shape on where you want to crop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    First, do this by clicking on the shape tool and select the shape you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Get the shape tool<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In this case, I\u2019d like to crop my image into a rectangular shape. If you\u2019d like it to be cropped to a circular shape, simply select the \u201cEllipse Tool\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Draw a rectangle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Add the shape you want on the part of the image where you\u2019d like to retain or keep. In other words, after cropping, anything outside the shape will disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019d like an irregular shape, you can select the \u201cPen Tool\u201d to draw up any shape you\u2019d like. Same as when adding the shape to the image, anything within the shape is what you want to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Step 2: Select both image and shape and make \u201cClipping Mask\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Next, make sure to select both the image and the shape. You can do this by clicking on the image, holding down the \u201cshift\u201d key on the keyboard and clicking on the shape at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Or, you can use the \u201cselection tool\u201d, click on the dark grey area outside the image and slide across both image and shape. Like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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