Illustrator is one of the many programs from Adobe. Illustrator has many features that graphic artists may find interesting. Illustrator is best for vector graphics and illustrations. Unlike Photoshop, Illustrator isn’t very good at photo manipulation and retouching. Illustrator is best for vector graphics and vector illustrations. In this post, we will show you how to remove the background of an image using Illustrator.

How to remove the background from an image in Illustrator

Illustrator may not be the best at photo editing, but it can do the job if you know how. There are two main ways to remove the background of an image in Illustrator. The method you will use will depend on the image. More complex images with more colors work best with the Pen Tool. Simple images with fewer colors are best for Image Trace. Both the Pen Tool method and the Image Trace method can be used on any image; however, some images will make one method easier than the other.

Remove Background with Image Trace Method in Illustrator

Open Illustrator and go to file then open or click Ctrl+O.

Navigate to the image with the background you want to remove. When you find it, click on it and press openor just double click it.

The image will open in Illustrator. Look around the image and see what method you will use to remove the background. Images with solid backgrounds are easier to remove. For this first image, the image trace method will be used.

Click on the image, then go to the top menu bar and find Image Trace. Click the dropdown arrow and select High Fidelity Photo.

Illustrator Trace has different mode options, here are the options for how you can use them and what to expect:

• High-Fidelity Photo and Low-Fidelity Photo – These options produce very detailed and slightly less detailed vector images, respectively. They are perfect for photographs or intricate artwork.
• 3 colors, 6 colors and 16 colors. These presets output vector images with three, six, or sixteen colors. These presets are ideal for logos or illustrations with lots of flat colors.
• Grayscale – This preset creates a detailed grayscale image.
• Black and White Logo – This preset creates a simple logo with two colors – black and white.
• Sketch drawing, silhouette, line art and technical drawing – these presets are best used for certain types of images and creating black and white drawings, mostly based on lines.

This example will use a High-Fidelity Photo as it is an image with high colors.

Press high-fidelity Photo and Illustrator will process the image.

If the image is large, a warning message will appear. you can click OK to continue the process, or click Cancel make the image smaller. After reducing the image, you can return to Image Trace.

When the process is complete, go to the top menu bar and click Expand. The image is now grouped into color shapes that are close to the original bitmap. To complete the process, you need to separate the colors so that you can edit and delete them. To do this, click on the image and click on Expand near traced result at the top of the window.

The image should look like the image above showing the paths. Depending on the complexity of the colors, your image may look the same or less vibrant. When the image is expanded, it allows colored shapes to be broken down into separate parts and outlines. The good thing about this image is that the background is solid so it will be easy to remove.

To be able to make changes to individual colors, you need to ungroup. The extension breaks them down and labels them so they are visible, while ungrouping them makes them individually editable. This will help when you are going to remove the background as it will be a color or group of colors that you can remove.

Once you’ve ungrouped the colors, you can click anywhere and you’ll see the selections. If you click and hit delete, you will see these colors disappear. Depending on the number of colors in your image, you will see small selections when you click. It’s also a way to change the color of an image, click each color, and then change the color from the color palette.

The background is solid color so it will be easy to remove, just click on it and then click delete. The background just disappeared.

You can save the file as a PNG so that the background doesn’t show up. Read the rest of the post to learn how to save it as a PNG.

Removing the Background of an Image with the Pen Tool in Illustrator

Open Illustrator and go to file then open or click Ctrl+O.

Navigate to the image with the background you want to remove. When you find it, click on it and press open, or just double click on it.

The image will open in Illustrator. Look around the image and see what method you will use to remove the background. Images with solid backgrounds are easier to remove. For this second image, the Pen Tool will be used to remove the background.

Go to the left toolbar and find the pen tool. The pen tool looks like a fountain pen. You can also click P to call the Pen Tool .

Zoom in or out on the image so you can see it correctly. You can go to view then Fit All In Window or click ctrl+0. you can click Ctrl + + increase or Ctrl+- to zoom out. Zoom in so you can see how convenient it is to use the pen tool.

Use pen tool outline the image in the foreground. Use pen tool, click a point, then move and click another point to create a connection. Make sure the connection is closed where you started.

To make sharp corners or sharp turns, click and drag to create handles so you can adjust to avoid sharp corners or sharp turns. These knobs are also useful for making fewer connections by increasing the length and then using the knobs to adjust to fit curves. Don’t worry if the connections and curves aren’t perfect, you can tweak them by adding new anchor points, deleting anchor points, or even using the Pencil or Smoothing Pencil tool to get them the way you want.

This is an image surrounded by the dots of the pen tool. They look close because I zoomed in to capture all the details with the pen tool, and now it’s zoomed out so I can take a screenshot.

To remove the background from an image, select all, then right-click and select Make Clipping Mask. You can also choose a background and hold Shift and select Pen Tool Path then right click and select Make Clipping Mask. The great thing about a clipping mask is that if you want to bring back the background, you can right-click and select Release Clipping Mask and the background will reappear.

This is an image with the background removed when the clipping mask was created.

You can also remove the image but leave the outline, and even add a stroke to make the outline visible. Go to the toolbar and select Direct Selection Tool then click on pen tool handles until they turn white, then click Remove. Click on them and go to the left toolbar and turn on stroke, then go to color palette right and choose a color. When you click, you will see a colored stroke in the shape of the image.

You can turn a path with the pen tool into a guide. This works similar to adding a stroke. The guide can be used to keep the outline while you add whatever you want to the outline of the image. This can also be used if you want to outline the shape using Pencil Tool.

3]Save as PNG

You can save your finished work as a PNG file. The PNG file is of high quality and supports transparent background.

To save as PNG, select File, then Export. An export window will appear. Write File Name if you want to change what is already there. From Save As Type press down arrow and select PNG then press Use Artboards then press Save.
PNG Options appears, make your choice. If you are saving for a web screen, you can choose Resolution 72 ppi. For higher quality, you can choose Medium of 150 ppi or High of 300 ppi. you can click other so you can paste your custom resolution.

From PNG you can also choose background color. presets transparent, white, And Black. You can also click other; a color palette will appear; you can choose the colors already available or use the slider to mix your own color.

How important is it to be able to remove the background of an image?

The background of an image can detract from the image if the background is too crowded, colorful, or cluttered. Removing the background can make the image stand out more because you can place it on a plain background. Removing the background can also help in cases where the image needs to look professional but the photographer had no choice but to capture the image with the background. The photographer can then use Illustrator to remove the background and then place a more suitable background.

What is the best method for removing a colorful background?

The Pen tool is best for removing a very colorful background because it easily isolates the subject of the image. If I mage Trace, then there will be a lot of work on selecting and removing colors from the background.

What is the advantage of the image trace option?

The advantage of the image trace option is that you can select colors and then change them to different colors. If the color is one solid color, you can select and delete it. You can also change the background to a solid color instead of removing it.

We hope this article helped you learn how to remove the background from an image in Illustrator. If you have any other questions, we will be happy to answer yours; please contact us in the section below. Don’t forget to share useguide.net with family and friends!