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Apr 26, 2024

How to Create a Dotted Line in Illustrator

By Lee StantonLee Stanton Author Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read

By Lee StantonLee Stanton Author Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read more• Edited by Evan GowerEvan Gower Editor With over a decade of experience in digital publishing. Evan leads our team with a keen eye for emerging tech trends. Read moreAugust 24, 2023

Have you been wondering about how to make dotted lines in Adobe Illustrator? It’s a useful skill in many applications like web, signage, and character designs. Thankfully, making dotted lines in Illustrator isn’t as difficult as it seems. It’s possible to download dotted lines through third-party applications or designer clip art sites. But unlike Illustrator, they don’t allow any tweaks in the design.

This guide will demonstrate how to create dotted lines in Illustrator. You’ll also learn the tools that’ll help you in the designing process.

You can use dotted lines to create outlines, custom brush stroke effects or highlight a design’s edge. They introduce dimensionality and texture to your artwork. Here’s how you can create a dotted line in Illustrator:

You can also use the Line or Pen tools to create the line. The Caps design element you choose determines the shape of the endpoint on the dashes. You can always play around with the values until you achieve the dotted-line design you’re going for.

Illustrator allows you to create a dotted line for any path design. The steps below will help you to use dotted lines on different shapes:

Remember that the value you assign a gap when making a dotted line in Illustrator should be at least two times the width measurement.

Once you know how to make dotted lines, you can explore this design further by applying different transformations. The default color setting for dotted lines is black. The steps below will help you change the color of your dotted line:

This section is helpful if you’ve been looking for a way to create dotted lines with curves. Here’s how you can achieve the contour design:

Illustrator provides useful tools to help you quickly make dotted lines. Some of the basic tools necessary for this design process are listed below:

You can use this tool to make circle shapes. You can find this tool in Illustrator’s left toolbar. It’s embedded within the “Rectangle Tool” menu. The shortcut key is (L).

Creating straight lines in Illustrator is made easy when using this element. It can be accessed via the left toolbar. The shortcut key is (\).

This panel provides various style options for Stroke design and customization. It’s embedded within the Appearance menu.

You can find this panel on Illustrator’s right panel. You can use the different brush settings on the panel that you can adjust to achieve your intended design.

All these tools work together to help you achieve the best-dotted line designs.

Yes. Using the eye dropper tool in Illustrator will help you duplicate dotted lines to other shapes. To use the tool, click on the dotted line while your new shape is selected, and it will be copied.

You’ll need to ensure that no element is locked on the layer panel and that you’ve selected the correct item. Also, check the Appearance panel to ensure that there aren’t too many Stroke styling options, as they can create interference.

Learning to create dotted lines is a great way to enhance your creative skills in Illustrator. Adding dotted lines can serve as a guide to other information in your artwork or as an attractive design element. And you can achieve it using the built-in tools in Illustrator. With a few tweaks to the dashed line, you can obtain the specific design effect you want. Remember, perfecting your dotted line may take a little practice, so be patient and allow for errors.

What type of designs do you expect to incorporate the dotted line? Is there another way to create a dotted line we haven’t covered? Let us know in the comments section below.

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