Remove Backgrounds in Adobe Illustrator

To remove the background from an image in Adobe Illustrator, use the Pen or the Magic Wand tool to outline the foreground object. Then, right-click the image and select “Make Clipping Mask”. From here it's easy to "remove" the background and incorporate your image into websites or other creative projects. Learn how to use Illustrator’s tools to remove the background from photographs and logos, make backgrounds transparent, and how to save your newly created image.

Steps

Pen Tool

1. Open your image in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Press Z to launch the Zoom tool. To remove the background of an image from a photograph, you’ll have to create a precise outline around the part of the photo you wish to preserve. Using the Zoom tool is the best way to get that level of precision.
   • If the image you’re working with is simpler, like a single shape or outline,
3. Press ⌘ Cmd+Space (Mac) or Ctrl+Space (PC) to zoom in.
4. Press P to select the Pen tool. This tool allows you to select an object by creating an outline with a series of clicks. Each click will drop one “anchor point.” As additional anchor points are dropped, a line will appear, connecting the new point to its predecessor.
   • You can also select this tool by clicking the fountain pen icon in the toolbar.
5. Click once on the edge of the foreground object to drop the first anchor point. The end goal is to surround the foreground object (from which you’ll be removing the background) with an outline built from these anchor points.
6. Click around the edge of the object to create the outline until you’ve reached your first anchor point. Click along the entire outline of the foreground object until you’ve come back to where you started. Stay as close to the edge as possible—Illustrator will do its best to correct your clicks for accuracy.
   • You can press the Space key to move the image so that off-screen areas become visible. This will be helpful if you’re zoomed in far enough that you can’t see the entire image. The cursor will turn into a small hand—use it to drag the image in any direction, bringing other areas into view without breaking the continuity of the Pen tool outline.
7. Click the first anchor point (again) to complete the outline. The object is now completely surrounded by a dotted outline.
8. Click the Select tool to show all objects. The part of the image you outlined is now considered an object of its own. Both the newly selected object and its background will now have selection outlines (usually a blue line) around them.
9. Click the foreground object once, then hold ⇧ Shift as you click the background. This will select both objects at once.
10. Right-click (or Ctrl+click) the foreground object, then select “Make Clipping Mask”. This will make the background turn white. Now, the foreground object you outlined with the pen tool really stands out.
    • Having a solid white background makes it easy to change the background color.
11. Remove the white background to make it transparent. If you want to save only the foreground image with no background at all, press Y to switch to the Magic Wand tool, then click on the white background. Now, press Del.
12. Save your image as a .EPS for use in page layout or design software. The .EPS format is widely used in almost all graphic applications and word processing programs. Click “File,” then “Save as, ” and then choose “Illustrator EPS (*.EPS)” from the File Format drop-down. Type a name for your file, then click “Save.”
    • If you made the background transparent, it will still be transparent when saved in this format.
13. Save your image as a .PNG for the web. PNG files are high-quality web images that support transparent backgrounds. This file type works best for photos, as they can support up to 16 million colors.
    • Click “File,” then “Save for web.” In the resulting dialog box, select “PNG-24” from the drop-down, then place a check in the box next to “Transparency” if you have a transparent background. Click “Save,” choose a save location, then click “Save” once more.
    • For a smaller file with fewer colors, you can select “.GIF” from the menu instead of “.PNG-24”. Images saved in this format will load faster on the web, but many not appear as crisp.

Magic Wand Tool

1. Determine whether the Magic Wand tool will work for your image. Because the Magic Wand tool uses color or stroke (line width) to “magically” outline a selection with a single click, this method works best for images where the background sharply contrasts an object.
   • For example, if the image is a solid black star on a checkerboard background, you can use the Magic Wand tool to get rid of the background.
   • If your image has many colors, such as a photograph,
2. Double-click the Magic Wand tool in the left toolbar to launch the Magic Wand panel. The tool looks like a wand with sparks shooting from its top. This panel is where you’ll define which areas of the image will be selected when you click the Magic Wand on your object.
3. Select “Fill Color” if the object you wish to isolate is a solid color. With this option selected, clicking an object with the Magic Wand tool will select everything in your image that matches the fill color of where you clicked.
   • For example, clicking the Magic Wand tool on a pink triangle on a purple background will select only the pink triangle. If there are multiple pink shapes on the purple background, all pink shapes will be selected.
   • Additionally, if there are more than one object in the image that matches this color, all of them will be selected when you click the color anywhere on the image.
4. Select “Stroke Color” if the object you want to select is surrounded by a specific color line. Stroke Color refers to the color of the line surrounding an object, whereas Fill Color is the area inside of the line. If you use Stroke Color as your parameter, you will click the line around the object to define the color, not the inside of the object.
   • For example, if you are stripping the background from a red circle that has a blue outline, use “Stroke Color” so the blue line will be included in your selection.
   • When you click the Magic Wand tool on a certain color line with this parameter chosen, all objects with that line color around them will be selected.
5. Enter a number in pixels (0-255 for RGB color, 0-100 for CMYK) in the “tolerance” box if you choose either “Fill Color” or “Stroke Color” as your parameter. The tolerance number affects how flexible (or tolerant) the tool should be when matching all of the colors to the area where you click the Magic Wand tool.
   • The default is 32px, which means clicking a single color will select everything that matches that color, plus extremely slight variations of that color (within 32 px).
   • If the object has a gradient, you can increase the tolerance to additional colors to be selected.
   • For most objects, the default is fine.
6. Select “Stroke Weight” to select lines of any color that are all the same weight. This will select all lines that are the same thickness as the one you select.
7. Enter a number between 0-1000 (pixels) in the “tolerance” box if you choose “Stroke Weight” as your parameter. A lower number indicates a more precise match. Meaning, if you click a 10px line with a tolerance of 0, the tool will only select lines that are exactly 10px.
   • The default is set to 5px, which is likely not specific enough for thinner lines. If you find that the default option is selecting more lines than you’d like it to, change the tolerance to 0.
8. Click the object on the image you want to keep. Click once on the object in the foreground to select it based on the criteria specified in the Magic Wand settings. Once you’ve clicked the object, a dotted outline will appear around the selection.
   • If the selected area isn’t what you were expecting, press ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+A (Mac) or Ctrl+⇧ Shift+A (Windows) to deselect. Then, return to the Magic Wand panel to adjust the parameters and try again.
9. Press the ⇧ Shift key and click the background. This action will select both the foreground object and the background at the same time.
10. Right-click (or Ctrl+click) the foreground image, then select “Make Clipping Mask”. This action will immediately delete the background, leaving only the foreground image and a white background.
11. Remove the background by making it transparent. Press Y to select the Magic Wand tool (no need to launch the panel this time), click the white background once, then press Del.
12. Save your image as a .EPS for use in page layout or design software. The .EPS format supports transparent backgrounds and is widely used in almost all graphic applications and word processing programs. Click “File,” then “Save as,” then choose “Illustrator EPS (*.EPS)” from the File Format drop-down. Type a name for your file, then click “Save.”
13. Save your image as a .GIF for the web. GIF files are known for their quick loading times and ability to support transparent backgrounds. Unless you’re using a vivid photo, saving as a GIF is the best option.
    • Click “File,” then “Save for web”. Choose “GIF” as the preset, and place a check in the “transparency” box if your background is transparent. Click “Save,” enter a filename and location for your image, then click “Save” once more.
    • If your image contains more colors than the GIF’s maximum of 256 (for example, a photograph), choose “PNG-24” instead of GIF. This will save your file as a .PNG file, which is widely compatible with most internet applications. Place a check next to “Transparency” if you have a transparent background. Click “Save,” choose a save location, then click “Save” once more.

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