Below is a tutorial I’ve written for creating a vector halftone in Adobe Illustrator. I also have a halftone tutorial for Photoshop here.

I start by making a linear gradient that fades from black to white.

Next, I rasterize my gradient. Go to Object > Rasterize.

A dialogue box pops up. Since I’m just going to use this object to trace over, I select 72 dpi.

With my rasterized gradient selected, I go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone.

A dialogue box will appear. Set the Max. Radius to 10 or another number. The lower the number, the smaller the dots. I kept my Screen Angles at 0, so my dot pattern wasn’t at an angle (this makes it easier to trace).

Here’s what my pattern looks like. Now it is time to trace.

I draw two red circles. One over the biggest dot on the end and another one on the smallest dot on the other end. Using the Align palette, I center align my dots vertically.

Next, I want to do a blend. Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options to set up your blend options.

A dialogue box will pop up. Set your Spacing to Specified Steps. The number of steps should be the number of black dots between your two red dots. I counted mine and had 22 dots.

Now you need to run the blend, so make sure your two red dots are selected. Go to Object > Blend > Make.

The blend creates several new dots between the two.

Since the blend creates a line of dots and not actual shapes, you’ll need to Flatten Transparency to convert them into shapes. Go to Object > Flatten Transparency.

A dialogue box will appear. Set the Raster/Vector balance to 100 and click OK.

Now your red dots are shapes.

Next, you’ll need to copy this row. Select all the dots and hold down the Option/Alt key and drag the dots down to line up with the next row.

You can repeat the copy you just made by going to Object >Transform > Transform Again or by using the keyboard shortcut for it: Command/Control D.

Keep hitting Command/Control D until you get to the bottom. Then, delete the raster dot pattern. Now, you have a vector halftone.

Below is a tutorial I’ve written about warping text in Adobe Illustrator. Feel free to check out my other tutorials here. Enjoy!

I start by using the Type Tool to write the text that I want.

Next, I Select my type and go to Type > Create Outlines. This turns my type from text to shapes. You don’t have to Create Outlines to run the Warp effects, so if you think you might edit your type, keep it editable.

With my text shapes selected, I go to Effect > Warp > Arch.

A dialogue box will pop up. Check the Preview box to see what your text will look like. Play around with the sliders and style until you get the distortion that you are looking for.

After you click OK, you’ll notice that it shows you the original text in blue guides and the warp effect in black text. If you are unhappy with the results, you can run the filter again and it will discard the current warp effect.

If you’re happy with the results, you can use the Flatten transparency to turn your text into shapes again. Go to Object > Flatten Transparency.

A dialogue box will appear. Set the Raster/Vector Balance slider to 100.

Now, you have warped text. Feel free run a second warp effect.

I’m not a huge fan of the autotrace feature in Adobe Illustrator. Mostly because I think it make the lines either too smooth or too sharp. You spend any time you saved using it cleaning up the messy lines. That being said, I’ve had a few success stories. Here’s a technique I used to add a pen and ink texture to my file.

I started with a file I drew using the Pen Tool in Illustrator. If you’re not familiar with drawing with the pen tool, I have cartoon tutorial here using the pen tool to trace a sketch.

I printed out my Illustrator file and drew in shading and wood texture with a sharpie. If you screw up the shading on the first shot, you can always print another file out to draw on top of. Next, I scanned the new inked drawing back in at 300 dpi. You may need to take your scan into Photoshop to tweak the Brightness and Contrast. After you get the contrast right, open your inked drawing in Illustrator.

Select the placed artwork and run Live Trace. I just used the default settings, but feel free to play with the settings.

Now, you have your inked sketch as a vector file. Illustrator seems to do a pretty good job at tracing its own work. If your outline is a little jagged, you can always take the original illustrator file and overlay it and use the Object > Path > Offset Path to cover any autotrace sloppiness.

Here is a simple tutorial for creating a burst or call out shape in Illustrator. Feel free to check out my other burst tutorial here.

Start by opening a new file.

Next, use the Ellipse Tool on the tool bar to make a circle. Holding down the shift key while you draw the circle will constrain it to a perfect circle instead of an oval.

With the circle still selected, go to Object > Path > Add Anchor Points. This will add extra points to the circle.

Repeat the Add Anchor Points step until you have the desired number of points. I did mine about three times.

Next, with the shape still selected, go to Filter > Distort > Pucker & Bloat.

A dialogue box will appear. Hit the Preview check box and play with the slider until you get the shape you want. That’s it!

Here is a simple tutorial for creating a halftone pattern in Photoshop. Feel free to check out my other tutorials here.

Start by opening a new file. Make sure you set the Color Mode to Grayscale.

Next, make a gradient shape that fades from black to white.

After that, convert the Color Mode from Grayscale to Bitmap.

This will prompt a few dialogue boxes. Feel free to play around with the settings.

That’s it.

I’ve got a halftone tutorial for Illustrator as well.