Making objects look hand-sketched


    The Scribble effect lets you create a broad range of looks, from objects that look roughly sketched to objects that look mechanically produced. The effect converts an object's fill and stroke colors to lines of color. The effect options let you control the angle, path overlap, stroke width, curviness, spacing, and variation of the lines.

    Illustration of comparison of Scribble effect settings with these callouts: A. Original artwork B. Customized Swash settings C. Customized Sketch settings
    Comparison of Scribble effect settings A. Original artwork B. Customized Swash settings C. Customized Sketch settings

To apply the Scribble effect:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To apply the effect to an object or group, select the object or group.
    • To apply the effect to a layer, click the layer's target icon in the Layers palette.
    • To apply the effect to a specific object attribute, such as a stroke or fill, select the object, and then select the attribute in the Appearance palette.
    • To apply the effect to a graphic style, select a graphic style in the Graphic Styles palette.
  2. Choose Effect > Stylize > Scribble.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • To use a preset scribble setting, choose one from the pop-up menu.
    • To create a custom scribble effect, begin with any settings or presets, and then change any of the following steps.
  4. To control the line direction, set the Angle value. You can click any point on the angle icon, drag the angle line around the angle icon, or enter a value between -179 and 180 in the text box. (If you enter a value that's outside that range, the value is translated to its equivalent in-range value.)
  5. You can set any of the following options by dragging an option's slider or entering a value in an option's text box:
    • Path Overlap controls the amount the scribble lines stay within or extend beyond the path boundaries. A negative value constrains the scribble lines within the path boundary and a positive value extends the scribble lines beyond the path boundary.
    • Variation (adjacent to Path Overlap) controls the lengths of the difference in scribble line lengths relative to each other.
    • Stroke Width controls the width of the scribble lines.
    • Curviness controls the amount the scribble lines curve before they reverse direction.
    • Variation (adjacent to Curviness) controls how different the scribble line curves are relative to each other.
    • Spacing controls the amount of space between scribble line folds.
    • Variation (adjacent to Spacing) controls how different the amount of space is between scribble line folds.
    • To preview the effect, select Preview.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Tip iconTo modify an object's Scribble effect, select the object, and then double-click the Scribble effect in the Appearance palette. (See Modifying and removing appearance attributes.)