How to Crop Using Adobe Illustrator

Because Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based graphics program, you can't crop a photo in Illustrator the same way you can in Adobe Photoshop (which has a crop tool for working with bitmap/raster-based graphics). However, Adobe Illustrator is capable of creating vector masks, and with a clipping or transparency mask you can hide portions of an image you don't want to see. This has the same effect as a bitmap crop, and is very easy to do with Adobe Illustrator.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Using A Clipping Mask to Crop

1. 
   Figure 1 - Image File Opened

   Launch Adobe Illustrator and open your image file.

2. 
   Figure 2 - Shapes Tool

   Click a shapes tool, such as the rounded rectangle.

3. 
   Figure 3 - Shape on the Image

   Hold down the mouse button and drag to create a shape with the tool you selected.

4. 
   Figure 4 - The Arrow Tool

   Use the "Arrow" selection tool to position the shape object over the area of your image you want to be visible after the cropping.

5. Hold down the "Shift" key and click with the Arrow tool to select both the image object and the shape object.

6. 
   Figure 5 - Cropped Image

   Go to the "Object" menu and select "Clipping Mask" then "Make." The image is now cropped to the same size as the shape object.

Using an Opacity Mask to Crop

7. Open your image file.

8. 
   Figure 6 - The Transparency Panel

   Open the "Transparency Panel" on the right side of the screen.

9. 
   Figure 7 - Show Thumbnails

   Choose "Show Thumbnails," from the fly-out menu in the upper right of the Transparency title bar.

10. 
    FIgure 8 - Show Options

    Choose "Show Options," from that same fly-out menu.

11. 
    Figure 9 - Opacity Mask Thumbnail Added

    Use the Arrow tool to select your image in the main window, and choose "Make Opacity Mask" from the Transparency panel fly-out menu. A large white square will cover your image and a new thumbnail representing the opacity mask will appear in the Transparency panel.

12. Uncheck the box next to "Clip" and you'll see your image reappear on the screen.

13. Click on the Opacity Mask thumbnail in the Transparency panel.

14. Select one of the shape tools from the left-hand tool palette and drag a shape on your image that is equal to the crop you want to make.

15. 
    Figure 10 - Opacity Mask Applied

    Click to re-check the box next to "Clip" in the Transparency panel and your image will be clipped to the size of the shape you placed on top of it.

16. Click the Opacity Mask thumbnail in the Transparency panel to make changes to the mask, such as resizing it, or click the Image thumbnail to move the image around on the screen. The mask will move with it.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use a text object instead of a geometric shape as the mask for the image. The image will then be cropped into the shapes of the letters. You can apply effects, such as feathered edges, to a masked object. You can export the cropped Illustrator image as a JPEG/JPG image to make the crop permanent and reduce the file size.
• Be sure to click the correct thumbnail in the Transparency panel to make changes to either the image or the mask. It works similarly to Photoshop layers.

Resources

• Using Opacity Masks in Illustrator to Crop
• Clipping Masks in Illustrator
• Illustrator 101 - Opacity Masks