How to steal colors from an image using Eye Dropper in Illustrator

Hey there, in this tutorial we're going to look at using the Eyedropper Tool in Illustrator to drive colors from the logos. So we're going to start with this black and white version of this postcard, then we're going to use the logos down here to drive the colors in these elements. Then we'll use the image to drive some of these colors in these various elements. All right, let's go and learn how to do that now in Illustrator.

To get started, go and open up the exercise file called 'Eyedropper.ai'. Grab your 'Black Arrow', and click in this box in the background. Then I want you to go and grab the 'Eyedropper Tool'. It's towards the bottom of the Tool panel. And we're going to steal from this logo first, we'll do the image next but if you click on-- you're using the kind of bottom left of this Eyedropper. You can see, I can click the purple, the green, the yellow. You can decide what you want to do. I'm going to end up with this kind of Teal color here. And I'm just going to work my way around, 'Black Arrow' click on this white box here. And I grab my 'Eyedropper Tool' again. I'm going to use the 'Yellow', and with my Black Arrow, I'm going to click on this text. I'm going to actually hold 'Shift' and click both bits of text. Now I've outlined this text just to make it easy for you. You probably don't have this font. It's just as easy if you have a font selected. I'm going to use the purple. I'm not proud of this color scheme, but you get the idea, right?

Let's say I want to do it differently. I don't want to use the image to drive the colors. It's a really nice way of connecting things, like these graphic elements to the image. And it's pretty basic, again, with the Black Arrow, I'm going to click on this green option here. I'm going to grab the 'Eyedropper Tool' and all I'm going to do is pick a color from here, just work my way around, decide. You can see, I can keep clicking till I find something that I like. I'm going to go for, there, something like that. I'm going to go through and do the rest of the options, but let's say I really love this color now, and I want to use it again and again because I don't want to randomly have to click in the images to try and find it again. What you can do, is you click on 'Fill' and at the moment it's not a pre-made Swatch, you can't see it in here. If you click on this option here, it says 'New Swatch', you can give it a name, I'm going to call this one 'Maynooth Furniture Gray'. Let's call it, maybe 'Gray Dark'. And I'm going to click 'OK'.

You'll see over here, now it's a Swatch that I get to reuse later on. So I can click off, and say, actually, instead of having to use the Eyedropper I can go to 'Properties' panel, and I can go to 'Fill', I can say, there you are, ready to use. I'm going to use that color, I'm going to do a couple of other things. I'm just going to color the rest of it basically, so I'm going to use a different color for this, maybe, I don’t know, I'm trying to decide. Now I'm just mucking about. Let's click on him. I might reuse that same one.

So 'Eyedropper Tool', I can turn it into a Swatch or just steal from the bottom here. And you, I might start using one of the browns, maybe a dark brown in here. What am I doing? Eyedropper Tool. Thank you, Dan. And click in here. It's a little bit hard because it's got outlines. Yes, I get the idea. With it selected, I'm going to add it to my Swatches so I can use it later on. I'm going to call this-- often I give it the initials of the company, this is Maynooth Furniture, right? MF. So I'm going to use-- I use the acronym at the beginning because I work on so many different brands that if I just called it Brown it's obviously not going to help me later on, so let's give it a special name. This one here, and you can move on to the next tutorial. I'm just going to do this. Awesome! That is going to be it for this tutorial. Let's jump in to the next one.