How to Make a Live Halftone Text Effect in Illustrator

Illustrator Text Effects

Halftone effects, known for their characteristic dotted patterns, are a staple in vintage and pop art designs and often used by many different designers on their works. By applying this technique to text, you can achieve a striking, retro-inspired look that stands out in posters, advertisements, and digital graphics. So today, I will show you a very easy method to make a Live Halftone Effect in Illustrator, in less than 5 minutes, using only the default Illustrator tools and with the ability to change the halftone position even after the effect was made.

Step 1

Open Illustrator and make a new file at any size you want. In this case, I will make mine at 1800 x 1200 px.

Step 2

Select the Type Tool (T) and write your text. Here I will simply type the letter "M" for you to better see the effect, but you can type any text you want.

Step 3

With the text selected, go to Window > Appearance.

Step 4

Click on the "Add New Fill" icon and set the new Fill color to any color you want. In this case, I will set mine to Yellow.

Step 5

Drag the Fill layer above the Stroke layer.

Step 6

Set the Stroke to about 15pt at any color you want. Here I will set mine to Black.

Step 7

Select the Fill layer and then click again in the "Add New Fill" icon.

Step 8

Set the new fill to "White, Black" gradient.

Step 9

Click on the "Add New Effect" icon, and from the dropdown menu select Pixelate > Color Halftone.

Step 10

Apply the following settings and click OK.

Step 11

Click on "Opacity" and set the Blending Mode to "Color Burn".

Step 12

With the Gradient Fill layer selected, select the Gradient Tool (G).

Step 13

Click and drag the right anchor point to rotate the gradient at any position you want. In this case, I will set mine from top to bottom.

Step 14

With the effect finished, you can now click and drag the White, Black and Midpoint control points to any location you want and set your halftone exactly the way you want it.

Some Final Notes

Now that you know how to make a Live Halftone Effect in Illustrator, you can edit your text as you normally do in Illustrator, change the position of the halftone and the text color simply by changing the fill in the Appearance Panel.