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Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop

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  1. Illustrator User Guide
  2. Get to know Illustrator
    1. Introduction to Illustrator
      1. What's new in Illustrator
      2. Common questions
      3. Illustrator system requirements
      4. Illustrator for Apple silicon
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
      3. Create documents
      4. Toolbar
      5. Default keyboard shortcuts
      6. Customize keyboard shortcuts
      7. Introduction to artboards
      8. Manage artboards
      9. Customize the workspace
      10. Properties panel
      11. Set preferences
      12. Touch Workspace
      13. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
      14. Undo edits and manage design history
      15. Rotate view
      16. Rulers, grids, and guides
      17. Accessibility in Illustrator
      18. Safe Mode
      19. View artwork
      20. Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
      21. Files and templates
    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Tools at a glance
      2. Select tools
        1. Selection
        2. Direct Selection
        3. Group Selection
        4. Magic Wand
        5. Lasso
        6. Artboard
      3. Navigate tools
        1. Hand
        2. Rotate View
        3. Zoom
      4. Paint tools
        1. Gradient
        2. Mesh
        3. Shape Builder
      5. Text tools
        1. Type
        2. Type on a Path
        3. Vertical Type
      6. Draw tools
        1. Pen
        2. Add Anchor Point
        3. Delete Anchor Point
        4. Anchor Point
        5. Curvature
        6. Line Segment
        7. Rectangle
        8. Rounded Rectangle
        9. Ellipse
        10. Polygon
        11. Star
        12. Paintbrush
        13. Blob Brush
        14. Pencil
        15. Shaper
        16. Slice
      7. Modify tools
        1. Rotate
        2. Reflect
        3. Scale
        4. Shear
        5. Width
        6. Free Transform
        7. Eyedropper
        8. Blend
        9. Eraser
        10. Scissors
    4. Quick actions
      1. Retro text
      2. Neon glow text
      3. Old school text
      4. Recolor
      5. Convert sketch to vector
  3. Illustrator on the iPad
    1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
      1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
      2. Illustrator on the iPad FAQs
      3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
      4. What you can or cannot do on Illustrator on the iPad
    2. Workspace
      1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
      2. Touch shortcuts and gestures
      3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
      4. Manage your app settings
    3. Documents
      1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
      2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
    4. Select and arrange objects
      1. Create repeat objects
      2. Blend objects
    5. Drawing
      1. Draw and edit paths
      2. Draw and edit shapes
    6. Type
      1. Work with type and fonts
      2. Create text designs along a path
      3. Add your own fonts
    7. Work with images
      1. Vectorize raster images
    8. Color
      1. Apply colors and gradients
  4. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Share documents for review
      4. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      5. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  5. Add and edit content
    1. Drawing
      1. Drawing basics
      2. Edit paths
      3. Draw pixel-perfect art
      4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
      5. Draw simple lines and shapes
      6. Draw rectangular and polar grids
      7. Draw and edit flares
      8. Image Trace
      9. Simplify a path
      10. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      11. Adjust path segments
      12. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      13. Create and edit a perspective grid
      14. Draw and modify objects on a perspective grid
      15. Use objects as symbols for repeat use
      16. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
    2. 3D objects and materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Map artwork over 3D objects
      4. Create 3D Text
      5. Create 3D objects
    3. Color
      1. About color
      2. Select colors
      3. Use and create swatches
      4. Adjust colors
      5. Use the Adobe Color Themes panel
      6. Color groups (harmonies)
      7. Color Themes panel
      8. Recolor your artwork in seconds using a simple text prompt
      9. Recolor your artwork
    4. Painting
      1. About painting
      2. Paint with fills and strokes
      3. Live Paint groups
      4. Gradients
      5. Brushes
      6. Transparency and blending modes
      7. Apply stroke on an object
      8. Create and edit patterns
      9. Meshes
      10. Patterns
    5. Select and arrange objects
      1. Select objects
      2. Layers
      3. Group and expand objects
      4. Move, align, and distribute objects
      5. Stack objects    
      6. Lock, hide, and delete objects
      7. Copy and duplicate objects
      8. Rotate and reflect objects
      9. Intertwine objects
    6. Reshape objects
      1. Crop images
      2. Transform objects
      3. Combine objects
      4. Cut, divide, and trim objects
      5. Puppet Warp
      6. Scale, shear, and distort objects
      7. Blend objects
      8. Reshape using envelopes
      9. Reshape objects with effects
      10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
      11. Work with Live Corners
      12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
      13. Edit clipping masks
      14. Live shapes
      15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
      16. Global editing
    7. Type
      1. Add text and work with type objects
      2. Create bulleted and numbered lists
      3. Manage text area
      4. Fonts and typography
      5. Identify fonts from images and outlined text
      6. Add basic formatting to text
      7. Add advanced formatting to text
      8. Import and export text
      9. Format paragraphs
      10. Special characters
      11. Create type on a path
      12. Character and paragraph styles
      13. Tabs
      14. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
      15. Arabic and Hebrew type
      16. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
      17. Create 3D text effect
      18. Creative typography designs
      19. Scale and rotate type
      20. Line and character spacing
      21. Hyphenation and line breaks
      22. Spelling and language dictionaries
      23. Format Asian characters
      24. Composers for Asian scripts
      25. Create text designs with blend objects
      26. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    8. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Appearance attributes
      4. Create sketches and mosaics
      5. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      6. Summary of effects
    9. Web graphics
      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Slices and image maps
  6. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Place multiple files
      2. Manage linked and embedded files
      3. Links information
      4. Unembed images
      5. Import artwork from Photoshop
      6. Import bitmap images
      7. Import Adobe PDF files
      8. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
    3. Save
      1. Save artwork
    4. Export
      1. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      2. Export artwork
      3. Collect assets and export in batches
      4. Package files
      5. Create Adobe PDF files
      6. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      7. Adobe PDF options
      8. Document info panel
  7. Printing
    1. Prepare for printing
      1. Set up documents for printing
      2. Change the page size and orientation
      3. Specify crop marks for trimming or aligning
      4. Get started with large canvas
    2. Printing
      1. Overprint
      2. Print with color management
      3. PostScript printing
      4. Print presets
      5. Printer's marks and bleeds
      6. Print and save transparent artwork
      7. Trapping
      8. Print color separations
      9. Print gradients, meshes, and color blends
      10. White Overprint
  8. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  9. Troubleshooting 
    1. Crash issues
    2. Recover files after crash
    3. File issues
    4. Supported file formats
    5. GPU device driver issues
    6. Wacom device issues
    7. DLL file issues
    8. Memory issues
    9. Preferences file issues
    10. Font issues
    11. Printer issues
    12. Share crash report with Adobe
    13. Improve Illustrator performance

Learn how to import and export artwork between Illustrator and Photoshop.

Importing Illustrator files for editing in Photoshop and vice versa opens up exciting possibilities when designing artwork involving a combination of vector and bitmap objects. The editing capabilities for your imported assets and their final output quality depend on their export properties.

Read on to learn how to choose a workflow suited to your design outcome. You can also explore the best practices to optimize the size and quality of your artwork.

Suggested reading

Familiarize yourself with these concepts before you choose a workflow that suits your design needs:

Move artwork between Illustrator and Photoshop

Just like you can work with Photoshop designs in Illustrator, there are multiple ways to use Illustrator files in Photoshop, depending on how you plan to modify your artwork.

Read on to learn how best to work with Illustrator files within Photoshop:

Export as a .PSD file

You can use the PSD format to export your Illustrator files into Photoshop that preserves layers, resolution, and color profiles.

When you export a .PSD file, the Illustrator layers are preserved as rasterized layers.  In contrast, the layer groups and sublayers are converted into folders and subfolders. If your Illustrator artwork contains unsupported Photoshop® Elements like colors, themes, brushes, graphics, and text, Illustrator preserves the appearance of the artwork.

To export your Illustrator artwork into Photoshop, follow these steps:

  1. Select File > Export As and choose Photoshop (.PSD).

  2. Click Export and select options based on your requirements.

To edit your artwork, ensure that you have not applied Overprint fill or Transparency effects, and Export using these settings:

  1. Select File > Export > Export As.

  2. Select the Write Layers and Maximum Editability.

Export as a .PSD file.

Copy and paste as smart objects

You can easily move artwork between Illustrator and Photoshop with Smart Objects, which preserve the source content with its original characteristics. This allows you to edit your artwork nondestructively.

When you resize a smart object, the clarity is retained, unlike pixel-based layers that increase the document resolution and size.

To create a smart object, choose one of the following options:

  1. Copy In Illustrator and select the Smart Object option when you:

    • Copy-paste your graphic directly into Photoshop as a smart layer
    • Drag an Illustrator file into Photoshop as a smart object layer

  2. Open as Smart Object in a new Photoshop document.

Paste as Smart Object.

Copy and paste as Layers

You can import Illustrator layers into Photoshop and continue to work on them while maintaining their visual and functional efficacy and layer structure. Once you paste your object as a type or shape layer, it will have its own properties panel, where you can edit its appearance and modify the text or shape, respectively.

Copy the content from Illustrator and paste it into Photoshop using the Layers option from the dialog box. 

Some copy-paste features that you can try out with this latest updated workflow are : 

  • Vector shapes and paths are created using the Shape tool or Shaper tool as Shape and Path Layers. These include line, rectangle and rounded rectangle, polygons, ellipse, star, and paths created using the pen tool or compound path. 
  • Text objects that are created using Type tools such as Text Layers can include point text, area text, and on-path text.
  • Clipping masks as vector masks. 
  • Pixel layers, symbols, Smart Objects, Patterns, Gradient Mesh, Groups, Distort Layers, Flare Tool as pixel layers.
Paste as Layers
Paste as Layers.

You can bring point text, area text, and on-path text objects created in Illustrator to Photoshop as live editable text layers. Once pasted in Photoshop, you can edit various properties of text layers, such as text color, size, font, alignment, etc. using the Properties Panel.

Place an embedded or linked file into Photoshop

If you want to reuse design elements without increasing the file size, linked artwork is your best option. However, if you do not want to relink your files, you can embed your artwork.

To place your Illustrator artwork in a Photoshop document, Select File > Place as linked or File > Place as embedded based on your requirements.

When you link your artwork, any changes you make to the source file in Illustrator are reflected in Photoshop, but you can save your files in smaller resolutions.

If the files are embedded, they are saved as large documents.

Place embedded or linked file

A. Linked  B. Embedded 

For more information on how to place an Illustrator artwork in Photoshop and vice versa, watch this 25-second video.

Best practices for optimal file management

The editing capabilities of your imported assets and their final output quality depends on how you export your artwork. While you move your artwork from Illustrator to Photoshop, ensure to optimize the size and quality of your artwork.

Learn more

Now that you have started moving artwork to Photoshop, take a step forward and learn how to package files and collect assets.

What's next?

To ensure that your artwork is the single source of truth and make it available in other Creative Cloud software, copy it to Creative Cloud Libraries.

Share your creations

Ask the Community

If you have a question to ask or an idea to share, come and participate in Adobe Illustrator Community. We would love to hear from you and see your creations.

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