An image with a transparent background is a joy to work with, allowing seamless positioning without an intrusive white backdrop. This is particularly common with logos and icons. Thankfully, Adobe Illustrator offers an effective solution to remove these unwanted white backgrounds, saving you from scouring the web for the perfect transparent PNG.
Read on to discover how to eliminate the white background from an image in Illustrator and export your vectors as transparent PNGs.
How to Remove a White Background in Illustrator
Sometimes a downloaded design comes with an unwelcome white background. This can disrupt your creative process. Instead of searching for an already transparent version, leverage Adobe Illustrator’s powerful tool: Image Trace. Image Trace converts bitmap images (made from pixels) to vectors (comprising shapes and lines). By turning a bitmap into a vector, you can easily discard the white background. Here’s how:
- Open your image in Adobe Illustrator.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + D (or Cmd + Shift + D on Mac) to display the transparency grid.
- Select the image on the artboard using the Selection Tool (press V to activate).
- Click on Window in the menu bar to open a dropdown menu.
- Select Image Trace from the dropdown menu to display the Image Trace options.
- In the Image Trace menu, set Mode from Black and White to Colored.
- Expand the Advanced settings by clicking the triangle next to it.
- Under Options, check the Ignore White box.
- Click Trace.
Image Trace will convert your image to a vector, removing the white background. For additional details on using Image Trace, refer to our comprehensive guide on tracing images in Adobe Illustrator.
How to Export Your Vector as a PNG With a Transparent Background in Illustrator
Having transformed your image to a vector with a transparent background, ensure it exports correctly. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to the menu bar and select File.
- Hover over Export, then choose Export As.
- Choose the destination and enter a file name.
- In the Save as type menu, select PNG.
- Click Export to open the PNG Options window.
- In the Preview section, set the Background Color to Transparent.
- Click OK.
Your PNG with a transparent background is now ready at the chosen location. Alternatively, exporting as an SVG file also retains transparency.
Achieve the Look You Want With Adobe Illustrator
No longer will the perfect image be tarnished by a pesky white background. With Image Trace in Adobe Illustrator, easily remove white backgrounds and export images with transparency. Remember, proper export settings prevent the white background from reappearing.
Removing white backgrounds is just one feature of the Image Trace tool. Converting bitmap images to vectors offers numerous benefits, enhancing your design capabilities.