How to Make Dot Patterns in AI 9? 1

[bsquared18]

In AI 9, I want to simulate the kind of dot pattern you see in black and white comic strips to show a gray area. Does a swatch already exist somewhere to do that, or do I need to build one from scratch? Or is there a tool in Illustrator that does that?

Thanks!

Bill B.

 

[jimoblak]

I usually build my own for better control. There may be a swatch somewhere already prepared.

Draw a bunch of dots in a rectangular area. Select them all and drag the selection onto the swatch palette. You now have a swatch that can be applied as a fill to any path.

If you can handle this effect with a raster/bitmap graphic, try the halftone filter in Illustrator or Photoshop.