Web Development: How to Create Vector Glitches Using Adobe Illustrator

How to Create Vector Glitches Using Adobe Illustrator

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial, you will learn to create three different glitch techniques using Adobe Illustrator. We will work with vectors, allowing us to resize the elements as much or as little as we want without losing the quality.

What You Will Learn in This Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

How to draw a glitch in Illustrator using basic shapes
How to create a glitch effect in Illustrator using Pathfinder techniques
How to create a glitch effect in Illustrator using a photo

If you don't have the time to learn how to create a glitch effect in Illustrator, you can always try this Glitch Graphic Style from Envato Elements. With just a few clicks, you can create your own glitch pattern, glitch logo design, or VHS effect in Illustrator.

For more inspiration on how to adjust or improve your vector glitch, you can find plenty of resources at Envato Elements.

What You Will Need

You will need the following resources in order to create a glitch in Illustrator:

The Hustle Font
Mountains and Boat Night Landscape

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

1. How to Create a Glitch Pattern

For this tutorial, we will start with one Illustrator file. We will create separate artboards as we work through the tutorial.

Step 1

In Illustrator, go to File > New. Name the document Vector Glitches. Set the Unit to Pixels and the Width to 600 px and Height to 600 px. Set the Color Mode to RGB and the Resolution to 72 Pixels/Inch. Click OK. Now that you're set, let's learn how to draw a glitch from scratch.

Create a new Illustrator file of 600px by 600px in RGB at 72 dpi

Step 2

For the first glitch effect in Illustrator, we will create smaller patterns that we will combine later to create the bigger glitch pattern.

On the toolbar, select the Rectangle Tool (M). Click on the artboard to bring up the Rectangle Options Window. Activate Constrain Width and Height Proportions, and set the Width and Height to 15 px. Click OK.

Create a checkered pattern by multiplying the square. Press Option-Shift and drag the square diagonally. Select both shapes and multiply them by pressing Option-Shift and dragging them vertically. Select all the shapes, press Option-Shift, and drag horizontally.

By pressing Option, we are multiplying the shape. By combining Option-Shift, we are multiplying and maintaining the vertical/horizontal alignment.

Group the pattern by selecting all the shapes and pressing Command-G.

Step 3

Multiply the pattern by pressing Command-Shift and dragging. Resize the vector by stretching the pattern horizontally and shortening it.

For the patterns on the right side, duplicate the pattern by pressing Command-Shift and dragging. Double-click on the multiplied pattern to enter Isolated Mode. Using the Selection Tool (V), select some of the elements and delete them.

Feel free to create your own pattern within these parameters.

Alter the checkered pattern to create other patterns

Step 4

Let’s create the vertical and horizontal lines. On the toolbar, select the Rectangle Tool (M). Click on the artboard for the Rectangle Options Window. Deactivate Constrain Width and Height Proportions, and set the Width to 7 px and the Height to 35 px. Click OK.

Duplicate the element by pressing Command-Shift and dragging horizontally once. You can decide on the distance between these two elements. Once you’ve duplicated the shape, press Command-D to repeat the action multiple times. With this trick, you can duplicate the shape as many times as you wish.

Group the pattern by selecting all the shapes and pressing Command-G.

Step 5

Now that the pattern is grouped, duplicate it by pressing Command-Shift and dragging. Edit the patterns by stretching the elements in different directions. See the image below for an example:

Edit the vertical lines pattern to vary in thickness and length

Step 6

For the last pattern, create rectangles of different sizes and stack them. On the toolbar, select the Rectangle Tool (M). Click and drag to draw on the artboard. I created a set of four patterns of different shapes by only using rectangles. Feel free to add more rectangles to the stack.

Group the shapes by selecting the elements and pressing Command-G.

Step 7

Now that we have all the shapes, let’s create the final composition. Duplicate the board with the patterns by pressing Shift-O and dragging the board. Remember, you can hold Shift to maintain the vertical/horizontal alignment.

Let's work on this like putting together a puzzle. There is no right or wrong. Feel free to resize and stretch the grouped elements as you need. The key is to cover the board with the elements to create a non-repetitive glitch pattern.

Using the patterns created above create a composition by resizing the elements as you need

Step 8

Now that we have the final composition done, let’s add a few more details for contrast.

Select the elements on the current active board by pressing Option-Command-A, followed by Command-2 to lock the elements.

On the toolbar, select the Rectangle Tool (M). Create three rectangles of any size. Select one rectangle and double-click on the Fill color. In the Color Picker window option, set the color value to #FF0000. Click OK. Set the color of the other two rectangles to #00FF00 and #0000FF.

Duplicate the rectangles, and arrange them vertically and horizontally like the image below. This will allow us to use the elements together and separately.

Create rectangles in red blue and green colors

Step 9

Select the new elements. Send the elements to the back of the main composition by pressing Shift-Command-[. Multiply the elements by pressing Option and dragging. Distribute the rectangles behind any of the previous patterns we created. Feel free to resize them.

Great job! Remember that you can create many iterations of this glitch pattern—there is no right or wrong as long you follow these simple parameters:

Create simple pattern groups and arrange them by balancing black and white pockets.
Work on the composition like a puzzle. The only difference is that here, there's no right or wrong!
Use a limited number of colors.

Apply the rectangles to the back of the main composition to add depth