Fill Modes

Fourteen native vector interpretations of the same source artwork.

Each fill reads the same source signal but constructs different Illustrator geometry. Some modes emphasize continuous lines, some use dots or cells, and others build image-dependent networks or regions.

Line and Radial Modes

  • Linear — parallel variable-width hatching.
  • Wave — flowing lines with image-responsive movement.
  • Circular — concentric rings with an adjustable center.
  • Spiral — a continuous radial spiral with an adjustable center.

These are good starting points when you want recognizable tonal rendering with clean path flow.

Dot and Cell Modes

  • Halftone — an ordered grid of tone-sized dots.
  • Stipple — seeded, density-weighted point placement.
  • Hex — honeycomb cells modulated by the image.
  • Dither — an ordered threshold pattern built from small cells.

These modes can create many objects at small Spacing values. Increase Spacing when you need faster editing or lighter files.

Structural Modes

  • Contour — enclosed tonal boundaries or color regions.
  • Low-Poly — image-guided triangulation.
  • Wireframe — flowing mesh-like paths following image structure.
  • Fractal — a Gosper-style space-filling curve modulated by tone.
  • String Art — optimized chords across a circular pin field.
  • ASCII — outlined monospaced glyphs selected by density.

Static and Dynamic Color

With Dynamic Color off, a mode uses the dedicated static color stored in the effect. With Dynamic Color on, it samples source RGB values. Dynamic Color can change more than hue: Contour and Low-Poly, for example, use filled color regions, while their static versions emphasize structural lines.

A Practical Exploration Order

Start with Linear to balance Thickness and Spacing. Try Wave and Circular for a different flow. Use Halftone or Stipple for dot-based work. Then compare Contour and Low-Poly with Dynamic Color enabled. Finish with the more computationally intensive Wireframe, Fractal, String Art, and ASCII modes.

All fills use the same stable seed internally, so unchanged settings produce repeatable geometry.

Read Basic Controls before fine-tuning individual modes.