While working on this illustrated spa map for US Airways magazine, I discovered a fun shortcut for creating a mosaic tile background in Adobe Illustrator.
Start by creating a rectangle large enough for the tiles, select it and choose Object > Path > Split Into Grid...
A dialog box appears where you can enter the number of rows and columns and the space between the tiles. Check preview, so you can see the results as you change the numbers.
Next, select all the tiles, and choosse Object > Transform > Transform Each... In the dialog box check Preview and Random and enter low numbers to make subtle and random transformations to the position, scaling and rotation of the tiles. Hit OK.
Now the tiles will have a more natural look, resembling a mosaic rather than a perfect grid. You can make subtle variations to the color of the individual tiles to make the effect even more interesting. In my finished Illustration I removed a few tiles to randomize it even more.
In my online Illustrator classes we use the Transform Each feature with type and in working with patterns. It's powerful because it allows you to scale a selection of multiple objects from each object's center point (or the reference point of your choosing). I love this feature and I'm always interested to hear how others use it!
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