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Top 10 Best Illustrator Plugins for Designers

Stuart Crawford

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A list of the top 10 best adobe illustrator plugins for designers, artists, graphic designers and photographers. Follow the blog for more Inspiration.

Top 10 Best Illustrator Plugins for Designers

Plugins can help you improve your workflow and streamline your design process, whether you are a beginner or an expert designer.

Designers can use different plugins with Adobe Illustrator to help them get the job done quicker and more efficiently. Some of the plugins are free, while others are paid. 

Some plugins are only for specific versions of Illustrator. For example, some plugins work only with Adobe Illustrator CS6. Before you start using plugins, check whether the plugin works with the version of Illustrator that you are currently using.

In this post, I will share some of my favourite Illustrator plugins to help designers make life easier.

Elevating Symbol Usage with Third-Party Plug-Ins in Adobe Illustrator

Exploring the capabilities of symbols in graphic design is made easier and more versatile with the help of specialised third-party plug-ins. These tools provide unique functionalities that extend beyond Adobe Illustrator's native features, allowing designers to achieve innovative results quickly.

Transforming Symbols into Brushes

One such plug-in enables artists to convert symbols into dynamic brush strokes akin to dabs and bristles. This functionality lets designers paint with symbols, seamlessly integrating images, text, and intricate patterns into their artwork. Imagine the freedom of applying varying textures and painting styles to symbols with unprecedented precision.

Crafting Textures and Patterns

Another powerful plug-in focuses on generating textures and designing intricate patterns using symbols. This tool offers many options for layering, randomising, and distributing symbols. With these capabilities, designers can craft compelling visuals, introduce animations, and easily manage complex patterns to suit their creative needs.

Unlocking Advanced Manipulation Techniques

For those who thrive on manipulating symbols with advanced designs, specialised plug-ins offer grid constructions, spirals, zoom effects, and randomised layouts. These tools empower users to manipulate symbols innovatively, from creating elaborate circular compositions to experimenting with symmetry and balance for unique artistic expressions.

Designing Eye-Catching Headlines

Lastly, specific plug-ins are tailored to enhance typography by transforming symbols into stunning banner and headline designs. These plug-ins provide myriad customisation options, enabling the creation of bold and memorable typographic elements using the symbols palette. These capabilities allow designers to produce professional-grade visuals that captivate and communicate effectively.

By integrating these third-party plug-ins into Adobe Illustrator, artists and designers can vastly expand their creative toolkit, enabling diverse applications of symbols that transcend traditional boundaries. Whether for producing intricate patterns or eye-catching typography, the enhanced functionality provided by these tools unlocks endless creative possibilities.

1: Astute Graphics

Astute Graphics is a software provider that focuses on vector graphics design. They specialise in Illustrator plugins that allow designers to create new vector shapes and export those creations to use in other software programs. 

Their products allow designers to edit, resize, and add effects to vector files. The firm has provided Illustrator plugins that help designers work with more advanced features, such as gradient meshes and curves.

They make the process of designing more fun. This is done by providing the tools to make on-the-fly changes and boost productivity. This saves time and money, making it easier for our customers to meet tight deadlines and keep on top of what's going on in their businesses.

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Special Effects Plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator

If you're seeking to enhance your Adobe Illustrator projects with captivating special effects, consider the following third-party plug-ins that can take your designs to the next level:

Layer Transformations and Animations

  • Vector Plug-ins for Layer EffectsTransformations spanning multiple layers are perfect for creating complex animations. Compatible with Illustrator versions 10 through CS4, these plug-ins offer versatile enhancement capabilities.

Dynamic Zoomline Effects

  • Zoom Lines Effect Plug-insIdeal for adding focus lines and dramatic effects, particularly useful in manga comics and illustrations. Create striking emphasis and dynamic movement effortlessly within your designs.

Creative Filters and Workflow Enhancement

These specialised plug-ins complement Adobe Illustrator's core features, providing designers with the tools to infuse their work with unique visual effects and improved productivity.

2: Logo Package Express

Logo Package Discount

If you are designing logos for clients, there's nothing more frustrating than working on a project only to be told that the logo design isn't what the client wanted. The design process can also be frustrating if the client doesn't care about the final version. 

They may keep changing their mind and request changes to be made that are not necessary. They may change their minds before the project is even completed. And sometimes, the clients don't even care about the final version.

It is much easier to design a logo and then use it repeatedly. So, consider how they will use the logo when working with clients. If they are likely to use the logo repeatedly, consider using the same design elements in the logo. Otherwise, design something different.

It's all rather monotonous, but what if there were a way to create, export, and sort that mountain of logo files in a matter of minutes? 

That's the promise of Logo Package Express (LPE), an Adobe Illustrator extension that asserts to do just that. Whether you're creating logo packages, exporting files for clients, or generating files for every format your clients require, LPE does all the heavy lifting.

3: ZenPattern Mandala Creator for Ai

How To Draw A Mandala Illustrator Plugin

If you're familiar with Mandala Creator, you'll love this newest edition. It features over 200 new designs, including the ones found in the previous editions, plus many more.

A mandala is a circular pattern that was created thousands of years ago. It has now evolved into a graphic art form widely used in design.

ZenPattern Mandala Creator is a plugin for Adobe Illustrator that gives you the tools to create intricate mandala designs. You can create beautiful mandala patterns, create free-form circles, and add shapes to the design. ZenPattern Mandala Creator allows you to create different effects, including glow, transparency, and reflection.

The plugin features a built-in interface that makes drawing and painting mandala designs easy. The design is saved and can be applied to the canvas or exported as an SVG file for use in other programs.

The over 200 intricate and unique mandala designs included with the software are an excellent resource for designers looking to bring a creative element into their business. With a simple click, you can start creating your own mandala designs.

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Quick, narrated video tutorials also show you how to create a new design in just a few steps. This is a great way to get started quickly.

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4: Super Magic Eraser script

Super Magic Eraser is useful software for Adobe Illustrator, which allows you to cut and delete vector objects from the artboard. The program saves the picture in editable format afterwards. You can keep pictures open after usage without any distortions. 

A new stable algorithm prevents freezing your computer with big vector files. This is the first script that creates a clipping mask instead of a crop.

The Super Magic Eraser is a simple, versatile image-editing program for removing unwanted parts from photos, drawings, or vector graphics. The user interface is straightforward to follow and navigate.

It is designed to eliminate unwanted backgrounds and objects in a photo. It uses a simple-to-use tool for removing unwanted parts. Select the area you wish to remove and click a button to start erasing. You can use this plugin to erase just the top layer or choose to erase the layer below.

The eraser works best for removing unwanted areas in your pictures. It is an excellent tool for cropping out photos and removing unwanted elements from vector graphics.

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5: Warp V3 Illustrator Plugins

Photography Adobe Illustrator Plugin

WARP V3.0 includes 50 separate and layered Illustrator plugins with 50 shapes for image and photography warping. From photography, slit-scan distortions are transformed into glitch or mirror reflection effects. 

This bundle is optimised for the latest version of Illustrator. Easily accessible, quickly usable, and simple to create beautiful surrealistic images in seconds – No coding skills needed!

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6: Adobe Library – UI Icons Pack

This library contains over 100 free icons in various formats, including PNG, SVG, and EPS. You can even get your icon template to make your icon.

If you're looking for more than just icons, this link provides a variety of icon templates, including vectors, raster, shapes, clipart, and symbols.

The icons included in this pack are designed to work well at any size, from 10px to 200px. However, they're not specifically lined icons or precisely filled icons. Instead, they're partially lined and partially filled based on what looks best but designed to work great and look consistent together.

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Plug-ins for Font and Digital Asset Management in Adobe Illustrator

When managing fonts and digital assets efficiently in Adobe Illustrator, a range of third-party plug-ins can enhance your workflow. Here's a rundown of some notable tools available:

Digital Asset Management Tools:

  • Portfolio Management System: Designed to keep your digital assets organised, these systems enable you to handle thousands of graphics, photos, and digital files with ease. It is ideal for creatives needing a robust asset organisation and retrieval solution.

Font Management Solutions:

  1. Individual and Team Font Management:
    • These tools provide seamless font management for solo creatives and collaborative teams. They help maintain consistency, avoid duplication, and manage licenses effectively.
  2. Scalable Font Management Servers:
    • Servers targeted at workgroups or larger institutions ensure fonts are utilised consistently across teams and help eliminate redundant font issues. They offer scalability and enhanced control, keeping your font library streamlined and secure.
  3. Font Development Extensions:
    • Tools available as extensions for Adobe Illustrator allow you to convert custom lettering into OpenType fonts swiftly. Perfect for designers eager to transform unique typographic styles into functional fonts directly within Illustrator.
  4. Comprehensive Font Management for Windows:
    • These applications cater to Windows users, optimising how fonts are stored and managed to improve system performance and font menu efficiency. Addressing the common misconception that fonts do not impact Windows systems significantly, these products help avoid crashes and slowdowns.
  5. Mac OS X Font Performance Enhancers:
    • These tools ensure your fonts operate smoothly in the Mac environment. They address issues from font integrity checks to cleaning up font directories, ultimately enhancing system stability and application performance.
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By integrating these powerful plug-ins, Illustrator users can maintain an organised and efficient creative environment, allowing for more incredible innovation and productivity.

7: Karuki Wireframe Kit

Wireframe Plugin For Illustrator

It's not always easy to create a wireframe for a complex web page. If you are a designer who wants to create a wireframe, you may find it easier to use a product that helps develop wireframes – Karuki is one such product. It's available for the desktop and mobile web and works with Photoshop, Illustrator and Sketch.

This is a collection of wireframe components with customisable properties. It includes several different components that can be used for all kinds of designs. These components include grids, buttons, cards, headers, navigation, modals, panels and more. All these components can be used to create beautiful website layouts.

The components are designed with a layered structure,e so you can easily edit and change their properties.

You can also use the free fonts included with their Illustrator plugins.

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8: SITL Color Replace

You can use the Colour Replacer plugin to find out what colours can be found in an image. It's essential to know how the colours in an image are created. 

Color Replacer can help you analyse images and change them to your preferred colour. The best thing about this plugin is that it lets you search for colours from any image you want to change. It's beneficial when you want to add some new colour to an image. 

For example, you may want to match the sky's blue with the colour of a shirt in the photo. You can easily choose the colour of the shirt from the colour palette. This will help you fix the photo's colour and remove any problems.

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Enhancing Printing and Plotting in Adobe Illustrator with Third-Party Plug-Ins

Third-party plug-ins can significantly enhance the functionality of Adobe Illustrator, particularly when it comes to printing and plotting processes. Here's how various tools can improve efficiency and output quality:

Efficient Ink Management

Plug-ins dedicated to ink control allow you to swap and map ink channels effortlessly. They can render ink coverage, provide quick separations, and issue warnings for overprint white, ensuring your prints are flawless.

Direct Plotter Connection

Some plug-ins enable a direct link between Illustrator and plotters, particularly those supporting HP-GL. This connection streamlines your workflow by bypassing additional software, allowing for seamless plotting of designs.

Automated Information Updates

Tools exist that can automate slug generation. These slugs update crucial information on printouts without manual intervention, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.

File Management

Specific plug-ins enhance file organisation by collecting fonts and embedded images and copying them into a new folder. This makes handling project files easier and ensures all necessary elements are readily available.

Object Identification

Specific plug-ins help identify issues like transparency, effects, and blend modes that complicate printing. Flagging these elements enables you to address potential problems proactively.

Colour Separation View

Some tools allow users to preview and print documents in colour separations to streamline the preparation process. This functionality aids in visualising how colours will be printed, ensuring more accurate results.

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White Overprint Correction

There are also plug-ins designed to scan visible and hidden objects in your document to turn off overprint settings for white elements. This adjustment is crucial to prevent unintended print results.

Image Optimisation

For those dealing with large image files, plug-ins are available that automatically reduce image size by eliminating unnecessary data. They can adjust image resolution and scale based on your specifications, ensuring optimum performance without compromising quality.

You can achieve greater control, efficiency, and print quality by integrating these plug-ins into your Illustrator workflow.

9: Grid Builder – Layout Composer

Best Illustrator Plugin Grids

Sometimes, arranging your quotes or texts into a compelling composition is challenging. You have the words you want to use and your desired style, but making the arrangement look good is hard. One way to fix this problem is by experimenting with different layouts. You can try out different arrangements to see what looks best.

Grid Builder is a set of 35 individual grid shapes that you can use to create custom layouts. It's not necessary to start from scratch and draw everything from scratch. You can change each shape's size, stretch, and colour individually and then rearrange the entire layout to give it a different look.

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Text-Related Plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator

Suppose you're looking to enhance your text-handling capabilities in Adobe Illustrator. In that case, various third-party plug-ins can dramatically improve your workflow. Here's a rundown of some noteworthy options:

  • TextSync Tools: This plug-in is perfect for those who need to manage and edit large amounts of text outside Adobe Illustrator. It allows for seamless export and import of text objects into editable text files, making it easy to refine content without staying tethered to the design software.
  • Typography Enhancements: Enhance the default typography features of Illustrator with plug-ins that offer more font customisation options. These tools can include advanced kerning, tracking adjustments, and sophisticated font pairing suggestions not available in the standard Illustrator package.
  • Batch Text Editing: Consider a plug-in that supports bulk text editing if you often make repetitive text changes. This will enable you to simultaneously apply changes across multiple text objects, saving time and effort.
  • Spell Check and Grammar Tools: Improve the accuracy of your text directly within Illustrator with plug-ins that integrate advanced spell check and grammar correction features. These can help you catch errors before finalising your designs.
  • Language Support Extensions: Plug-ins support additional languages and unique character sets for multi-language projects, ensuring your text is communicated accurately in diverse markets.

These plug-ins can significantly expand the text functionalities in Adobe Illustrator, helping you create polished and professional designs with greater efficiency. Whether you're an illustrator, designer, or marketing professional, these tools are invaluable for enhancing your productivity and creativity in text-related tasks.

10: Mascot Maker: Vector Mega Bundle

Illustrator Mascot Plugin

This vintage retro mascot character builder toolkit allows you to create your mascot in minutes. The pre-designed eye, nose, mouth, hand, feet and body elements allow you to quickly and easily create multiple possible mascots.

The software is user-friendly and provides everything you need to create great graphics. There are a ton of ready-to-use graphics and templates and a wide range of tools to help you create your graphics. 

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With this plugin, you can easily create your unique logos, ornaments, and banners that look professional and are cost-effective.

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Enhance Your 3D Design Capabilities in Adobe Illustrator with These Third-Party Plug-ins.

For creatives looking to expand Adobe Illustrator’s 3D design capabilities, several third-party plug-ins offer specialised features:

  • 3D Grids and Perspectives: Use tools designed for creating precise 3D grids and perspectives, perfect for artists needing alignment assistance and perspective options.
  • Starburst and Shape Design: Delve into dynamic shape creation, such as starburst effects and 3D stars. Some plug-ins also offer additional design features tailored for multiple versions of Illustrator.
  • Packaging Design and Prototyping: Plug-ins are available that can generate 3D models from dielines, which is essential for those focused on packaging design. Prototyping tools offer the ability to model and visualise dimensional projects efficiently.
  • Real-Time Vector Effects: Explore options that provide over 80 vector effects in real-time, allowing designers to apply complex transformations rapidly.
  • Comprehensive 3D Tools: Access plug-ins for folding, rendering, and outputting 3D packaging designs, ideal for product visualisation.
  • 3D Element Integration: Look for plug-ins that enable 3D object editing and integration with 2D artwork, expanding Illustrator’s versatility in incorporating layers and textures.
  • Customisable Shape Deformation: Some plug-ins allow the deformation of shapes according to specific angles, such as 30° axonometry or 45° isometry, offering unique design perspectives.

These tools are instrumental for designers seeking to push the boundaries of their 3D design work within Adobe Illustrator.

Conclusion

The graphic design industry is becoming increasingly popular due to its accessibility and cost-effectiveness.

As a result, many freelancers and small businesses have joined the bandwagon. This has created an enormous demand for graphic designers who can provide their services to small businesses.

In this post, we discussed the top 10 best Illustrator plugins for designers. We listed the best tools that will help you speed up your workflow and make things more efficient.

These plugins will help you work faster and keep up with your game.

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Written By
Stuart Crawford
Stuart Crawford is an award-winning creative director and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience building memorable and influential brands. As Creative Director at Inkbot Design, a leading branding agency, Stuart oversees all creative projects and ensures each client receives a customised brand strategy and visual identity.

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1 thought on “Top 10 Best Illustrator Plugins for Designers”

  1. I’ve developed a plugin that I think should belong near the top of this list! It’s called Randomill (randomill.com) and lets users generate complex and intricate designs very quickly by dialing in some settings for procedural object manipulation. You can randomize colors, shift scale, alter opacity, oscillate position, and do a lot more across large sets of objects. There are also some handy utility functions as well such as random selection and layer order sorting. I think this plugin would be a great addition to the list.

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