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My problem is that when I scale down my drawing, the line weights stay the same, blotting out the artwork. If I scale up, the line weights become too thin. I've noticed that parametric effects don't scale together with the drawing.

How do I scale drawings in Adobe Illustrator and still maintain the proportions of line weights, gradients, and effects such as offset path?

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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
41

In the Preferences > General area, make sure Scale Strokes & Effects is selected.

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    Why the heck isn't this checked by default? >__<
    – Partack
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 8:12
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Another option is to select the object and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. Of course this is only for paths. And btw I would go with lawndartcatcher on this one, my proposal is just another option to have in mind.

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-1

After you have finished the drawing, select it and go to "object -> expand. This will mantein the same proportions you have when you scale it.

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  • Actually, it won't. If your line weights aren't scaling the lines won't scale - if you started with 1 px wide lines and you scale your drawing to 200% you'll still have lines that are 1 px wide (in other words, your lines will now be half the weight but twice the size).
    – lawndartcatcher
    Commented Jun 10, 2011 at 12:59
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On a PC go to Edit > Preferences > General and check Scale & Stroke Effects

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    And the result is? What will I see? Please explain more ...
    – Mensch
    Commented Jan 24, 2015 at 14:32
  • What does this add to lawndartcatcher's accepted answer? Please do not duplicate answers. Thank you!
    – Vincent
    Commented Jan 25, 2015 at 12:33

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