Would anyone know how can I export a vector in layers to Photoshop? I want to be able to open it in photoshop in separate layers..so far everytime I try some layers merge...thank you.
Copy Paste is the quickest way.
But before you do that you should make little coloured register rectangles at top left and bottom right of your artwork.
These should correspond to the bounds of your Photoshop file.
Copy them with the bits of your Illie file that you need and you can quickly build up a Photoshop file in as many layers as you need and everything in perfect register.
Just delete the register boxes from the Photoshop file when you no longer need them.
There are three ways I know of if the export to psd merges some layers, remember Illustrator does try to write the layers but sometimes it does not work so here are the possiblities.
You can opoen it in as a smart object in Photoshop and work on the layers in Illustrator.
You could copy and paste each object and or layers individuallly into a blank Photoshop document
you can save it as a psd and hen the layers that mmerge can be deleted and you can then copy and paste those eleemnt to the opned psd file.
There is another way if the merging is being caused by the applicstion of transparency or of an effect you can delete the effect on those objects and then apply the same effecct to it in Photoshop.
I guess there is another way you could bring the paste those objects with the effects as smart objects and edit the effects if necessary in Illustrator which will update in the Photoshop file.
But before you do that you should make little coloured register rectangles at top left and bottom right of your artwork.
These should correspond to the bounds of your Photoshop file.
Copy them with the bits of your Illie file that you need and you can quickly build up a Photoshop file in as many layers as you need and everything in perfect register.
Just delete the register boxes from the Photoshop file when you no longer need them.
That's how I do it, except I use an "invisible" rectangle as my registration guide. Like Steve says, make it the same size as your Photoshop canvas, surrounding all of your Illustrator objects. Give it a fill and stroke of None, and copy it along with each set of layer contents. Photoshop sees the rectangle as the boundary of your pasted content, but there are no pixels to delete afterward.
The reason I use colour instead of None is that you can see afterwards whether anything is out of register.
Occasionally a single pixel of misalignment can make a difference.
You can also use layer alignment to make doubly sure that everything is ok.
If you use None rectangles you can do none of this.
Option click each smart object to edit in illustrator turn off the layer option of print for all layers except one (that one will not be in italics)
Repeat this for each layer and you will have a Phothsop file all in register. You can bitmap all the smart objects if you desire.
Mike’s method assumes that you want Photoshop’s layers to be the same as Illustrator’s.
Using register rectangles you can paste any objects or groups of objects into Photoshop irrespective of Illie layers.
You can then apply layer effects as you please. Useful for embossing and lighting effects which Illustrator does badly.
The reason I use colour instead of None is that you can see afterwards whether anything is out of register.
Occasionally a single pixel of misalignment can make a difference.
You can also use layer alignment to make doubly sure that everything is ok.
If you use None rectangles you can do none of this.
All true and good points, of course. But seeing as the no-stroke/fill rectangle method has worked flawlessly for me virtually every time, (if it's sized correctly, it can't paste out of register), I opt to save the steps.
North America
Europe, Middle East and Africa
Asia Pacific