One of the best aspects of Adobe’s software is that you can use them in conjunction with each other for even better results. One of the best combinations is to use their vector software, Illustrator, to create images for the videos you make in Premiere. Still, what do you do when those Illustrator files are pixelated after being imported into Premiere? 

An Illustrator file that looks pixelated in Premiere can be fixed by adjusting its size in Illustrator. That’s because most of the time when an Illustrator file ends up blurry in Premiere it is caused by the size change that happens when it is rasterized. 

If you’re having trouble seeing your Illustrator files clearly in Premiere, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In our guide below we will discuss whether Illustrator files were meant to be used in Premiere and why they might come up Pixelated. We’ll even provide a step by step guide on how you can fix the problem so your images come up clearly in the future. Let’s dive right in! 

Can You Use Illustrator Files in Premiere?

If your images are coming up pixelated in Premiere you may be wondering if they’re meant to be imported at all. So can you really use Illustrator files in Premiere?

Illustrator files can be used in Premiere, however, they will be rasterized first–meaning they will be converted from vector images to raster images. Due to this transition, they will never be quite as sharp and vivid as they are in Illustrator itself.

Though Illustrator files will never look as good in Premiere as they look in Illustrator, they don’t have to be super pixelated. If exported and imported properly, they won’t look quite as perfect as they do in Illustrator but they should still be crisp and clear. In the next section we’ll dive into why an Illustrator file might look more pixelated than it should.

Why is My Illustrator File Pixelated in Premiere?

Even though you’ll never get a perfect vector image by using an Illustrator file in Premiere, it shouldn’t look super pixelated. So why would an image come in blurry like that? 

Most of the time if your Illustrator file looks pixelated or blurry in Premiere, it’s because it is being exported at a size that is too small. When you blow it up so that you can see it, you therefore end up with a really fuzzy image. 

Fortunately, fixing this problem just requires a few simple steps. In our next section we will break down the process of fixing this issue so you can make the best video possible. 

How Do You Fix Illustrator File Pixelation in Premiere? 

Knowing why your image is pixelated is one thing, but knowing how to fix it is paramount. So how do you fix Illustrator images that look pixelated in Premiere?

Follow the steps below to fix the problem of Premiere pixelating your Illustrator image files:

1. Edit the image in Illustrator: Either open the file in Illustrator before you import it into Premiere or click to edit the file within Premiere. If you’ve already got the file in your video you can simply right-click on it in your libraries and select “edit.” This should open up Illustrator with the file ready to go. 
2. Adjust the file properties: Once in Illustrator, click on the “properties” tab of the panel on the right side of the screen. Click the “maintain width and height” button then change the width to 4,096 (4K) and hit enter. This should also adjust the height simultaneously. 
3. Import the image into your libraries: Now just click the “libraries” tab in the top right of the panel. Just drag your image into your libraries and it should be ready to use!  

Now when you import your image into your video it should no longer look pixelated and blurry because it is set up to look clear in 4K.  

So Really, How Do You Fix Pixelated Illustrator Files in Premiere?

When a file is taken from Illustrator and imported into Premiere, it has to be changed from a vector file to a raster file. In that transition some of the picture quality is inevitably lost. Still, if the image looks overly pixelated, chances are something went wrong. 

Most of the time, that something is that the file was exported at a smaller size. If it was a vector file, that size wouldn’t matter, but as a less dynamic raster file, it is a big deal. To fix it, you simply need to change the height and width of the image to 4,096 and then re-import it into your libraries. Now when you pull it up in Premiere, it should be in 4K.