Looking to add a bit of class to your visual designs? In this video tutorial, we show you how to use our free marble textures for that extra bit of visual polish.
If there’s one design trend that’s here to stay, it is marble everything! These free handmade marble textures can easily revamp any of your design projects. This modern take on this classic marble texture can add the perfect touch to your work.
So let’s take a look at how you can use these free assets.
Social Media Backgrounds
This technique is great for projects like greeting cards, invitations, and other marketing graphics. To place your marble background into your file in Adobe Illustrator, go to File > Place, then find the background you want to use. For this example, I’m using marble texture 11.
If you need to rotate your texture, you can do this by holding down shift and hovering over one of the corners until you see a double-sided arrow. Click and drag to rotate your background.
Now add a white rectangle over the background by using the Rectangle Tool. To allow the marble texture to show through, change the opacity of the white rectangle to 75%. Align your rectangle by selecting it and clicking “horizontal align center” and “vertical align center.”
Add your text on top of the rectangle. You can use the Type Tool and choose your desired fonts. For this example, I added a website source at the bottom. This is ideal for social media graphics so your viewers know the content’s source. Make sure you keep aligning your text to the center to keep your design polished and professional.
For an extra design element, you can add a black lined border inside the white rectangle. Do this by adding a rectangle with no fill color and a black stroke color. You can change the stroke weight to get the thickness you want for your design. For this example, I used a 3-point stroke weight.
Once you finish your design, you can export for web. Place this type of graphic within your blog post and encourage your readers to pin it on Pinterest to boost your post traffic.
Marble Text
First, place your marble texture into your file by going to File > Place, then find the background you want. For this example, I’m using marble texture 07.
You’ll want to choose a bolder font when you’re using a clipping mask with your texture and text so the texture will come through. Once you have your text complete, place your marble texture into your file. Do this by going to File > Place, then find the marble file you want.
Send your texture behind your text by either arranging your layers or holding CTRL on your keyboard while clicking to get this option window. From there, send your texture to the back.
With your texture selected, select your text along with it. Do this by holding shift and clicking the text. With them both selected, you can hold CTRL while clicking to get the same option window. Click “make clipping mask,” and now your texture will be clipped within your text.
Marble Shapes
Clipping masks also work with shapes and vectors in Illustrator. For this example, we’re going to make a clipping mask within the rectangle on the back of a business card. Create a rectangle by using the Rectangle Tool. Once you have your shape set, place your texture within your file, and send it to the back. You can do this by arranging your layers or holding down CTRL and clicking to get this window. From there, go to “arrange,” then “send to back.”
With the texture selected, we need to also select the rectangle we just created by holding shift and selecting the rectangle. With them both selected, you will hold CTRL while clicking to bring up this option window. From there click “make clipping mask,” and your texture will now be clipped within your shape.
Each background is one-of-kind, and you can use them for your personal design projects, logos, business cards, packaging, invitations, and even on your website. Have fun and stay creative!
