Anyone who uses Adobe Illustrator with any frequency will at some point come to realize that there is almost always more than one way to execute an action while working in the program. Much of the time, the method you use to generate a desired event is a matter of personal preference. There are some cases, however, in which two paths to the same apparent result will produce very different results “behind the scenes”. One such case in Illustrator is the use of the Effect and Filter tools. These two menus can be found in the main Illustrator menu bar across the the top, and provide a wide array of snazzy visual effects and custom styles that can be applied to obejcts. Although the two menus seem to contain many of the same actions, their use will bring about distinct outcomes.

Effect: Applying an effect will change the appearance of an object, but the structure of the object will remain intact. Object filters can be edited or removed using the Appearance Palette.

Filter: Applying a filter will actually alter the structure of the object to fit the specifications of the filter. Once applied, the filter cannot be edited or removed.

SAMPLE: You will see that I started with two identical circles. A Pucker Effect of -50 was applied to the circle on the left. I then applied a Pucker Filter of -50 to the shape on the right. In preview mode the two shapes appear to again be identical. However, when each shape is is selected, the frames show us that behind the scenes they are no longer the same. The shape on the left (Effect applied) has maintained the original shape. The effect can be changed or deleted in the Appearance Palette, as shown. The shape on the right (Filter applied) is now structurally different than the original ellipse.

If you know that you will need to alter the paths of the object once the visual element is applied, then using the Filter can be more functional because it eliminates the need for expanding or outlining. But, in general, it is usually more practical to use the Effect tools, so that the option for editing and removing is left open.