Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

203

BLENDS, MASKS, AND

GRADIENT MESH

CONCEPTUALLY, THE common gradient is a straight-

forward creature. Where Illustrator is concerned, a gradient is a

fi ll pattern (the program prohibits gradient strokes) in which one

color transitions seamlessly into another. You defi ne the location,

color, and even opacity of the stops—or points of color—in the

gradient; Illustrator fi gures out how the transitional colors should

blend in between.

Illustrator provides three kinds of gradients: There’s the standard

gradient fi ll that you apply and edit with the gradient tool. You

can build a multipath blend, which allows you to design a custom

gradient inside a clipping mask. Or you can apply a gradient mesh,

which lets you add points of color anywhere inside a path outline

and blend between those points along a network of subpaths.

I’ll explore the distinctions between these three kinds of gradients

in a moment. But your larger question might be, why does Illustra-

tor go to such great lengths to support gradients—not to mention,

mire you down with so many alternatives—when they are funda-

mentally so simple? To make sense of that, you need to understand

the mechanics of making a standard gradient.

Start by drawing something simple, say, a rectangle. Then select the

gradient tool—you can get it by pressing G—and click inside the

shape to fi ll it with a default gradient, most likely white-to-black.

(If that doesn’t work, just tap the period key.) You’ll see a bar in-

side the shape, known as the gradient annotator. Hover your cur-

sor over the annotator and it takes on the appearance pictured in

Figure 7-1 (albeit in different colors). A circle marks the beginning,

or origin, of the gradient. Drag the circle to move the gradient inside

the shape. (And be prepared for the annotator to recenter itself after

you release.) A diamond marks the end, or terminus, of the gradient.

Drag the diamond to change the length of the gradient; move your

cursor slightly beyond the diamond and drag to change the angle.

Figure 7-1 .

Gradient origin

Gradient terminus

Color stop

The gradient annotator (annotated)

Midpoint skew

ABOUT THIS LESSON

you’ve downloaded the lesson fi les from

www.oreilly.com/go/Deke-IllustratorCS5,

as directed in Step 2 on page xiv of the

Preface. This should result in a folder called

Lesson Files-AIcs5 1on1 on your desktop.

We’ll be working with the fi les inside the

Lesson 07 subfolder.

Gradients, blends, masks, and gradient mesh represent perhaps the

most surefi re ways to take fl at path outlines and transform them

into volumetric, dimensional objects. The video explains the basics

of gradients. In the step-by-step exercises on the following pages,

you’ll learn how to:

• Blend between two or more colored paths

to create a custom gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 206

• Edit a blend and mask it inside another shape . . . . page 209

• Blend between translucent, distant, and stroked

paths to create intermediate steps . . . . . . . . . . page 213

• Use clipping masks to house anything,

including other clipping masks . . . . . . . . . . . . page 219

• Create a two-dimensional gradient mesh . . . . . . page 226

Video Lesson 7: Gradients

Creating gradients, blended transitions between colors,

allows you to add texture and shading to your artwork

without adding a single path. In this video, I’ll show you

how to create custom gradients and use blends to give

your artwork added dimension.

To see gradients in action, visit www.oreilly.com/go/deke-

IllustratorCS5. Click the Watch button to view the lesson

online or click the Download button to save it to your

computer. During the video, you’ll learn these shortcuts:

Operation Windows shortcut Macintosh shortcut

Display the Gradient panel Ctrl+F9 -F9

Apply a gradient fi ll

Press the

key (period) Press the key (period)

Apply the last-used solid fi ll

Press the key (comma) Press the key (comma)

Display the Color Guide panel Shift+F3 Shift-F3

Display the Appearance panel Shift+F6 Shift-F6

Add a fi ll to a selected object

Ctrl+ (forward slash) - (forward slash)

Add a stroke to a selected object

Ctrl+Alt+ (forward slash) -Option- (forward slash)

Display the Transparency panel Ctrl+Shift+F10 -Shift-F10

Select the gradient tool Press the G key Press the G key

Blend between two selected paths Ctrl+Alt+B -Option-B

204

Lesson 7: Blends, Masks, and Gradient Mesh