Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

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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 ...