Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

at the points along the new row line through the canoe indicated

by the orange arrowheads. In all, you’ll add six rows (lines such

as

, going up and to the right) and four columns (like ).

If you add too many rows or columns, or position one at the wrong location,

delete it by Alt-clicking (or Option-clicking) with the mesh tool. But be

careful: Alt-clicking an anchor point deletes both its row and its column. If

you want to delete a row or column independently of the other, click a line

between the anchor points.

9. Switch back to the preview mode. To witness the effects of the

new points on your gradient, press Ctrl+Y (or -Y), which switches

back to the preview mode. If you followed my directions, each of

your new points of color will be either transitional (that is, a blend

of the colors that already existed) or green. Why green? Because

that was the color of the column that you clicked fi rst.

10.

Switch to the lasso tool. Making a gradient mesh and adding rows

and columns is child’s play. But as you may recall from having

been a child, child’s play is the most intricate play there is. Ours

has resulted in a grid full of anchor points, each of which conveys

color and position information. It is in adjusting these points that

the real fun begins.

Recoloring points—as we’re about to do—is a matter of selecting

those points and setting a color. You can select a point ...