Learning Illustrator gradient tools is often one of the big hurdles for Photoshop gurus when they switch, and I feel their pain! Below you will find a complete guide to solving all the frustrations you will ever experience with gradients in Illustrator.
If you double click the small slider squares in the gradient bar, a “color palette” pops up and trying to use that to make your gradients will certainly raise your blood pressure! It’s completely useless to use this palette to find your colours, at least that’s my opinion. Let me show you some better ways.
Drag & Drop Method
This is the way I prefer and use most often. Simply make sure that your Swatch palette and Gradient palette are open, drag and drop a color from the Swatches palette onto the gradient bar.
Option Click Method
This works the same way as above, but instead of drag & drop, select the little slider you want to change (gets a black triangle unto when selected), and option/alt click on the colour you want in the Swatches palette.
Sampling Method
This is the most important feature and read this tip more than once.
Turn on the outline view in the layer where the gradient are (assuming your gradient shapes are in a different layer than your background image), by command/control click the little eye in Layers panel.
Select the slider that needs changing, by clicking once then press “i” for eyedropper and with shift click on the sample image it should pop right in, without making a solid fill. You MUST hold SHIFT, otherwise you will change the entire shape to have a fill rather than the gradient you just worked so hard to create.
More Sliders
If you want to apply more sliders, Option/Alt click the slider and drag and a copy of the slider and colour should appear on the gradient bar.
That’s it! The problem with gradient palette lies in the shortcuts which I personally find cumbersome, especially if you got your feet wet with Gradient Mesh tool, which works more intuitively.
But I Want the Color Picker!
If you have a gradient and now want to find your colours and you aren’t sampling, then what?
If you make a shape and apply a gradient, click on the small sliders you want to adjust the color on, so that the triangle turns black (that means it is selected). Then double click in the fill box in toolbox and now you should be able to select a color using the Color Picker.
Gradient Tool
You can use the Gradient Tool for a more “hands on feel” when directing the gradient, if you have trouble with using the Gradient palette for gradient directions (you may need to select the Show More Options on the little menu in the Gradient palette).
Blend Tool
The Blend tool is another tool to make gradients and it really differs radically from normal gradients. In control it excels.
I could go on and on writing about the differences, but LayersMagazine.com really breaks down the process a lot better with their video tuts.
Mesh Tool
Don’t be afraid of Mesh tool/Gradient Mesh. It only takes a short amount of time to learn and believe me, you will never go back to simple gradients again - ever!
Nice writeup. I’m using the gradient in Illustrator for many of my (signage) designs, combined with drop-shadow, you easily create a metal-look nameplate, that looks attractive. Thanks for the layersmagazine links.
Sander’s last blog post..Neues Museum Nürnberg
Where were you a month ago when I was having this problem. It’s good to know you can use the eyedropper tool for gradients. I still don’t understand why Photoshop & Illustrator have such different methods for creating gradients, they’re made by the same company! Ahh, rant over
@Sander
Is it possible to see some of your designs? I find signage design really interesting, the american old school vegas trend is particular interesting.
@David
I think the reason is rather easy to explain! I believe the gradients in Illustrator is build very similar to the gradient mesh, but it could easily be cleared up by Adobe and I total agree
Esben, this article explaining how to work with Illustrator gradients was superb. You definitely taught me new things! I love reading these articles of yours and I’m so glad you like to publish them on CC.
thanks for letting me use your blog :-)
A light use of gradient in this example, it adds a small bit of realism to the image.
http://www.designworkplan.com/images/creativecurio-gradient-01.png
A heavy use of gradient with a touch of transparancy here and there..
http://www.designworkplan.com/images/creativecurio-gradient-02.png
(edit, cannot insert images, please follow the links)
What you you think of the usage of gradient in the above mentioned images?
@Sander
They look good actually, especially the nameplate
and I like the way you made the screws, but have you ever tired using mesh grid instead?
I’m back! Sort of. I needed help on gradients for InDy and found this, hoping it would apply.
I was wondering if anyone can please tell me how I can apply a gradient (specifically, one fading to transparency) to SELECTED text within a text box? I only seem to be able to apply the gradient (and control its direction and transition, which I also would like to do) to all the text in a text box, as opposed to just the bits I’ve highlighted. Is this just not possible with InDesign or am I missing something?
(Sorry to sort of stray off-topic here…)
Emily,
Gradients have always been a little weird in InDesign. Off the top of my head, I’m not sure you can put a gradient on text, but try turning the text into outlines (you won’t be able to easily edit it after this so either save a copy of the text on a layer and then hide that layer or just make sure you won’t need to change it). I’m 99.9% positive you can’t fade text to transparency in InDesign (or Illustrator for that matter, not without an Opacity Mask in Illy at least, though with CS4…). Can you fade it into the background color instead? That’s usually a quick work around. I don’t have time to research this question right now, but the first place I would go is the Adobe LiveDocs. Then InDesign Secrets. Let me know if you figure it out!
Im not sure if I understand the question and if thats the case ignore my post.
But you want a gradient thats transparent over a textbox, without outlining the text?
Thats rather easy to do in Illustrator by using a simple gradient, textbox and opacity mask - but I think I somehow misunderstand your issue
Thank you for helping me with the transistion from PS to AI with gradients. I have been cracking my skull for a few days now.
Simple and sweet just drag and drop, I feel slow:)
Jonathan Martin´s last blog post: It is time for year-end Awards!
Glad I could help :)
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