As we mentioned before, a vector object in Illustrator has two attributes: A fill and a stroke. This chapter focuses on the fill attribute. Remember how, when you were little, you used to use crayons on coloring books, and you were so careful not to "go out of the lines?" Well, that's what a fill in Illustrator is--coloring an object, up until the boundary of the path. The good thing about Illustrator is that it never draws out of the lines--it's perfect every time--and you don't have to worry about sharpening the crayon. In this hour we discuss:
A solid color fill is rather simple. Using the same crayon example as earlier, a solid color fill is akin to using one particular crayon for the interior of the object. In the last hour we learned how to define new colors in Illustrator, as well as how to apply them to objects.
There are two other kinds of fills in Illustrator: gradients and patterns. Here we discuss how to define and apply these kinds of fills.
Gradients are a powerful feature in Illustrator, enabling you to specify a fill of different colors blending with each other. Illustrator can create a gradient between just two colors or up to 32 colors. Gradients can be used to achieve cool shading effects, to add dimension to objects, and are also a great design element (see Figure 10.1).
Gradients used for shading and adding dimension.
You can apply a gradient by simply selecting a gradient swatch from the Swatches palette. To create or edit a gradient, however, you need to open the Gradient palette (F9). There you will find a gradient swatch, an option to make the gradient Linear or Radial, fields for Angle and Location, and a gradient slider (see Figure 10.2).
The Gradient palette.
You create a gradient much the same way you create a color. First, we define the gradient, and then we click the New Swatch icon in the Swatches palette. After you create the new swatch, it's important to double-click it and give it a name. Illustrator will just call it "Unnamed gradient," and after you have 15 unnamed gradients in your Swatches palette, you just might forget which one is which.
Notice that underneath the gradient slider are icons that look like little houses. These are color stops indicating the point at which a color is used in the gradient. To create a new color stop, click anywhere underneath the gradient slider. A new house appears that you can drag to the left or right. You can also drag any color from the Swatches or Color palettes onto the gradient slider to create a color stop in that color. To change an existing color stop, either drag a new color directly on top of it, or click the icon to select it, and change the color in the Color palette.
Also notice that there are little diamond-shaped icons on top of the gradient slider. These indicate the location of the midpoint of the gradation. In other words, wherever the diamond is, that's where there is 50% of each color (see Figure 10.3).
Notice the color stops and location point indicators.
Let's define a gradient.
2. In the Gradient palette, click the gradient swatch (it's the large square in the upper left of the palette). Notice that the gradient slider below becomes active, and the color stops and midpoint indicators become visible.
3. Click a color stop. There is now a color stop visible underneath the color swatch in the Color palette.
4. Using the sliders in the Color palette, or using the spectrum at the bottom of the Color palette, select a color for the selected color stop. Alternatively, you can drag a color from the Swatches palette directly onto the color stop in the Gradient palette.
5. Let's create a new color stop. Click anywhere directly underneath the gradient slider in the Gradient palette. Notice that another color stop appears. Apply a color to it the same way as in Step 4. Alternatively, you can drag a color from the Swatches palette directly onto the gradient slider. When you let go of the mouse, a color stop of the color you dragged appears.
6. Now let's delete a color stop. You need at least three color stops in order to delete one (a minimum of two color stops is required). Click and drag downwards on the color stop you want to delete. When the color stop disappears, release the mouse.
7. Now make your final adjustments by moving the color stops and the midpoint indicators.
8. Now that your gradient is complete, click the mouse on the gradient swatch and drag it into the Swatches palette, where it appears highlighted with a white outline.
9. Double-click the new swatch and give it an appropriate name. Click OK.
To edit an existing gradient, modify the gradient in the Gradient palette, and then drag the gradient swatch on top of the swatch you want to update while holding down the (Option)[Alt] key.
The angle of the gradient can be changed in the Angle field in the Gradient palette. The angle does not affect the object in any way; it only affects the gradient that fills the object. In Figure 10.1, for example, 3D effects were achieved just by flipping the gradient 180 degrees.
The Gradient tool is used to control the direction and placement of a gradient in an object or over several objects (see Figure 10.4). After an object is filled with a gradient, select the Gradient tool (G), and with the object still selected, click and drag across the object in the direction you wish the gradient to go. Where you begin dragging is where the gradient starts, and where you let go is where the gradient ends. If you stopped dragging before the end of the object, Illustrator continues to fill the object with the color at the end of the gradient. This tool is perfect for specifying where the center of a radial blend should be when making 3D spheres (see Figure 10.5).
The Gradient tool.
Using the Gradient tool, you can make realistic looking 3D spheres.
Patterns can be real time savers. A pattern is a defined piece of art created in Illustrator that, as a fill attribute, is repeated over and over again, much like wallpaper (see Figure 10.6).
Defining a pattern is a little different from defining gradients or colors. Instead of clicking the New Swatch icon, we drag our artwork directly into the Swatches palette to define the pattern. Again, after you create the swatch, give it a unique name so that you can find and edit it quickly.
When creating a pattern design, remember that your art will be repeated over and over again, so be careful how you set it up. If you need extra space around your art, create a box with a fill and stroke of none, and send it to the back of your artwork. Then, select your art along with the background box and define the pattern. Illustrator treats that empty box as the boundary for the pattern (see Figure 10.7).
Several pattern tiles and what they look like when used to fill an object.
Time Saver: A pattern tile cannot contain another pattern or a gradient. If you want to have a gradient effect or use a pattern within your pattern, use the Expand command to convert the gradient or pattern into individual filled objects. The Expand command is covered later in this hour.
To edit a pattern, drag the new artwork on top of the swatch you want to change while pressing the (Option)[Alt] key. Also, if you lose the artwork for your pattern, don't worry. If you drag a pattern swatch out of the Swatches palette and onto the page, it automatically becomes the art for the pattern.
To move the pattern around within the object, select the object with the Selection tool, and then click and drag the object while holding down the tilde (~) key. When you let go, only the pattern is repositioned; the object does not move.
The patterns with their bounding boxes (top) and the way they appear in a filled object (bottom).
Gradients, as we now know them, first appeared in Illustrator 5 for the Mac. In versions prior to that, you were able to achieve a gradated look by blending objects into each other. Basically, the Blend tool created many objects, or steps, each with a color slightly different than the next. This gave the appearance of a gradation. Of course, gradients are more intuitive and are easier to edit, but if you need to bring your artwork, which was created in version 7 with gradations, into version 3.2, you will lose the gradient information, as it is not supported in version 3.2.
In these circumstances, as well as others, you need to convert an object filled with a gradient into actual art or blended steps. To make this conversion, select the filled object and choose Expand Fill from the Object menu (see Figure 10.8). When expanding the gradient, you can specify how many steps Illustrator breaks it into.
Choosing Expand Fill.
You can also expand an object filled with a pattern. By doing so, the fill that until now has been uneditable turns into actual art and ceases being a patterned fill. The shape also becomes a mask that blocks out parts of the pattern tiles that should not be visible (see Figure 10.9).
From the top, a pattern and gradient as viewed in Preview mode, the same pattern and gradient viewed in Artwork mode, and finally, the same pattern and gradient viewed in Artwork mode after being expanded.
Are you all filled up? This hour we learned how to fill our shapes with not only flat solid colors but with interesting multicolor gradients and patterns as well. We also learned how to use the Expand feature to convert our gradients and patterns into editable art objects. Next hour we discuss the Stroke attribute.
Gradient--Term used to describe a fill that contains two or more colors that blend into each other.
Color stop--The point in a gradient where a new color is introduced.
Steps--Individual parts of a blend. Each step is a slightly different color giving the illusion of a smooth transition.
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