Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 - Manual (Page 232)

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Painting
Last updated 6/5/2015
For more information on creating a gradient mesh object, see the Achieve photo realism with Gradient Mesh tutorial
at
www.adobe.com/go/learn_ai_tutorials_gradientmesh_en .
Create a mesh object with an irregular pattern of mesh points
1 Select the Mesh tool , and select a fill color for the mesh points.
2 Click where you want to position the first mesh point.
The object is converted to a mesh object with the minimum number of mesh lines.
3 Continue clicking to add additional mesh points. Shift-click to add a mesh point without changing to the current
fill color.
Create a mesh object with a regular pattern of mesh points
1 Select the object and choose Object > Create Gradient Mesh.
2 Set the number of rows and columns, and select the direction of the highlight from the Appearance menu:
Flat Applies the object’s original color evenly across the surface, resulting in no highlight.
To Center Creates a highlight in the center of the object.
To Edge Creates a highlight on the edges of the object.
3 Enter a percentage of white highlight to apply to the mesh object. A value of 100% applies maximum white highlight
to the object; a value of 0% applies no white highlight to the object.
Convert a gradient-filled object to a mesh object
1 Select the object and choose Object > Expand.
2 Select Gradient Mesh, and click OK.
The selected object is converted to a mesh object that takes the shape of the gradient, either circular (radial) or
rectangular (linear).
Convert a mesh object back to a path object
❖ Select the mesh object, choose Object > Path > Offset Path, and then enter zero for the offset value.
Edit mesh objects
You can edit a mesh object by adding, deleting, and moving mesh points; changing the color of mesh points and mesh
patches; and converting the mesh object back to a regular object.
❖ Edit a mesh object by doing any of the following:
• To add a mesh point, select the Mesh tool and select a fill color for the new mesh points. Then click anywhere
in the mesh object.
• To delete a mesh point, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the mesh point with the Mesh tool.
• To move a mesh point, drag it with the Mesh tool or Direct Selection tool. Shift-drag a mesh point with the Mesh
tool to keep the mesh point on a mesh line. This is a convenient way to move a mesh point along a curved mesh
line without distorting the mesh line.