Basics of Adobe Illustrator

Basics of Adobe Illustrator

06

Gradients Solid fills Gradients fills Pattern fills

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Solid fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Arbitrary color allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Local and global swatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Swatch libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Color groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Color groups editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Repainting of images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Reassignment of color groups . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The example of artwork recoloring . . . . . . . . . . 31 Gradient fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Pattern fills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Transformation of pattern fills . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Creating a customized pattern swatch . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Self-test questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

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INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE USED WITHIN THIS LESSON Each time you see an illustration with the switch on the right of it, you can use it to preview various images or their various variants.

Introduction In the course of this lesson we will talk about fills of Adobe Illustrator, consider program handling tools and application of solid, gradient and pattern fills. Generally, we have considered both of these themes in the course «Basics of Adobe Photoshop». So, it is not necessary to talk again about the concept of gradient fill, its purpose, problems, which are solved by it, and its application. It will be sufficient to consider the working technique only. Formally, it is the difference of use of these fillings in vector graphics, and peculiarities of their handling in Adobe Illustrator.

Introduction Gradients Basics of Adobe Illustrator

Solid fills Today’s lesson is a very special one. It is unique, because we will put a lot of time into consideration of the simplest type of fills that is a solid fill. At first glance it may seem that it is not difficult to use this type of fills, since we have learned how to use them in the course of the first lesson. However, now we are going to learn this topic deeper. You will see that we can do a lot of interesting and amazing things by means of fills. However, let’s relate the facts as they actually happened. We will start from continuing the conversation about the way of selection and allocation of colors for the object fill and stroke.

Solid fills Gradients Basics of Adobe Illustrator

Arbitrary color allocation In the course of the first lesson we have studied the easiest way to select a color. It is performed by means of the fields in the toolbar. There are other ways, such as using a special Color panel. We know many items of this panel. We can select the color of fill or stroke in order to define a color that is to be configured. We can relocate them or go back to the default colors (black stroke, white fill). You should know these items very well, as they are used in Adobe Photoshop too. There are three buttons at the bottom of the panel. They allow us to allocate none (transparency or invisibility), black or white color for the fill or stroke in a quick and easy manner. There is a spectrum line at the bottom of the panel. It allows us select the desired hue in a quick, but rough way.


Method of color calibration changes when using the Color panel. Here we use the numeric fields and sliders in order to select the desired color. Please note that in Adobe Illustrator you can set a color in a much more accurate manner than in Adobe Photoshop. We can use the fractional values of colors applying the CMYK or HSB Color panel coordinates. By means of the panel menu we can switch to different modes of color selection using the coordinates of different color models: Grayscale, RGB, HSB, CMYK or Web Safe RGB*. * The concept of web safe colors is quite outdated. We will learn it in general in the course of the third semester, when studying the web design. However, it is not used in practice any more.

There are two more features, which are also very interesting. In the Color panel menu you can see the Invert and Complement commands, which allow us to select a color that is opposite to the current one. You will learn the concept of complementary colors in the course «Design Theory» in the section devoted to coloristics. Nevertheless, now we will talk a little about it. Complementary color is a color that emphasizes and complements any other color. In contrast to the invert color, complementary color will have the same brightness as the original one. It is easy to guess that it is impossible to create a complementary color to black, gray or white. The last command in the Color panel menu is Create New Swatch. We will consider swatches together with it.

Color panel menu

Original colors of objects


The color of bottom object was inverted

The color of bottom object was changed to the complementary one

Swatches You know the Swatches panel and the concept of swatches, because they have been also discussed in the course of Adobe Photoshop. It was another way to select a color. When working in Adobe Photoshop, there was no difference in the way of allocation of the working color. It did not affect the result of work. There are some details in Adobe Illustrator, which should be learnt. They also are related to work with the Swatches panel. Let’s consider a few major features of the Swatches panel in Adobe Illustrator: 1. Actually, the Swatches panel stores not color samples, but the samples of fills. Therefore, it is possible to see not only the samples of solid color fills, but also the samples of gradient and pattern fills.


2. Each document may have its own panel contents. There is a certain basic set of hues displayed by default. However, we can add, modify and cut it, and these changes will be saved for this particular document only. Therefore, when working with a document we have more colors, than when working with other documents. It is absolutely normal.

Swatches panel

Let’s look at what we can see in the Swatches panel by default without changing it. The first option of the panel is None. It is depicted as a white square crossed with a red line. By means of this swatch you can cancel the object

Registration color

fill or stroke, i.e. to allocate «no color» for them. This swatch cannot be removed from the panel anyway (however, you can move it into another location within the panel).. The second option is Registration. It is a special color with the following values C: 100% M: 100% Y: 100% K: 100%. This color is used in the printing industry for solving some technical problems. You’ll learn more about it in the second semester, in the course «Prepress». Till then it is not necessary to use it. After this, we can see usual swatches, samples of gradient and pattern fills. In some cases, we can also see swatches with a white triangle with a point located in the lower right corner. They are so-called SPOT COLORS, which are also used in the printing industry. You’ll learn more about them in the course «Prepress» too. You should not use them now, because their use without understanding the purpose can cause some troubles with printing and exporting your document later. In the bottom of the panel you can see the control buttons, which allow us to perform different actions to the swatches available within the panel.


Black and white

Panel menu

None (fill or stroke cancellation)

Regular hues of colors

Main spectrum colors (including RGB + CMY)

Main spectrum colors (including RGB + CMY)

Pattern fill swatches

Образцы градиентных заливок Spot colors

Open swatch library

Selection of displayed swatches Swatch adjustment (In some cases, this button is replaced with another one)

Delete swatch

Create new swatch Create color group

Let’s consider the panel menu contents. We can easily guess what they are doing by name of many commands. For example, it is clear that the New Swatch command is used in order to create a new color swatch and add it to the panel. Later we’ll learn how to do that and which settings are necessary for this. The Duplicate Swatch command allows us to create a copy of some hue in order to change it in future. Merge Swatches allows us to «deal» with randomly created copies of swatches if one hue was entered into the panel for several times and with different names. The Delete Swatch command allows us to delete unwanted swatches from the panel. The New Color Group and Ungroup Color Group commands are designed to deal with color groups. We will consider this process later. The Select All Unused command makes it easy to find all of the swatches, which were not applied while working with a document. For example, in such a way we can remove them safely. On the contrary, the Add Used Colors command allows us to create swatches according to colors of objects within the document.


The Sort by Name and Sort by Kind commands are designed to control the order of swatches displayed in the panel. (Names of swatches will be visible only if you display the swatches as a list in the panel. If they are displayed as small squares, you can see the name by holding the cursor over the swatch and waiting for the screen tip.)

The Show Find Field command allows us to display the field in order to find a hue by its name. This is necessary if you use a color library including hundreds or thousands of different hues and need to find a certain color. However, it is required to solve some problems in the printing area only, and this is a rarity.

The Small Thumbnail View, Medium Thumbnail View, Large Thumbnail View, Small List View and Large List View commands allow us to adjust the way of displaying the swatches within the panel. Thumbnail

modes will display swatches in the form of colored squares of different size. List modes will display the swatches by means of the list lines, marked with the swatch icon and the color name written nearby. The Swatch Options command allows us to open a dialog box, where you may change the swatch name or its hue, color model, etc. The Spot Colors command allows us to call a dialog box with options for operating the spot colors, i.e. with special printing inks. Again, we should note that it is an unknown material for us. We will consider this topic in the course «Prepress» in the second semester. So, we have to leave these settings for now.


The Open Swatch Library submenu allows us to open additional panels with various collections of hues, and even with pattern and gradient fills. Later we’ll talk about them in detail. Save Swatch Library as ASE and Save Swatch Library as AI commands allow us to save a current library of swatches (that you might complemented, configured and changed) to a file in order to download and use it in other documents. You can save a library in an ASE file format (standard format of the libraries of hues in Adobe Illustrator), or as an AI file that is a document format. If you save the library in the AI format, it will be a fullfeatured document. You will be able to open it, but there will be no content except for the Swatches panel options.

Let’s consider how to create a new swatch and add it to the Swatches panel. This can be performed in several ways. For example, just drag and drop the color field from the Color panel or from the toolbar to the Swatches panel. It is not difficult at all. However, it would be more correct to use a special command in order to create a new swatch, as it allows us to set all the necessary options. In the New Swatch dialog box we may specify the name of swatch using the Swatch Name field. The Color Type dropdown list allows us to select Process Color and Spot Color. It is worth reiterating that spot colors are used in special works made for printing establishments only, so as long as you do not know what it is and why it is needed, all your colors should be Process. The Color Mode dropdown list and related settings allow us to select colors using different color models and systems of color components. Thus, a real appearance of color is additionally restricted by the selected color model of the document. In other words, if you set the CMYK mode for your document, then no matter what color model you would select for the creation of swatch, you still would not be able to get a deep blue or bright harsh green.


Dialog box of options used in order to create a new swatch

Selection of color model in order to create a new swatch

Local and global swatches There is still one option in the menu of a new swatch creation that we have not considered yet. It is the Global check box. What is its purpose? There are two types of swatches in Adobe Illustrator: LOCAL SWATCHES and GLOBAL SWATCHES. Global swatches are marked in the Swatches panel with white triangle located in the lower right corner. It is similar to the one corresponding to the spot colors, but without a point in the triangle. If we set the Global check box when creating or editing a swatch, then we create a global swatch, of course. However, what will it mean for us? Global swatches differ from the local ones in the fact that a continuous connection is maintained between the swatches and the objects painted with these colors. If you have used a global swatch in order to paint an object in green color, Adobe Illustrator retains the object color and also

remembers that it was made by means of a certain swatch. It turns out that if you will decide to change the global color later, for example, edit and change its color so that it will become orange, all the objects painted with it will change their color into orange too. This is a very important idea that is to be understood. It differs from the things we used to see studying Adobe Photoshop. It turns out that while working with different objects (or objects

Two objects in the document have been painted with two swatches. The green object was painted using a global swatch and the lilac one was painted using a traditional swatch.


After editing the global swatch, the color of object painted with it was also changed into orange. Change of the original swatch has not changed lilac color of the object.

and some elements of the program) there may be hidden connections, which we can use! In this particular case we have an opportunity to put a possibility to change the document later. Let’s consider such a scheme in order to understand how it may be applied. Let’s assume that you create a corporate design project for some company. You came up with a logo, designed some elements for production and selected corporate colors. Now you’re going to show them to the customer. It is not difficult to imagine that he/she will not like all of them. He/ She may not like a logo or a chosen font. Well, there is nothing to be done. It happens. He/She may not like the selected color of corporate identity. Here you can secure yourself in advance by processing the objects within the document using the global swatches. Then, if the client will want to look at your work in other colors, you will not have to seek and highlight the design elements manually throughout the document in order to repaint them. It is enough to change the global swatch and all objects processed by means of it will be repainted in a similar color.


Of course, it is just one example of use of global swatches. However, we hope it is able to give an idea of how much time you can save while working, if you know program features and different «tiny» options, which can be used for your own good.

Swatch libraries Adobe Illustrator is able to save some options in the LIBRARIES including sets of swatches, as well as Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Illustrator operates a huge amount of color libraries, which can be downloaded using the Swatches panel menu. Since there are a lot of color libraries, they are divided by themes and specifics of their use. For example, Ancient, Baroque, Impressionism, etc. are joined into the Art History group. Every library offers a topical collection of the swatches (well, from the point of view of the authors of these libraries) reflecting the color palette used in the art works of a given period. If we load one of these libraries, for example, Ancient, we see that it has an internal division. It includes the following color groups: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, etc. Through such an elaborate system of categories you can

deal with a variety of libraries of swatches and numerous swatches, which are included into them.

Adobe Illustrator includes a large number of libraries of swatches, which are divided in the boot menu by different characteristics


The most of libraries are topic-based, where the colors are collected by some stylistic, narrative and genre characteristics. However, some libraries have their own features, which are necessary to know: • Color Books is a group of libraries designed to work with special inks (spot colors). Perhaps they should not be used in most cases, since for now you do not understand why they are needed. • Default Swatches is a group of libraries containing the libraries of «regular» set of colors used for solving the different tasks: in the area of web design, graphic arts, video and so on. Most of the colors are similar in all these libraries, but they use different additional colors (in a single color group) and different color models. • Gradients and Patterns are groups of libraries containing libraries of swatches of pattern and gradient fills. • System (Macintosh), System (Windows) and Web are libraries, which became outdated fifteen years ago. They relate to the time when «computers were large, and screens


were small». Currently, there is no reason to use any of these colors in web or interface design. They are stored in many programs as a matter of convention only and for backward compatibility with old documents.

Swatch library is divided into several color groups displayed in the icon mode

The same library is displayed in the list mode. You can see the names of colors and color groups.

When you call the libraries through the Swatches panel menu, it opens in a separate panel. Swatches may be dragged from this library into the Swatches panel or used directly. There is no difference between these methods. You can also select multiple swatches or an entire color group and use a command of the Add to Swatches panel menu in order to copy the selected swatches into the Swatches panel. In the same menu you can sort the hues and manage the way they are displayed in the panel. These «extra» panels of swatches will not be displayed if you close Adobe Illustrator and then start it again. In contrast to all other elements of the interface, the program does not «remember» what additional panels of swatches you have opened and where they have been located. However, the Persistent command is available in the panel menu. When this command is enabled, Illustrator will also memorize the position and options of the panel. It is convenient, for example, if you are going to work with the same set of additional swatches for several days.


Options of the swatch library panel

Color groups We have already mentioned the color groups located in the Swatches panel and in the additional panels of the libraries. First of all, color group is a way to organize swatches and group them together somehow. We can create color groups ourselves (it’s not a rocket science) and then add, remove and rearrange hues within a group or between several groups, etc. The first problem solved by the color groups is organization of large number of color hues, which can be stored in libraries or loaded into the Swatches panel. But there are some other things you can do using the color groups. They may be applied to work with the grouped hues of color like with a system of hues, which were selected not by chance, but according to some principles. Also you can see the relation of colors between each other and


change them depending on such relations. We l l , p r o b a b l y t h e l a s t paragraph is not clear at all, is it? Let’s just see how it works. Creation of color group

Color group in the Swatches panel

Color groups editing In order to understand general concept of the subject of this section, we should consider some theoretical problems of working with color. Particularly, we will address some terms of coloristics. Soon you will start studying the course «Design Theory», where you will talk about coloristics in detail. However, now we need to understand some of the basic laws of color, because the color groups editing assumes the use of certain regularities of color combinations and ratios. In general, we will consider the coloristics in order to understand how to work with color groups and how to use them. Later you will study it in detail in the course «Design theory». So, selecting a group of colors in the Swatches panel, we can use the Edit Color Group button in order to enter the mode of editing the color group.

This button is displayed if you have selected a color group only. If you will select one or several swatches, then the Swatch Options button will be displayed instead of the Edit Color Group button.

Selecting one of the swatches, we can edit it using the Swatch Options button that is the third in a row of buttons at the bottom of the panel


When you select a whole color group, we also select all of its swatches. The Swatch Options button is replaced with the Edit Color Group button

By clicking the Edit Color Group button, we will open a large Edit Colors dialog box. At the right side of it we will see all the color groups available within the Swatches panel. At the left side there is a large beautiful multi-colored circle that is called a color wheel. All artists and designers know what it is and often use it in their work. What is a color wheel? It is a way to show a whole variety of possible colors and hues in the form of a specific system. Color wheel includes certain regularities. For example, warm colors are located on one side and cold ones — on the other side, etc. When we edit a color group in the Edit Colors dialog box we can see all the colors of this group located in the color wheel at the same time. We’ll see how they are placed in the wheel and how they are positioned in relation to each other. In coloristics, there are a lot of rules on the selection of color combinations, which allow us to determine how the colors «work» with each other just considering the way they are arranged within the color wheel.


Dialog box of the color group editing

For exa mple, t here is t he concept of COMPLEMENT COLORS. They are the colors, which are highly contrasting by definition They emphasize, reinforce and complement each other. In the color wheel, such colors are positioned opposite to each other. For example, red is opposite to green, and a pair of red and green is complementary *. Also there are other schemes. For example, colors may be analogous; they are placed next to each other on the color wheel. These color combinations are restrained and harmonious. There may be color systems consisting of two, three, four or more different hues, and all of them will be placed in the color wheel in a deliberate manner. They will have some kind of relationships and they are able to «work» together. When editing a color group, we can see all its colors in the color wheel at once. If they were * Considering previous sections we have talked about the fact that a complementary color can be obtained using a special command of the Color panel. So, if you use this command with the red color, you will get not green, but blue. Why is that? Because (as you will learn from the lessons of the course “Design Theory”) there are a few color wheels and their different options. In one case Adobe Illustrator uses one option, where red and green are complementary colors. And in another case Adobe Illustrator uses another option, where red and blue are complementary colors. Well, it just happened. In this case, particularly. :)


created in a thoughtful manner by using the color schemes, we will probably see it just by their location in the wheel. If they were not, it did not a big point. You should not always create something following the rules. Similarly, we can edit hues in a color group. We may edit all the hues at once, maintaining the relationships between them; we also may edit them individually, creating a new relationship or

The selected hue of color

Switching the display modes of the color wheel Editing the selected hue

Adding a new color into the color group. Deletion of the selected color from the color group. Enabling or disabling the connection between the hues Artificial restriction of hues according to another color panel

destroying the old ones. In this case color wheel is just a tool, and we can use it in quite different ways. For convenience, color wheel may be displayed in the Edit Colors dialog box in different ways. Despite the fact that we can control any color of the color group using the sliders located at the bottom of the screen, often we will do it right in the color wheel (if we do not need a high accuracy), because this way is more compelling. We need to be able to «adjust» the wheel display in order to execute a specific task. The color hues (red, green, blue, etc.) are always circumferentially-spaced within the color wheel. It seems that they go around the wheel’s center. Additionally, we can display another color peculiarity. For example, we can make the colors located closer to the edge of the wheel more saturated, and those in the center will be more faded. We can also display brightness, making the colors darker to the center, where they will become black-colored. In the Edit Colors dialog box, it is possible to enable both display modes of color wheel. You can manage the third color coordinate with a special slider located under the color wheel.


In addition, you can make the color wheel to be displayed smoother (without visible transitions between hues) or segmented (with clearly distinguished individual tones). The last wheel may be familiar to artists and everyone who was trained at the art school. Students have to draw the color wheels by themselves there, mixing inks in different proportions. They are generally drawn separated into segments, so this option may be more familiar for you. As has been said, we can edit the colors included into the color group we work with. We should just start to drag them along the color wheel surface. It is also possible to change the values of the color components using the sliders and numeric fields at the bottom of the dialog box. At that all or individual colors may be changed. When we change all the colors at the same time, we

maintain relations between them. For example, complement colors will be changed so that they will remain complement, and so on. Usually it allows us to change the colors by means of a deliberately harmonious color combination, but not to lose the harmony between them. At the same time there is a mode, when every color is changed independently. It may be necessary to clarify the relationship between the colors of the color group. Or maybe you do not use color combinations at all, but do everything «by sight»? Of course, you can work using this method; however, in this case it is easier to edit each color separately. Using one of the right bottom buttons located in the color wheel, you can switch the editing modes. Also we can delete individual colors from the color group in this dialog box or add new hues into it. Special right bottom buttons located on the color wheel are used for this purpose.


Repainting of images When we had considered the concept of color groups in one of the previous sections for the first time, we thought that it was a very simple function of the program. It seemed to be just a way to organize samples of hues in the Swatches panel. Then we have learned that it is possible to edit the color groups. Here we considered new mechanisms, which allow us to use the color wheel in order to create and edit hues of colors within the color group according to their relationships. Now we are going to learn two additional possibilities of color groups. You will be surprised how interesting and useful can be a function that seemed to be so simple from the very beginning.. First of all, color groups are used to add multiple hues to the Swatches panel at one action. At that we do not create them manually, but use the objects in Adobe Illustrator document. This


is especially useful if we work with an image that was not created independently. For example, we can find such an image in the library of vector images (i.e. clipart). In this case an image is already painted with some colors, and we may want to add them to the Swatches panel for the convenience of further work. We will not do it manually, but use the capabilities of color groups in order to solve this problem. How to do that? In fact, it is very simple. Just select an object or a few objects (it may be a group or just separate objects, which you have selected in some way), and then create a new color group in the Swatches panel. A new color group will be automatically filled with swatches. It will include all the colors of the selected objects.

When creating a color group, a dialog box will be opened. There we must set the Selected Artwork switch or to make sure that it was automatically installed by the program. Also, you may set the Convert Process to Global check box. This will allow us not only to create new swatches in the panel, but also make them global immediately or to connect them to the objects painted with this color. The next step is to change the color of objects of the artwork by editing the swatches. It would be useful if you need to change the color of many objects. But wait there is more!


We can proceed and use this created color group in order to change the color of objects in the artwork. Let’s select the needed objects or a whole artwork and a color group in the Swatches panel, and click the Edit or Apply Color Group button. Make sure that the switch is located at the top of the Edit position in the dialog box. Then we just edit the colors of the group using the known methods. This will lead to the fact that the colors used in the artwork will be changed together with the colors of the group. In this way you can quickly and easily change the color of the image, with which you are working now.


Reassignment of color groups One of the most interesting features of color groups is the possibility of their reassignment. We can take an object or a piece of artwork painted with the swatches of color group and reassign its colors using the colors of another color group. This is another way of repainting the objects within a document. It is quite powerful and interesting, but difficult. In order to repaint the objects using this method, you need to perform similar actions and previously set the upper switch to the Assign position in the Recolor Artwork dialog box. Now we are going not to change the swatches in the color group, but to reassign them. For example, if there are two or more color groups in the Swatches panel, we can simply choose a different color group. It will differ from the one that was used


for coloring the objects. Colors will be replaced with the new ones. How does this happen? The list of hues presented in the image is displayed in the dialog box. To the right of it there is a narrow column showing the color with which

these hues will be replaced. It is possible to manage this process in a flexible manner: you can select a color in the right (narrow) column and configure it manually; colors may be dragged from place to place within the list. You can also control their order and select a hue that will match them. We can also place two or more colors into one line. In this case, each of these hues will be replaced with a new color. (Sometimes, it will happen automatically if we have chosen a new color group containing a number of colors that is smaller than the one used in the artwork.) At the same time, some lines may be left empty. It will often happen, if we will create new lines containing two or more colors, because their original positions will not be used. If the Recolor Art check box is selected in the dialog box, you’ll be able to see how each of your actions affects the color of the artwork, and it will be much easier to understand how new colors match the old ones. When you put a few hues of color into one line and assign them a new color, you can use another interesting technique. In such cases it is not necessary for each of these hues to look


perfectly alike. We can assign them a new color using slightly different options of it In order to do this you need to open the dropdown list located next to the new color field and select one of five options for recoloring*: * Not all of them will be available all the time. It depends on the color model and the fact whether you are going to use the spot colors or not. You will not use them until you will learn what they are in the course of second semester.

In this example, five colors of the artwork correspond to five new colors, with which the first ones will be replaced. We can see that the colors are replaced by exactly the same ones, i.e. there is no visible recoloring

We can manually select new colors, which will replace the current ones, by means of the color selection options available in the bottom of the dialog box. We can also drag and drop colors within the list: change their arrangement, leave some lines empty and put several hues into the other lines. In the figure you can see that the 1st line contains one hue that is not changed, the 2nd and the 4th lines are empty, and both the 3rd and the 5th lines contain two hues, which will be replaced with different hues of green.

• Exact. New color will correspond to all the hues within the line. • Preserve Tints. The hues of brightness of the original colors will be preserved. New color will be assigned, but different hues will be replaced with different options of it and they will have different brightness. • Scale Tints is a similar mode. Different types of brightness will be appointed so that they will use the available range of brightness to the full extent. • Tints and Shades is another option of toning the images using the colors of different brightness and saturation. • Hue Shift preserves the difference in color hues after recoloring.


The example of artwork recoloring There are too many options, which make it difficult to understand them. Let’s see how they can be used in practice. Take the artwork shown in the illustration and use the possibilities of color groups in order to change its color. In this example, we are not going to create a group of colors, which are currently used in the artwork. Let’s assume that we are not interested in them at all. We do not like them, so it makes no sense to keep them within the color group. Let’s start with adding a new color group to the Swatches panel. We like colors of this group and we are going to use them in order to recolor the image.


Original image. Source: http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/merry-go-round-greeting-card_761129.htm

Let’s take the Desaturated 13 color group from the Desaturated library as an example. This group, as well as the whole library, contains the hues of low saturation, which are obscure and restrained. Let’s select this color group and add it to the Swatches panel. Now we are going to select the artwork and the Desaturated 13 color group, and apply the Edit or Apply Color Group command. Then we shall make sure that the Assign mode is selected in the dialog box. It will allow us to reassign colors for the selected objects. If the Recolor Art check box has been selected, we will immediately see the result of recoloring. It is possible that it is suitable for us. However, if not, we are going to edit the field containing colors. We will change the position of colors or some of the hues within the color group, and so on. One of the most important stages of the process of recoloring the artworks is a reduction of number of colors being in use. The Preset dropdown list, the advanced options available next to it and the Colors field that is set to Auto by default ensure the performance of this stage. In this field you can set different colors, which we are


going to obtain at the end of work. Their number is from 1 to 5, but there is also another option – All. It will not provide the reduction of colors at all (but it can make the work more complex, because you will need to add colors manually if they are in deficiency within the new color group).

Let’s open the advanced settings and consider what actions it is possible to perform with the Color Reduction Options dialog box. Here we are able to select one of the standard methods or edit the options manually via the Preset drop-down list. Again, we can see the Colors option, with which we can control the number of different colors occurring after recoloring the final option of the artwork. More interesting options are available below. For example, the Sort drop-down list allows us to put in order the original colors of the artwork within the view field. It is very convenient. We can use the Hue-forward and Hue-backward modes to sort the colors by their hue in direct or reverted order with regard to the spectrum. The Lightness -dark to light and Lightness-light to dark modes are also useful. The Colorize method drop-down list allows us to select one of the already known algorithms, which allow us to perform recoloring or keep the difference in brightness, saturation and hue of colors. The Preserve check boxes located at the bottom of the dialog box are also very useful. They allow us to protect significant parts of the artwork against recoloring: White, Black and Grays. It is very


important in order to preserve the natural and meaningful view of your artwork after recoloring, because without these options you may find out that the shadows became green, and the contours, which were black, turned to yellow. Of course, it would be inappropriate. There is another option that has not been mentioned: Limit to Library. It is available in the main dialog box. What is its purpose? Color Limitation Options This option allows us to choose another library of hues that will additionally affect the image coloring by changing the chosen hues. Now we have a very complex algorithm of artwork recoloring:

1. Original colors are limited in quantity and some of them are put into one line. Thus they are not assigned as independent colors, but the options of one color, which differ in brightness, saturation or hue. 2. We select a color group replacing the original colors of image with it. 3. In addition, each color of the group can be assigned to multiple colors available in one line in a «hard» or «flexible» manner with variations of brightness, saturation and hue. 4. All these hues are additionally «adjusted» to some chosen color library defining the common characteristics of all the new colors in the artwork.

Selection of palette for the additional correction of hues


It is really complicated, but very flexible. The more options, the more opportunities to influence the outcome. Of course, at first it may be difficult to understand them, but in this case you just need to apply them in practice and understand how every option and stage of the processing of original colors of the image affect the final result. There is another way. You may not go deeply into this process, but just experiment with the options and look for the option that will be suitable for you. Finally, you can always modify a recolored image by hand. Now we are going to finish the consideration of solid fills and amazing features of the Swatches panel, and proceed with more complex issues, which are pattern and gradient fills.


Original artwork with original colors

Gradient fills You have considered the concept of gradient fills in the course «Basics of Adobe Photoshop». So we do not need to learn them from the very beginning. Now we are going to talk about the difference between working with gradient fills in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. In Illustrator, just as in Photoshop, there is a special tool named Gradient. Using it we can create and edit gradient fills of objects. Fill options are available in the Gradient panel, where we can choose the type of gradient fill, manage the used colors, etc. Let’s consider some important differences, which occur while working with gradient fills in Adobe Illustrator and in Adobe Photoshop:

Gradient fills Gradients Basics of Adobe Illustrator

1. There are only t wo t y pes of gradient f ills in Adobe Illustrator: linear and radial. 2. In Adobe Illustator gradient f ill remains editable af ter application: we can select an object filled with a gradient, see the options of its fill, and change them during operation at any time. 3. In Adobe Illustrator gradient may be applied not only to the fill, but also to the stroke. 4. Adobe Illustrator Gradients may i nc lude t r a n spa rent areas. However, we will not be able to find certain markers of tra nsparenc y w it hin

Gradient panel in a reduced and expanded view

the gradient options, as it was in Adobe Photoshop. Instead, we can set an additional Opacity for each of the color markers by means of a special field. The most important difference is the ability to edit a vector fill after its application to objects. The Gradient tool is used for this purpose (as well as for creation of fill). It allows us to display a special control line by means of which we can see how gradient fill is located in the object, where the reference colors are placed, and so on. Later we will talk about this in detail. There is another important difference between Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. It relates to the radial fill only. When using it, the Aspect Ratio field becomes available within the Gradient panel. If we set a value that differs from 100%, it is possible to make a radial fill not round, but elliptical by means of this ratio. It is an interesting feature that was absent in gradient fills in Adobe Photoshop, although a similar effect could be achieved with transformation of area or layer, filled with a gradient.


Since the radial fill may be not circular, the Angle field remains active when using it. It can be used to turn a fill «inside» the object. Of course, this does not make sense in case of round radial fill, but if the fill has an elliptical shape (i.e. when the proportions differ from 100%), this would be a meaningful action and a definitely useful feature for some tasks. As it has been said, we can apply a gradient fill both to the object fill and stroke that will allow us to get a stroke with a smoothly varying color and more complex objects.

There are only two types of gradient fills in Adobe Illustrator: linear and radial

Colors of the gradient fill are adjusted in the Gradient panel in a usual way, but there is a significant difference: there are no specific markers for the transparency setting; instead, each of the color markers may have its own value of transparency

In order to choose whether a gradient will be applied to the fill of object or its stroke, we can use the fill and stroke icons within the Gradient panel. They are exactly the same as in the Color panel or in the toolbar. Applying a gradient fill to the stroke of object, we will see that the Stroke switch became active. It is available under the drop-down menu with the fill selection. By means of three buttons we can choose three options of the stroke fill with gradient: • Apply gradient within a stroke. A stroke of object is filled with gradient transition of colors. • Apply gradient along a stroke. A gradient transition goes along the stroke repeating the shape of the object outline. • Apply gradient across a stroke. Gradient transition of colors goes across the stroke in the outward direction.


Different options of application of a gradient fill to the stroke. Linear gradient fill (from left to right) is in the first line: within a stroke, along a stroke and across a stroke. Radial gradient fill (from left to right) is in the second line: within a stroke, along a stroke and across a stroke.

The type of gradient applied to the stroke is also very important. It may be radial or linear. The final result also depends on this condition. You can apply gradient to an object selecting it and choosing one of the types of gradient fill within the Gradient panel, using a sample of gradient fill within the Swatches panel or by means of the Gradient tool, immediately specifying the size and position of the gradient fill in the object. After application of a gradient we can edit it as often and long as we wish. In order to do this you can use options of the Gradient panel or select the Gradient tool and use a control line that is displayed on the top of object with a gradient fill.


Using the color markers displayed on the control line we can change the position of individual colors in the gradient transition. We can change the color of one of the markers by double clicking on it and thus opening the dropdown menu with a selection of colors. We can remove one of the color markers just dragging it with the mouse down from the control line. We can also select a marker and use a special delete button available on the Gradient panel. Double-clicking on an empty area of the control line we can add a new color marker. In this case it will have a color that is similar to the one of gradient transition at this point. You can also drag a swatch from the Swatches panel to the control line. The control line can be used in order to manage the size and position of gradient fill in the object. One of the ends of the control line (marked with a larger marker) is used for its movement in relation to the object; the second one (a smaller marker) serves to change the size of gradient transition. The same marker can be used to rotate a gradient fill in relation to the object.


When working with radial gradients, a dashed round (or elliptical) area is displayed in addition to the control line. It shows the end of gradient transition and the start of coloring the object with a solid color. Also there are two markers on this line. They can be used to adjust the size and shape of gradient fill. One of them is used to adjust the size and the second — to control the gradient proportions. Via this second marker we can create not round, but elliptical fills. Adjustment of the gradient rotation makes no sense for a round radial fill. Nothing will change if a circle will be rotated. However, as radial fill may also be elliptical, adjustment of the rotation angle of gradient is still applicable for radial gradients. It can be used to rotate the «ellipse» of gradient transition with respect to the object to which the fill was applied.


Just as in case of solid color fills, we can use the Swatches panel in order to store the swatches of gradient fills as well as for quick their assignment to objects. There are special libraries of gradient fills, which are available through the menu of the Swatches panel. They are collected in the Gradients submenu and additionally sorted by topics and character of use.

Download of the libraries of gradient fills using the menu of Swatches panel

Examples of libraries of gradient fills.


Pattern fills The last section of this lesson is devoted to consideration of pattern fills. These fills form a repeating pattern in the object. You have already learned the concept of pattern fill in the course «Basics of Adobe Photoshop». However, in this case we will deal with vector graphics. Vector patterns are used in these fills. It means that we will get additional features for the transformation and change of pattern fills, because they are fully editable. Moreover, they will not deteriorate because of operations, which can be applied to them. In Adobe Illustrator pattern fills, as well as the solid and gradient ones, are assigned by the Swatches panel. The program is supplied with a lot of swatches of fills, which can be used immediately. They are collected in libraries, which can be downloaded by means of the menu of the

Pattern fills Gradients Basics of Adobe Illustrator

Swatches panel. They are grouped into three broad categories there: Basic Graphics, Decorative and Nature. Each of the groups includes a number of libraries. Each of the libraries incorporates dozens of individual patterns. So, in general, it turns out that we have a lot of patterns to choose.

Downloading the libraries from the pattern fills via the menu of Swatches panel.

Of course, this does not mean that absolutely all our needs arising when working with different tasks can be achieved by means of these patterns applied to the program. That is why we are going to consider a very important issue — how to create pattern fills independently.


Examples of libraries of pattern fills.

Transformation of pattern fills Considering the transformation tools, we have drawn attention to the possibility of transformation of objects together with the fill. There are special options in the dialog box of transformation tools and in the menu of Transform panel. This is an important part of working with the pattern fills. Now we would like to remind you that it is possible to scale, rotate and distort the pattern fills.


Creating a customized pattern swatch So, how to create a new or edit an actual pattern in order to use it together with a pattern fill? The latest versions of Adobe Illustrator allow us to do it in a very simple way: in order to create a new pattern just turn to the Object menu, find the Pattern submenu in it and use the Make command. In order to edit an actual pattern click the Edit Pattern command. We can create a new pattern without creating or selecting something. It is possible to create a pattern separately from objects and add it in the process of editing these objects. In order to edit an actual pattern, it is necessary to select either a pattern in the Swatches panel or an object filled with a pattern that is to be changed.

Creating a customized pattern swatch Gradients Basics of Adobe Illustrator

Why it is so easy to create and edit patterns in the latest versions of Adobe Illustrator? Are there some complex procedures? Seamless pattern must be seamlessly joined with its copies when using it as a fill, so that there were no noticeable joints or seams. For any pattern it is important that its constituent objects were correctly positioned and had a regular shape. They should look beautiful and prompt both as a single pattern swatch and as a finished pattern containing a lot of repeatedly duplicated swatches. Fortunately, Adobe Illustrator provides us with a special mechanism that enables

Creation of new pattern fills

us to ensure that a pattern was created in a correct way and appeared good as a whole. If necessary, we should be able to easily correct the original objects and to ensure that the pattern was goodlooking and qualitative. It is very simple to create a pattern. You just need to use the command Object> Pattern> Make. We will immediately get a message that our pattern has been created and added to the Swatches panel. Now you need to make sure that it was made in a proper way. Once a pattern has been created, we immediately go to the edit mode displaying the Pattern Options panel. The objects included in a pattern and their reiterated copies are seen in the document. It allows us to evaluate if the individual elements of the pattern were properly linked up with each other. In the edit mode, we can work with all the elements used in the pattern or separately with each of the objects, remove the «extra» objects or add the new ones. It is important: we will immediately see the changes of the entire pattern. Every action will affect all the pattern copies displayed next to the changed one.


If we are sure that the pattern is fine, it is necessary to find a light gray line located under the tab with a name of our document. It will display the following commands: Save a Copy, Done and Cancel. By means of these commands we can finish editing the pattern, cancel all the editing actions or save a modified pattern as a copy. For example, it is useful when we are going to use both the previous and new copies.

That is all. The pattern is ready and we can use it to fill objects. As you can see, it is not difficult to create a pattern, at least technically. It is more difficult to create a beautiful and useful pattern: it requires not only the features of Adobe Illustrator, but also the understanding of its purpose and what it is necessary to do for that and how to take advantage of pattern fills available in Illustrator. Let’s consider the Pattern Options panel and its settings, which will allow us to better understand the possibilities and useful features of the pattern fills. At the top of the panel there is the Pattern Tile Tool button. It is used in order to identify an area in the document occupied by a single element of pattern. This area is created by the program automatically. It is usually based on the objects selected before the pattern creation. However, it is possible to designate an area manually using this tool. You just need to set its positioning, size and proportions.


We can finish the creation of swatch using the Done link button available under the tab containing the name of document. It also helps us to come out of the mode of the swatch editing and return to the normal operation mode

A created fill pattern is applied to the object

The Name field allows us to give a name to the pattern or change the current one. The Tile Type drop-down list allows us to choose one of five types of the repeating patterns, i.e. to determine how the individual pattern swatches will be repeated in order to create a continuous, infinitely repeating pattern: • Grid is the simplest method of repetition. It includes elements repeated on the left, right, above and below each other. • Brick by Row is a more sophisticated method. Repeated lines of pattern tiles will be offset. They look like bricks in a wall, which will never lay exactly one above another: one row is offset in relation to another one. • Brick by Column is a similar method, but here the columns of pattern tiles are offset instead of the rows. • Hex by Column is a more complex method. A pattern swatch has a hexagonal shape. Hexagons are arranged in columns and the columns are offset with respect to each other. • Hex by Row is a similar mode, but the pattern tiles are arranged by rows, and the rows are offset with respect to each other.


When using such pattern types as Brick by Row and Brick by Column, the Brick Offset option is available. It allows us to specify how each of the rows with pattern tiles (or each of the columns) will be shifted with respect to each other. The values in this drop-down list are displayed by means of common fractions. For example, if we set the value of 1/3, we point out that each of the following rows of pattern tiles should be shifted to the right by 1/3 of the width of the pattern swatch. The Width and Height fields allow us to set the size of field defining the pattern boundaries or change them if they have been already installed. The Size Tile to Art check box a l lows us to set t he pat tern Pattern Options panel boundaries automatically according to the limits of objects used for its creation. In this case, the width and height options will not be available, because the width and the height will be determined automatically.

When moving the pattern objects, the Move Tile with Art check box allows us to shift the boundaries of the objects automatically in order to prevent the objects going beyond the pattern tile. The H Spacing and V Spacing fields allow us to specify the distance between individual pattern tiles, i.e. to arrange them back to back, or with a certain gap. These options are active if the Size Tile to Art check box has been selected only, because there is no way to manipulate the distance between the individual pattern swatches by changing the size of its boundaries and preserving the small white gaps on the edges, which would not be filled with objects. These fields may have negative values. In this case the individual pattern tiles will be «overlapped» with each other. The Overlap button allows us to select what will happen if one pattern tile will «overlap» another one and how they will overlap each other: whether the left copies will overlap the right ones, or not, and whether the top rows will overlap the bottom ones, or not. The Copies field controls the number of displayed copies in order to evaluate the whole appearance of pattern.


The Dim Copies to field allows us to discolor copies to a certain degree in order to make them visually distinguishable by color from objects of the pattern swatch being edited. The Show Tile Edge check box allows us to show or hide the edges of the swatch being edited.. The Show Swatch Bounds check box shows a dashed border. Pattern objects should not cross this border. Objects can go beyond the tile bounds in order to make individual pattern elements to be overlapped with each other, but they still must not go beyond the bounds. It is not allowed to remove objects from the pattern boundaries to the infinite distance. This box lets us to understand how far the elements of pattern swatch may be removed out of its borders.

Self-test questions 1. What types of samples, which can be found in the Swatches panel, do you know? 2. What is the difference between local and global swatches? 3. What are the color groups? 4. How can we edit colors in the color group using a color wheel? 5. How can we recolor an artwork by means of the color groups? 6. What are the ways of adjustment of transparency within the gradient fills of Adobe Illustrator? 7. What are the additional features of radial fill in Adobe Illustrator compared to Adobe Photoshop? 8. How can we use a gradient fill in order to change the appearance of object stroke?

Self-test questions Gradients Basics of Adobe Illustrator

9. How can we transform a pattern f ill independently from the object that is colored with it? 10. How to create a new pattern for a pattern fill? 11. Which mechanisms of Adobe Illustrator allows us to control the way of construction of a uniform pattern by means of individual copies of the pattern swatch in an easier manner? For instance, how can we know that they are joined at the edges in a proper manner, or there are no seams between them? 12. What types (forms) of the fill swatches can be used in Adobe Illustrator?

Vladimir Zavgorodniy Elena Ukrainskaya BASICS OF ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR LESSON 6 GRADIENTS

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© Vladimir Zavgorodniy, 2015 © Elena Ukrainskaya, 2015 © STEP Computer Academy, 2011 www.itstep.org

Basics of Adobe Illustrator

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