Adobe Illustrator Advanced (2023): Shapes and Gradients

Name: Adobe Illustrator Advanced (2023): Shapes and Gradients
Author: Stephen Steinbach

Learn to create and combine shapes and gradients in Adobe Illustrator 2023

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 10 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Steven Steinbach, and in these lessons, we're gonna look at the advanced shapes and gradient tools for Adobe Illustrator 2023. We're gonna begin with the exclusion tool. And to begin, let's make sure that we go to Workspace Essentials Classic and Reset Essentials Classic. All right, so we're gonna go to File, New, and I'm just gonna do a web large and hit Create. All right, we're gonna take a rectangle and just create a rectangle. And with this still selected, let's change the color to black. And I'm just gonna size it up a little bit. And with this selected, I wanna align this to the artboard by clicking horizontal align center and vertical align center. All right, next, what I'm gonna do is de-select the rectangle and reselect the rectangle tool. And I'm gonna delete the stroke and I'll just do a blue color for the film. And I'm just gonna create a rectangle here. And with that selected, I want to horizontal align to the artboard and gonna go thinner. And what I'm gonna do is I'm just going to make a pattern here. So just gonna use this selection tool and click the Alt key to drag out another shape. And then I'm just gonna hit Control D to duplicate that. And let me delete this last one. And I'm just gonna center this up a bit. So we just have here some rectangles and all right. So we're gonna add another shape and it's gonna do the ellipse tool. This time I wanna make it white. And here I'm gonna hold the shift in Alt to constrain it. And we want to align that to the artboard. And then now we're going to create the first effect for this. So how you do this is there's different blending modes in the transparency window. So we're gonna go up to windows transparency. And right now the transparency is set to normal. But you have these other options here like multiply, light and the one we're looking for is exclusion. And you can see it kind of reverses the colors here. All right. So we have that first effect. And we also want to kind of do a ramp for the background and we'll do that. So let's go to the layers and come down here to the black rectangle background. And I'm going to the Alt key and drag another one up to the top. And now we have this ramp here. All right. Let's go to the stroke and tell it no stroke. And then let's go to the fill. And then let's go over and grab a gradient here and grab this gradient here. All right. And finally, let's add a little bit darker color here. So go to the window gradient and we're gonna tell it this one is gonna go darker here. We'll just bring that down a little bit darker there. Bring it over. Okay. And that's going to make, when I do an exclusion, it will reverse these colors. So here, let's go back to the transparency window. And we're gonna move the mode to exclusion. So you can see here what it did here. So if I change this mode, it can completely change the effect, but the exclusion is what we're looking for. So now with this being light, it gets darker on this circle and it's lighter on this one. In the next lesson, we're gonna look at advanced radial gradients. Thanks for watching.

Advanced Provider : Stephen Steinbach 10 Lessons · 46m in English

Course Description

Creating custom gradients is an essential skill for graphic designers. In this course, you will learn how to use some of the radial gradient design tools within Illustrator to achieve interesting gradient effects. Using the gradient strokes tool, you will explore how to create a neon glow effect. We’ll discuss how options such as the gradient transparency mask and gradient textures allow you to create complex images with ease. You will also explore different techniques for rounding stroke corners and learn how to create a custom brush—an important skill for creating graphics like hair. Then we’ll cover how to create a duotone graphic from a photo image.

In this course, you will continue to explore how to achieve different kinds of effects using advanced gradients and shapes in Adobe Illustrator 2023. You will learn how to create a radial and gradient stroke, how to manipulate gradients using the gradient toolbar, and how to edit a gradient on a path. By the end of this course, you will be able to utilize specifically designed gradients and strokes.

What You'll Learn

Use the gradient tool to create radial and gradient strokes in Adobe Illustrator 2023
Manipulate gradients with the gradient toolbar and edit a gradient on a path
Apply gradient transparency masks and gradient textures to build complex images
Create a neon glow effect using the gradient strokes tool
Create and save custom brushes and gradients, including a brush for painting hair
Convert a photo image into a duotone graphic

Key Takeaways

Creating custom gradients is presented as an essential skill for graphic designers.
The course uses radial gradient design tools in Illustrator to achieve interesting gradient effects.
Options such as the gradient transparency mask and gradient textures allow complex images to be created with ease.
The course covers different techniques for rounding stroke corners and creating a custom brush for graphics like hair.
By the end of the course, learners can utilize specifically designed gradients and strokes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn to use the gradient tool, manipulate gradient strokes, create and save custom brushes, and convert an image to a duotone graphic using advanced gradients and shapes in Adobe Illustrator 2023.

Which version of Adobe Illustrator does this course use?

This course uses Adobe Illustrator 2023 (the 2023 advanced release covering shapes and gradients).

Who is this course for?

It is aimed at graphic designers, since creating custom gradients is described as an essential skill for graphic designers.

What gradient techniques are covered?

The course covers radial gradients, gradient strokes, the gradient transparency mask, gradient textures, saving custom gradients, manipulating gradients with the gradient toolbar, and editing a gradient on a path.

What practical effects will I be able to create?

You will be able to create a neon glow effect using the gradient strokes tool, a custom brush for graphics like hair, and a duotone graphic from a photo image.