Modify the colors in a gradient, Apply a gradient across multiple objects – Adobe Illustrator CS4 User Manual
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USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Painting
Modify the colors in a gradient
1
Do one of the following:
•
To modify a gradient without filling an object with it, deselect all objects and double-click the Gradient tool or
click the gradient box at the bottom of the Tools panel.
•
To modify an object’s gradient, select the object, and open the Gradient panel.
•
To modify a preset gradient, select a gradient from the Gradient menu in the Gradient panel. Or, click a gradient
swatch in the Swatches panel, and then open the Gradient panel.
2
To change the color of a stop, do any of the following:
•
Double-click a gradient stop (in either the Gradient panel or the selected object), and specify a new color in the
panel that appears. You can change the panel that appears by clicking the Color or Swatches icon along the left.
Click outside the panel to accept the selection.
•
Drag a color from the Color panel or the Swatches panel onto the gradient stop.
Note: If you create a gradient between spot colors, you must deselect Convert To Process in the Separation Setup dialog
box to print the gradient in individual spot color separations.
3
To add intermediate colors to a gradient, drag a color from the Swatches panel or the Color panel onto the gradient
slider in the Gradient panel. Or, click anywhere below the gradient slider, and then select a color as you would for
the starting or ending color.
4
To delete an intermediate color, drag the square off the gradient slider or select it and click the Delete button
in the Gradient panel.
5
To adjust the location of colors in the gradient, do any of the following:
•
To adjust the midpoints of the gradient’s color stops (the point at which two color stops are 50%), drag a diamond
icon located above the slider or select the icon and enter a value from 0 through 100 in the Location box.
•
To adjust the endpoints of the gradient’s color stops, drag the leftmost or rightmost gradient stop below the
gradient slider.
•
To reverse the colors in the gradient, click Reverse Gradient
in the Gradient panel.
6
To change the opacity of a gradient color, click a color stop in the Gradient panel, and specify a value in the Opacity
box. When a gradient stop has an Opacity value less than 100%, the stop appears with a
, and the color appears
checkered in the gradient slider.
7
Click the New Swatch button in the Swatches panel to save the new or modified gradient as a swatch. Or, drag the
gradient from the Gradient panel or Tools panel to the Swatches panel.
Apply a gradient across multiple objects
1
Fill all the objects with a gradient.
2
Select all of the objects that you want filled.
3
Using the Gradient tool, do one of the following:
•
To create a gradient with one gradient slider, click in the artboard where you want the gradient to start, and drag
to where you want the gradient to end.
•
To create a gradient with a gradient slider for every selected object, click in the artboard where you want the
gradient to start, and Alt-drag to where you want the gradient to end. You can then adjust the different gradient
sliders for the different objects. (Multiple gradient sliders are only created for simple paths.)