1/12

G RADIENT M E S H T U TO R I A L
H O W TO D R AW T H E R E D B E L L P E P P E R

Presented By Brooke Nuñez of

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL 2/12

- I N T RO TO THE MESH-

T h e g r a d i e n t mesh tool is a complicated but gorgeous feature in Illustrator. I t h a s

t r a n s f o r m e d f l at vector shapes into 3D-like works of art. Just by adding a g r i d o f
a n c ho r p o i n t s , your renderings become suddenly “real”. It’s an awesome too l t h a t
m o s t d i g i t a l a r tists find intimidating - with good reason.

G r a d i e n t m e s h es are very complex & tedious compared to other tools in Illus t r a t o r.

T h e y re q u i re a l l the time & patience you can give them. But as difficult as th e y m a y
s e e m , i t w o n ’t take long before you gain control. Think about how much you ’ v e
l e a r n e d s i n c e f irst using the pen tool. Remember that practice always makes y o u
m o re p ro f i c i e n t. Just do your best & have fun.

G o o d l u c k & h appy rendering!

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL 3/12

- B E FORE YOU START-

T h e m o s t i m p o rtant thing of all is choosing the right image to render. The gr a d i e n t

m e s h i s n ' t a n easy tool, and requires a lot of patience & time - so you'll wan t y o u r
s u b j e c t t o b e i nteresting. It should be something worth taking the time to re n d e r,
s o m e t h i n g y o u know others will find pleasing to the eye, and not just technic a l l y
accurate.

A t t hi s p o i n t I would like to stress the fact that you may want to use your ow n
p h o t o g r a p h y o r sketches as reference. You don't want to fall into any legal i s s u e s
l a t e r, o r re c e i v e any negative feedb ack from someone who might recognize y o u r
s o u rc e .

I f y o u ' re re n d e ring directly from a photo, before taking the picture it is impo r t a n t t o
c o n si d e r y o u r composition, consider approaching your subject at a different a n g l e ,
a n d c o n s i d e r y our lighting. (Remember, make it interesting!) Also, once you' v e g o t
d i g i t a l f i l e s o f your photos, you may want to retouch them in Photoshop befo re y o u
b e g i n re n d e r i n g. Don't be afraid to brighten up your image, remove unneces s a r y
s h a d o w s o r o b jects, or even change the color scheme to make it more excit i n g .

I f y o u p l a n t o render over a sketch, I’d recommend you find other photograp h i c

re s o u rc e s t o u se for proper texture & lighting. Remember, the gradient mesh i s a n
i n s t r u m e n t f o r realism. The more accurate to life your references are, the mo re
p re c i s e & re a l i stic your drawing will be.

A n o t h e r t h i n g to always keep in mind is that there is no “right” way to go ab o u t a

m e s h re n d e r i n g. There are dozens of techniques to use, you really can’t go w ro n g .
D o n ’t b e a f r a i d to experiment & find a method that’s best & easiest for you.

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL 4/12

- MESH BASICS-

T h e re a re o n l y a few parts to the m esh tool that you should become familiar w i t h . Yo u
a l re ad y k n o w what anchor points are, but within a mesh they work a bit diffe re n t l y.
T h e y a re n ’t j u s t to create an outer shape anymore. They are the basis of all t h e c o l o r.
T h i s i s s o m e t h ing that makes the mesh so interesting, the way the colors ra d i a t e
f ro m e a c h a n c hor point & blend into one another so perfectly. There are only a f e w
w a y s t o m a n i p ulate & control this blending illusion, and that is with the anch o r
“ a r m s ” , w i t h t he in-between lines, and with the anchors themselves. [See (A)]

T h e re a re t w o ways to add a mesh to a shape. The first is by referring to the O b j e c t

m e n u & c h o o s i ng the “Create Gradient Mesh” option, which will create the m o s t e v e n
s o l u t i o n t o y o ur mesh. The second is by simply using the mesh tool and clic k i n g
a w a y a t y o u r s hape, freehand, which will allow you to have more general con t ro l . I
a l w a y s p re f e r t he ladder, but that is up to you.

O n e f i n a l t i p – keep it as simple as possible! Always, always, always keep in m i n d

t h a t i s i t e a s i e r to add mesh points than to delete them. You don’t want you r m e s h t o
t u r n i n t o a m e ss, after all!

R e a d y, F re d d y ?

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL 5/12

- L E T ' S GET GOING ALREADY!-

I h a v e t a k e n t he time to create a tutorial suitable for mesh-beginners. It was w r i t t e n

u n d e r t h e a s s umption that you, the reader, are already proficient in Illustrato r, b u t a re
i n t e re s t e d i n e xpanding your limited knowledge of the gradient mesh. Please n o t e
t h a t t h i s i s o n l y one technique which helped me become familiar with how it w o r k s .
H o p e f u l l y i t w i l l be of some assistance to you as well.

F o r th i s t u t o r i a l, I have chosen to render a red bell pepper. I find it to be an

i n t e re s t i n g s u b ject with a bright, beautiful color palette, not to mention a sm o o t h
t e x t u re , a n d l o ts of room for bumpiness & imperfection – great for starting o u t . I t o o k
t h e re f e re n c e photo against a white background for an appealing contrast, b u t s t i l l
m a d e s u re t o brighten it up in Photoshop.

S T E P 1 – C re a ting Outlines

F i r s t t h i n g ’s f i r st. Open “redbellpepper.jpg” with Illustrator & immediately ma k e i t a

t e m p l a t e . T h i s is a simple but critical step with this particular technique. Go a h e a d &
c re a t e a n o t h e r layer on top so that you can begin rendering. [See (B)]

R e a d y f o r y o u r first big mesh secret? I never use just one mesh within a rend e r i n g . I
l i k e t o w o r k w i th smaller, simpler m eshes and basically “blend” them togethe r.
R e m e m b e r - y our audience will never see what goes on “behind the scenes” , s o g o
r i g h t a h e a d & l ayer your heart away with shapes.

U s i n g y o u r p e n tool, draw over the main red section of the pepper. Keep in m i n d t h a t
t h e m e s h d o e s n’t work well with cor ners, funky shapes & hard edges. The m e s h w i l l
f o r m t o w h a t e ver shape it’s created in - so create the contour as round & sim p l e a s
p o s s i b l e b y u s i ng your Bezier curves. Put your first shape on its own layer & l a b e l i t
“ F ro n t ( l e f t ) ” . [See (C)]

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

S T E P 1 ( C o n t i nued) 6/12

G o ah e a d & c reate a shape for the other large section of the pepper to the r i g h t .
M a k e i t a s ro u nd as possible. When you’re done, place it on a layer BELOW t h e m a i n
s h a p e s o n o o ne will see the overlap once the rendering is complete. Label t h i s l a y e r
“ F ro n t ( r i g h t ) ” . Continue drawing over the remaining layers & label them as f o l l o w s :
B e h i n d F ro n t ( Right), Behind Front (Left), Back (Left), and Back (Right). [See (D)]

A l s o d r a w t h e stem & put it on its own layer labeled “Stem”. In this tutorial, w e w o n ’t
b e p u t t i n g a m esh on it. It’s simple & flat enough to recreate as a non-mesh v e c t o r
w i t h s o m e re a l ly nice old fashioned gradients. [See (E)]

S T E P 2 – B a c kup!

N o w t h a t y o u have your outlines, select it all and copy & paste it into one m o re l a y e r.
C a l l i t “ J U S T I N CASE”. Go ahead & hide that layer until you need it later. FY I : Yo u
m a y n o t n e e d i t but it’s always nice to have something to fall back on in cas e y o u
n e e d t o s t a r t o ver. (I made this its own step because it is a vital one – a lifes a v e r i n
s o m e c a s e s ! ) [See (F)]

S T E P 3 – A d d i ng Color

T i m e t o a d d s ome life to your outlines. The easiest way to go about this is t o p i c k t h e

m o s t c o m m o n color according to each section of the pepper. Since it is con s i s t e n t l y
re d , t h i s s t e p i s an easy one. Use your eyedropper tool & take the color dire c t l y f ro m
t h e p h o t o . ( I f y our eyedropper won’t let you, double click on the tool in the t o o l b a r &
u n c h e c k “ A p p earance”. This should do the trick.) The common color will var y f ro m
s h a p e t o s h a p e, so keep that in mind. [See (G)]

O n c e y o u ’ re d one with this step, holy crap — you’re ready for the mesh!

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

S T E P 4 – I t ’s Mesh Time! 7/12

L i k e I ’ v e s a i d before, there are many ways to go about using the mesh tool. I ’ m g o i n g
t o w a l k y o u t h rough the easiest possible route. It starts off a bit confusing, b u t b e a r
with me.

F i r s t , h i d e a l l layers except for “Front (Right)”. Using your gradient mesh to o l , c l i c k

o n c e a n y w h e re on the shape (make sure you have your fill in front & no strok e ) .
[See (H)]

N o w S T O P. A re you familiar with “Outline Mode”? This feature is helpful in s o m a n y

w a y s , a n d y o u ’ll be surprised what it can do for this particular mesh techniq u e .

G o ah e a d & t u r n it into outline mode (V iew > Outline, or command Y). FYI: I n o rd e r
f o r t h i s t o w o r k correctly, you have to begin using the mesh BEFORE tur ning i t t o
o u t l i n e m o d e . If you try to use the mesh after the fact, it won’t work. [See (I)]

Yo u ’ l l n o t i c e t hat you can now see the photo through your shape. This is wh y i n S T E P
1 w e t u r n e d o ur photo into a template. (In outline mode, you can still see te m p l a t e
l a y e rs a s i s . ) T his is how you will get your colors & mesh points as accurate a s
possible.

T i m e t o s t a r t c licking away - but be aware that you can only add points to e x i s t i n g
m e s h l i n e s . D o n’t get frustrated! Just try & work with it. [See (J)]

N o w f o r s o m e basic guidelines. Wh ile adding mesh points, focus on the ligh t s &
d a r k s . D o n ’t t r y to add points for the “in-between” color values. Usually the m e s h w i l l
t a k e c a re o f t h at for you. [See (K)]

U s e y o u r e y e d ropper as you go along. (Or you can wait until the end.) Simpl y s e l e c t
o n a n i n d i v i d u al mesh anchor point (with either your direct select tool or y o u r
g r a d i e n t m e s h tool), and use your eyedropper on the color that it’s sitting o n o r
d i re c t l y n e x t t o . (ZOOM IN if you need to!)

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

S T E P 4 ( C o n t i nued) 8/12

S o m e t h i n g t o keep in mind also is that you have to trust the colors your ey e d ro p p e r
p i c k s u p . S o m etimes they appear to be raw & just plain wrong, but keep goi n g
a n y w a y. I n re a l life, shadows can be practically any color – green, grey, blue , p u r p l e ,
e v e n y e l l o w. I f later the color still appears to be unnatural, change it.

M o re t h i n g s t o consider: Don’t forg et about colors along the edges. Don’t fo r g e t t o

a d j u s t t h e a n c hor points to try to match the contours of the shape. Don’t fo r g e t y o u
c a n d r a g o u t t he anchor handles to adjust the direction of the color. Don’t fo r g e t t o
t a k e y o u r t i m e & DON’T ADD TOO MANY POINTS!

T h e re a re a c o uple of major benefit s to outline mode. One, you can work rig h t o n t o p
o f t h e p i c t u re , adding mesh points & picking your colors simultaneously. Two , y o u
c a n f l i p b a c k & forth with your shortcut keys (command Y) to see your prog re s s a s
y o u g o a l o n g . This technique, by the way, may be considered “cheating”, bu t i t ’s a
g re a t & e a s y method to lear n how t he mesh works.

S T E P 5 – R e p eat!

O n c e y o u ’ v e f i nished with your “Front (Left)” mesh, hide that layer & begin w o r k i n g o n
“ F ro n t ( R i g h t ) ” using the same technique. Remember to start your mesh befo re y o u
t u r n i t t o o u t l i ne mode. [See (L)]

R e p e a t t h i s p rocess with all your layers, minus your “Stem” layer. Remembe r t h a t n o
o n e w i l l e v e r s ee whatever’s directly behind the shapes that are in front. Wh a t ’s
i m p o r t a n t i s t h at you train your eye to pay attention to where the color chan g e s o n
e a c h s h a p e , w here light meets dark. Trust your photo. [See (M)]

K e e p i n m i n d t hat it’s always okay to start over if you’re feeling overwhelme d o r h a v e

s u d d e n l y d i s c overed a better technique. You can always delete mesh lines (c l i c k o n a
m e s h p o i n t & press Option + Delete). Or you can simply reshape what you’ve a l re a d y
d o n e b y m o v i n g the lines & points around. Just don’t be a loser & give up!

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

S T E P 6 – B l e n d Together 9/12

O n c e a l l y o u r mesh shapes are completed, and you have your layers tur ned b a c k o n ,
y o u m a y n o t i c e that the edges of each shape don’t quite match up to one an o t h e r. A n
e a s y t r i c k t o g et all your shapes to look more natural when they are all toge t h e r i s t o
o n c e a g a i n t a k e advantage of your eyedropper. Zoom in as close as you can & s e l e c t
t h e v a r i o u s p o i nts along the edges. One by one, grab the closest color to th e s h a p e
n e x t t o i t . T h i s should “smooth out” your pepper tremendously.

S T E P 7 – F i n i s hing Up

Yo u m a y b e a s king yourself why I h ave chosen not to put a mesh on the stem . Yo u
c e r t a i n l y c a n i f you want to. But, you see, none of my renderings are ever en t i re l y
m e s h . F i n a l d e tails are always traditional flat vectors. It’s just my style. But f e e l f re e
t o re n d e r i t a n y way that you wish. You can view how I did it in the final file t h a t I ’ v e
p ro v i d e d ( “ f n i s hedpepper.ai”). [See (N)]

A N D V O I L A ! You’ve successfully completed a Lifeinvector mesh tutorial. ROC K !

[See (O)]

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 10/12
A B

C D

E F

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 11/12

G H

J K

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com

 12/12

L M

YOU ARE 100 TIMES

COOLER NOW.

T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is ©2005—2006 Brooke Nuñez of Lifeinvector.com