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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 Nuez of
G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL
- I N T RO TO THE MESH-
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G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL
- B E FORE YOU START-
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G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL
- MESH BASICS-
4/12
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 dont 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 ?
G R A D I E NT MESH TUTORIAL
- L E T ' S GET GOING ALREADY!-
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S T E P 1 ( C o n t i nued)
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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 youre 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. Its 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 its 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 wont 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 youre ready for the mesh!
S T E P 4 I t s Mesh Time!
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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)]
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: Dont forg et about colors along the edges. Dont 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. Dont 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. Dont fo r g e t t o
t a k e y o u r t i m e & DONT 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 whatevers 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 its always okay to start over if youre 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 youve a l re a d y
d o n e b y m o v i n g the lines & points around. Just dont be a loser & give up!
T h i s R e d B e l l P e p p er Mesh Tutorial is 20052006 Brooke Nuez 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 dont 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. Its 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 ! Youve successfully completed a Lifeinvector mesh tutorial. ROC K !
[See (O)]
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