Applying gradients

You can apply a gradient (otherwise known as a blend or vignette) to any vector object as a fill or a stroke. A gradient can be customized in a number of ways, including adjusting its color, angle, transparency, and shape (radial or linear). To apply a gradient to an object:

  1. Select one or more shapes or paths.
  2. To fill with a gradient, click the Fill button in the Appearance category of the Properties panel. To stroke with a gradient, click the Stroke button in the panel.
  3. Click the Gradient swatch .
  4. To choose a premade gradient swatch, click the More Swatches button to the right of the swatches at the top of the Appearance category.
  5. To create your own gradient, or edit the gradient swatch you chose, use the gradient bar that appears beneath the color rectangle in the Appearance category.

  1. Click a gradient node (sometimes called the "color stops") under the gradient bar in the gradient editor to select it. Now you can change the color at this point using the Color Picker. To apply a swatch to a selected gradient node, hold down the ALT key while clicking on the swatch.
  2. While the gradient node is still selected, you can adjust the transparency at this point of the gradient with the Stop Alpha slider. Drag the slider to 0% to make that point completely transparent.
  3. You can drag the gradient nodes along the gradient bar to position them, select a different node to change its color and transparency settings, or click the gradient bar to add a new gradient node. To remove a gradient node, drag it down from the gradient bar until it disappears.
  4. Between each two gradient nodes sits a midpoint marker (above the gradient bar). You can drag these midpoint markers to specify the position of the halfway mark in the transition from one color/transparency setting to another.
  5. To determine the shape of the gradient, click either the Linear Gradient button  or Radial Gradient button  to the right of the gradient bar.

After applying a gradient to an object, you can edit the appearance of the blend using the Fill Transform tool, the Gradient Transform tool, or the Fill Transform menu . For more information, see Transforming gradients.

You can also save your gradients as swatches in order to use them again at a later time. For more information, see Color and gradient swatches.