Module 11: Getting Started with Adobe Illustrator Visual Graphics NCIII Module 11: Getting Started with Adobe Illustrator

Applying Colors and Gradients Module 11 - Lesson 7 Applying Colors and Gradients

Learning Objectives At the end of the training period, participant should learn the following: Exploring Color Modes Understanding Color Controls Working with Appearance, Color, Swatches and Color Guides Panels Differentiate Spot vs. Process Colors Applying Gradients Adding Transparency to Gradients Painting with Patterns Understanding the Adobe Color CC

Exploring color modes There are many ways to experiment with and apply color to your artwork in Adobe Illustrator CC. As you work with color, it’s important to keep in mind the medium in which the artwork will be published, such as a print piece or a website. The colors you create need to be described in the correct way for the medium. This usually requires that you use the correct color mode and color definitions for your colors. The first part, color modes, will be described next. Before starting a new illustration, you should decide which color mode the artwork should use, CMYK or RGB.

CMYK—Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are the colors used in four-color process printing. These four colors are combined and overlapped in a screen pattern to create a multitude of other colors. Select this mode for printing (in the New Document dialog box or the File > Document Color Mode menu). RGB—Red, green, and blue light are added together in various ways to create an array of colors. Select this mode if you are using images for onscreen presentations or the Internet.   When creating a new document by choosing File > New, each profile has a specific color mode. For instance, the Print profile uses the CMYK color mode. You can change the color mode by clicking the arrow to the left of Advanced and making a selection in the Color Mode menu.

When a color mode is selected, the applicable panels open, displaying colors in the selected color mode. You can change the color mode of a document, after a file is created, by choosing File > Document Color Mode and then selecting either CMYK Color or RGB Color in the menu.

Before you jump into color, though, let’s discuss stroke and fill Before you jump into color, though, let’s discuss stroke and fill. In previous lessons, you learned that objects in Illustrator can have a fill, a stroke, or both. At the bottom of the Tools panel, notice the Fill and Stroke boxes. The Fill box is white (in this case), and the Stroke box is Black. If you click those boxes one at a time, you’ll see that whichever you click is brought in front of the other and is selected. When a color is then chosen, it is applied to the fill or stroke, whichever is selected. As you explore more of Illustrator, you’ll see these fill and stroke boxes in lots of other places like the Color panel, Swatches panel, and more. As you will see in this section, Illustrator provides a lot of ways to arrive at the color you need. You’ll start by applying an existing color to a shape and then work your way through the most widely used methods for creating and applying color.

Understanding Color Controls Objects in Illustrator can have a fill, a stroke, or both. In the Tools panel, notice that the Fill box appears in the foreground, indicating that it is selected. This is the default setting. The Fill box is green for this object. Behind the Fill box, the Stroke box has a yellow outline.

Appearance panel The Fill and Stroke attributes of the selected object also appear in the Appearance panel. You can add, edit, or delete appearance attributes, which you can apply to other objects, layers, and groups.

Color panel Click the double-arrow to the left of the word “Color” in the panel tab to expand the panel, if necessary. The Color panel displays the current color of the fill and stroke. The CMYK sliders in the Color panel show the percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The color spectrum bar is at the bottom of the Color panel.

The color spectrum bar lets you quickly and visually select a fill or stroke color from a spectrum of colors. You can also choose white or black by clicking the appropriate color box. Swatches panel You can name and save document colors, gradients, and patterns in the Swatches panel, for instant access. When an object has a fill or stroke that contains a color, gradient, pattern, or tint applied in the Swatches panel, the applied swatch is highlighted in the panel.

Color Guide panel Click the green swatch in the upper-left corner of the panel to set the base color as the color of the selected object (labeled A in the figure below). Click the Harmony Rules menu, and choose Complementary 2 (labeled D in the figure). The Color Guide can provide color inspiration while you create your artwork. It helps you pick color tints, analogous colors, and much more. In this panel, you can also access the Edit Color/Recolor Artwork feature, which lets you edit and create colors.

Process colors refer to the CMYK, while Spot colors are predefined colors. Use Process colors if the design to be printed has multiple colors. Use Spot colors if the design to be printed has 1 to 3 colors.

Using the Appearance Attributes You can use the Eyedropper tool to copy appearance attributes from one object to another, including character, paragraph, fill, and stroke attributes. Editing Color Options You can use the options in the lower portion of the Edit Colors dialog box to edit color, as described in the figure below.

A. Show saturation or brightness and hue on color wheel. B. Add and subtract color tools. C. Color display options (smooth color wheel, segmented color wheel, color bars) D. Color of the selected color marker or color bar E. Selected artwork is recolored when selected (the check box is dimmed when artwork is not selected) F. Color sliders G. Color Mode button H. Limit the color group to colors in a swatch library I. Unlink harmony color

Adobe Color CC: https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/

Painting with patterns In addition to process and spot colors, the Swatches panel can also contain pattern and gradient swatches. Illustrator provides sample swatches of each type in the default Swatches panel and lets you create your own patterns and gradients. In this section, you will focus on creating, applying, and editing patterns. A pattern is artwork saved in the Swatches panel that can be applied to the stroke or fill of an object. You can customize existing patterns and design patterns from scratch with any of the Illustrator tools. All patterns start with a single tile that is tiled (repeated) within a shape, starting at the ruler origin and continuing to the right. Next, you will apply an existing pattern to a shape. Click the Swatches panel icon. In the Swatches panel, click the Swatch Libraries Menu button to the bottom of the panel and choose Patterns > Decorative > Vonster Patterns to open the pattern library. Note: When you apply a pattern swatch, it applies to the stroke or the fill that is selected.  

Working with Gradients A gradient fill is a graduated blend of two or more colors, and it always includes a starting color and an ending color. You can create different types of gradient fills in Illustrator, including linear, in which the beginning color blends into the ending color along a line, and radial, in which the beginning color radiates outward, from the center point to the ending color. You can use the gradients provided with Adobe Illustrator CC or create your own gradients and save them as swatches for later use. You can use the Gradient panel (Window > Gradient) or the Gradient to to apply, create, and modify gradients. In the Gradient panel, the Gradient Fill or Stroke box displays the current gradient colors and gradient type applied to the fill or stroke of an object.

In the Gradient panel under the gradient slider, the leftmost gradient stop labeled “F” in the previous figure is also called a color stop. This marks the starting color; the right gradient stop marks the ending color. A gradient color stop is the point at which a gradient change from one color to the next. You can add more color stops by clicking below the gradient slider, and double-clicking a color stop opens a panel where you can choose a color from swatches, color sliders, or the eyedropper.

Editing the radial gradient colors Once you have filled an object with a gradient, you can use the Gradient tool or the Gradient panel to edit the gradient, including changing the direction, color, and origin. Position the pointer over the gradient annotator (bar) in the artwork to reveal the gradient slider. Double-click the white color stop on the left end to edit the color. In the panel that appears, click the Swatches button, if it’s not already selected. Select the color called plate 1 in the second color group. Press the Escape key to hide the panel. Notice that the gradient annotator starts from the center of the ellipse and points to the right. The dashed circle around it indicates that it is a radial gradient. You can set additional options for radial gradients, as you’ll soon see.

Applying gradients to multiple objects You can apply a gradient to multiple objects by selecting all the objects, applying a gradient color, and then dragging across the objects with the Gradient tool. Double-click the Gradient tool in the Tools panel to select the tool and to show the Gradient panel. Drag from the approximate center of the yellow flower center to the outer edge of one of any one of the petal shapes, as shown in the figure, to apply the gradient uniformly. Leave the flower shapes selected.

Exploring other methods for editing gradient colors Up to this point, you’ve added, edited, and adjusted the position of colors on the color ramp. Next, you will reverse a gradient and adjust the midpoint between colors on the color ramp.

Adding transparency to Gradients By specifying different opacity values for the different color stops in your gradient, you can create gradients that fade in or out and that show or hide underlying images. With the rightmost color stop selected, change the Opacity to 0.

Exercise 11.7.1 : Applying Colors and Gradients

Exercise 11.7.2 :Cat Head

Exercise 11.7.3 : Designing a Company Logo Instructions: Based from the Design Brief of Rosswells Motorcycle, and the sketches you created before, design a company logo in Illustrator based from the techniques that were discussed by your instructor. Vectorize format. At least 2 to 3 colors. ARTBOARD SIZE: 7 in x 7 in Save your file as Logo.ai and export in png. Submit your design to your trainer (All designs are subject for evaluation). *** Refer to Laboratory Activity 11.7