Mixing It Up With The Blend Tool

A fun class project uses the Blend Tool. Blending gives you a series of intermediate objects and colors between two or more objects. You determine how many intermediate objects will be created and the path they will follow. Basically, you have one object morphing into another, and it works in much the same way as tweening does in Flash and other programs.

You can make blends with either the Blend Tool or through the Object>Blend menu. Below is a very simple blend that uses two squares that differ in color. After you draw your objects, double-click on the Blend Tool and set the number of steps you want. (or choose Object>Blend>Blend Options.) After you have set the number of steps, you can click on each object with the Blend Tool to create the blend. The top blend was made using Smooth Color Spacing and the 2nd one uses 3 Specified Steps. It's not much different from using gradients is it?

Actually, it is quite a bit more useful than using regular gradients. Let's say you want to add depth to a line. If you draw your line and apply a gradient to it, the blending of the gradients have to follow linear or radial lines. If instead, you draw your line and then create a smaller, lighter colored line within it and apply a blend between them, you get a nice even gradient that follows the curves of the lines.

You aren't limited to only blending colors. Shapes can also take part in the blending process. Draw any objects that you like (even use cheesy clip art if you insist.) You don't have a lot of control over what the intermediate steps will look like, but you can often inadvertently get some very interesting effects.

A blend is a single object. Once you have created it, the original images are no longer stand-alone independent objects. But, like all married couples, they can get a divorce. If you select the blend and choose Object>Blend>Release you can break up the bonding--no attorneys required. However, in doing this, their offspring (the intermediate objects) disappear. If instead, you choose to Expand the blend, each object and offspring remain, but are no longer members of the blend. If you choose to keep your happy blend together, you can adjust it by using Reverse Spine, Reverse front to back and Replace spine. The spine is the line that runs through the center of your blend. It is by nature a straight line. You have the option, though, of drawing a nice curved line on your page, selecting both the new line and the blend, then choosing Object>Blend>Replace spine. Your blend will then follow the same curves as the line you drew.

After a little practice with the basics, you are ready for our fun little project. The challenge is to create a poster blending two images to make a sequential metamorphosis. Use words (caption) that match the artwork to better illustrate the message. My classes do this project every year and very rarely have I seen a compound word used more than once.

For my examples, I cheated and used built in images from the symbol palette, but you can make much more interesting blends by drawing objects from scratch.

The flowers at the top of this page were also made with the Blend Tool. You can follow a tutorial to create these vector flowers at NDESIGN STUDIO.

Look at Me, I Can Draw in 3D

This semester I am teaching my computer graphics class on Monday nights. We start at 7:00 and usually get out until a bit before 10:00. It makes for a long night of illustrating. Tonight we cover one of my favorite subjects: three dimensional objects. The first part of the semester we spend on the basics--setting preferences, making selections, drawing basic shapes and learning to use the dreaded Pen Tool. That's the meat and potato part of Illustrator, but we're in dessert now! All the fun stuff comes at the end of the semester, and the most fun of all is revolving and extruding objects. With the revolving effect, you can draw very simple lines and turn them into beautifully shadowed 3d objects. You can add the power of the symbols palette to the process and map designs and labels on your objects. Extrude and Bevel works great for creating boxes, tables, and pop-out text. Tonight in class we will be starting out with basic 3d effects: creating a ball, a cylinder and a box .

The half circle and green rectangle were treated to a basic Effect>3d >Revolve, while the blue square got the Effect>3d>Bevel and Extrude treatment. The Bevel and Extrude works quite well with text also. I used the default choices for the text below, except I rotated the one on the right so we could see the text from a different viewpoint.


Once we have covered the basics, the students will be creating 2 vases sitting on a tabletop, Using the steps below. My results are at the top of the page here. I hope to publish their results next week. If you have Illustrator and a little time on your hands (and it really is quick), give it a try.

Making Vases

• Start a New File
• Turn on your rulers (Ctrl R) and show your grid.
• Draw one ½ of a vase. Make it approximately 3 inches tall. Give it a fill color, but no stroke.

• Draw a rectangle that is slightly taller than and about twice as wide as the shape.
• Move the vase object out of the way for the time being.
• Create a design/pattern in the rectangle. You can use basic shapes, draw objects with the pen and pencil, uses brushes on lines, or even add symbols (if you use a symbol, make sure you UNLINK it.) You can also use effects and filters. Fix it up fancy. After the decoration in complete, delete the original rectangle. It was just for limiting the size of your design.
• Select the entire design and drag it to the symbols palette. Double-click on the symbol to name it.
• Delete the design from the page.
• Draw a black (or very dark colored) circle. Make it about 1 inch in diameter. Drag it into the Symbols palette and name it “top.”
• Reselect your vase shape.
• Choose Effect>3d>Revolve
• Click Preview
• If you should happen to see a cylinder instead of a vase, don't sweat it, you just need to change the offset from left edge to right edge.
• Choose Map Art.
• Scroll through the surfaces until you see the circular top.
• Look in the symbols list and choose the circle symbol you created.
• Click Scale to Fit (bottom left side)
• Scroll through surfaces again until you see the one for the side of the vase.
  In the symbols list, find your design.
• Adjust the design so it looks nice on the vase. (as long as you have Preview checked, you can see exactly what you are getting.)
  Click OK.

2nd Vase

• Select the first vase and Alt-drag a copy of it.

Change the fill color of the copy and adjust its size.

Double-click on its 3d effect in the Appearance palette. Change the angle of the new vase.

Table top

• Draw a rectangle approximately 5 inches wide/1 in height.
• Choose Effect>3d>Extrude and Bevel
• Click the Preview box.
• Increase the Extrude depth.

Finishing Touches

• Arrange the vases on the table.
• Try applying a drop shadow on the objects.
• Stand back and give yourself a few oohs and ahhs.
  

Doing 3d is so easy and very addictive. Have fun with it. Here is a site with lots of tutorial specifically for 3d. Tutorials

You've Got Style

Now that we fully appreciate the incredible power and unlimited flexibility of effects, let's learn how to apply and edit them.

We will begin by creating a 2 inch circle. The Elipse tool is packed with the rectangle tool in the toolbar. You can hold down the Alt key and click on the rectangle tool until the elipse appears, or just hit the letter "l" on the keyboard to access it. Click the elipse tool on the page and enter 2 inches for both height and weight. (Make sure you are in inches and not points.) Click OK.

A circle is now on the page and is selected. Keep it selected. Now matter how tempting it is to start clicking around on the page, don't do it. The circle must remain selected. Now you get to start applying some effects.

• Choose Effect>Distort and Transform>Pucker and Bloat. Click the preview button and, if necessary, move the box out of the way so you can see your circle. You get to choose whether you want your circle to pucker or bloat. I try not to be too bossy when it comes to personal taste. You can enter positive or negative numbers in the box, or just slide the little triangle up and down the line until you see something you like. When you are done, click OK.
• Choose Effect>Stylize>Drop Shadow. Again, click preview, play around with the adjustments and click OK. If at any point the preview box is grayed out and unavailable, you have been naughty and have deselected your circle.
• Lets do one more effect. Effect>Distort and Transform>Twist. Enter a number that you like for the twist.

You should have an new shape that looks nothing like a circle. You can assure yourself that it is still a circle though, by choosing View>Outline. All you will see is the circle, everything else is just appearance. Make sure you return to the Preview view and that the object is still selected.

Next we are going to really jazz things up using the Appearance palette. If it is not on your screen already, choose Window>Appearance. The Appearance palette should have the word "path" at the top next to a teeny picture of your circle. Pucker and bloat, twist, stroke, fill, drop shadow and default transparency should all be listed in the palette also. (If, not, you have accidentally deselected that circle again!)

Let's say that you have decided you aren't happy with your pucker and bloat choice. Instead of having to do a bunch of of undoing, you can edit it right in the Appearance palette. Double-click on Pucker and Bloat in the palette. The decision box for that effect will reappear on the screen. Make the changes you want and click OK. It's that easy.

What about some color? Right now, your object should have just a black stroke and a white fill. Click on Fill in the Appearance palette and select a color from the Swatches palette. Next, click on Stroke and choose a color for it also. If you want to make your stroke a bit thicker, adjust the stroke weight up in the options bar. (The default is just 1 pt.)

Now, we are going to get really fancy. Stay on Stroke in the Appearance palette. Choose Effect>Arc>Arc lower. Since you had only stroke selected in the palette, only the stroke of your object received that effect.

Next, let's do an effect on only the Fill. Click on Fill in the Appearance palette. Choose Effect>3D>Extrude and Bevel. Accept the defaults. 3D is one of the more awesomenest parts of Illustrator that I will be carrying on about in a later blog.

Not only can you apply effects to a stroke or fill individually, but you can also use the Appearance palette to create duplicate strokes and fills on the same object.

• Click on Stroke again in the palette then pull down the options menu. (This menu is accessed in the upper right corner of the palette by clicking on the little circle/triangle.) Choose Duplicate Item. Now, you have two strokes on one object. But since they are both exactly the same size, and color, it still looks like you just have only one. We are going to take care of that next.
• Click on one of the two strokes in the palette. Change its color. Still only see one, right? Well, that's because they are on top of each other.
• Staying on that same stroke, choose Effect>Distort and Transform>Transform. Change the Angle (at the bottom of the box.) I used 45 degrees.
• See the little triangles next to the strokes and fill in the Appearance palette? They are expanded, which means that all the effects that you have done to them are showing. That can get a bit confusing, so you might one to collapse them. You do this by clicking on the triangles. (Reopen them by clicking on the triangles again.)

Just for a little added zest. Try rearranging some of the objects in the Appearance palette. Drag the Fill between the two Strokes. (You just click/drag the Fill and release it between the strokes.) Play around with it some, it won't hurt anything if you mess it up. Remember, you can keep choosing Edit>Undo until you get back to a pre-messed state.

I figure that you are now thinking, "Gee, this is an extraordinarily beautiful effect! I wish I could save it and apply it to ALL my artwork." With a little help from the Graphic Styles Palette, you can!

• Keep the circle selected.
• Open the Graphic Styles palette. (Windows>Graphic Styles)
• At the bottom of this palette is a New Graphic Style button (right next to the little trash can.) Click on this button to create a new graphic style. There will be a new style showing in the palette. Double-click on it and give it a name. I named mine "Frank," but you might want to try something more descriptive like "3d warp bloat shadow."

Try drawing a new shape. I drew a curved line. While your new shape is selected, click on the graphic style you created. All of those effects that you so carefully created, will be applied to this new object.

Best of all, when you save this file, your wonderful graphic style will be saved also!

To be honest, this is really ugly. But, that's okay. We overdid it because we were playing around. With practice and a modicum of talent, you can come up with very lovely and distinctive effects. Give it a try!