Illustrator Mesh Tool Basics

One of the most amazing and confounding tools in Adobe Illustrator is probably the Gradient Mesh tool. Working with this feature allows the user to divide almost any shape into a mesh. Each intersection of two lines (horizontal/vertical) can be colored with a solid color. Practice with the mesh tool so that you can use the Mesh tool better. In this tutorial, we'll show you some tips that will improve your Mesh work.

1. Introduction

I would like to thank Itai Lustgarten and "Design Tuts" for writing this tutorial. Itai is a fellow graphic artist, designer and lecturer. We have both been in the industry since 1990. We both teach Illustrator, Photoshop and pre-press procedure in Mentor academy and several academies in Israel.

2. Creating a Basic Mesh

After selecting a shape (non compound shape, choose Create Gradient Mesh from the object menu. At the command window you can define the structure of the mesh - the number of rows and columns. Notice the mesh lines defined by the original outline of the shape.

3. Adding Points to a Mesh

Another way to add a point to a mesh is by using the Mesh tool and clicking anywhere in the shape's area.

4. Colorize The Mesh

After converting a shape into a mesh, you can select points with three tools: Mesh tool, Direct selection tool, and the Lasso tool. All you have to do now to add color to the mesh is select a color from the swatches palette, or use the eye dropper tool to select a color from an image.

5. Moving Points

If you need to move a point on the mesh shape, choose the Mesh tool or the Direct Selection tool, then click on a point and drag it (holding the Shift key will drag the point in a horizontal/vertical line only).

6. Meshing With Shapes

In order to achieve the best result with a mesh, one has to use a symmetrical shape since the mesh uses an equal number of anchor points on each side of the shape. The problem is what happens when we want to make a complex shape. Look below at the result of the non-symmetrical shape versus a symmetrical shape.
The solution could be split into two parts. The first one is to start with a rectangle or an ellipse, convert them into a mesh and then distort them to the shape we want. The second solution is to work with multi-parts, which are symmetrical shapes - one on top of the other.

Gradient Mesh Assignment: Select one of the images saved to the share folder. Beginners select either the apple, yellow pepper, or the pumpkin. More advanced students select more complex images to mesh- Old telephone, sports car, army boot. Make sure to File> Place the image onto Illustrator and turn the image into a Template and then add a layer to draw onto. Envision each separate area as different shapes.