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.
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