Adding the Gradient Mesh to your Shape

I know you're anxious to start adding that mesh to your image.  And we will! First, there are three rules that I like to keep in mind when working with gradient meshes.

1. It’s easier to ADD then delete. This is important when making your mesh so that you don’t overdo it at first and drop in too many mesh points which can later be a confusing, jumbled mess to try to work with.

2. Take your time! Stop and look at your image after each mesh point is added. See how it’s developing. Sometimes you will find that the last point you added was perfect in color and placement and nothing more needs to be done. If you keep adding points without looking after each one, you may overdo it, or miss the perfect point and end up with a muddled mess of color and mesh.

3. The undo key is your friend. When meshing, I have one hand on my mouse, and the other on my undo key. Often times I’ll drop in a mesh point, or have it be a color that is all wrong and have to undo it. Sometimes, I’ll drop in multiple mesh lines, only to find that they’re all wrong, and so I just undo back.

Now there are a few different ways of creating mesh objects. You could:

• Select your object and go to “Object --> Create gradient mesh” Then adjust the settings in the dialogue box (as shown below).

OR

• Press the "U" Key on your keyboard to bring up the gradient mesh tool, or click the gradient mesh tool in the toolbox as shown below and click the shape one by one to add mesh points (Which is how we will be doing it).

! TIP: Contrary to the image shown above, I have found that using the create gradient mesh option tends to put the mesh points in places I don't want it to go, which then becomes difficult later on to manipulate and move.  Manually adding mesh points gives you more control over where the points go, and the colors of each point. Plus, it’s fun to watch the image start to “come alive” as you add a few points.  Also, by adding the mesh points one by one, you can start small, with only the minimum lines you need to get the coloring and shading down, then add additional mesh points and lines as needed.

So...here we go!!

1.  First, make a few more color swatches that will be the highlights and shadows in our image.  We will be using these as we lay down some of the mesh.  I made the following swatches using the color picker and RGB Color mode: (from Left to Right) 242, 183, 208 (baby pink), 242, 227, 233 (light pink), 175, 47, 121 (dark pink), 221, 76, 138 (medium pink).

2.  Look at your image and visually decide where the highlights and shadows fall.  These will be the places where we will add our mesh points and colors that will make our image "come to life".

3.  Take your mouse, click on the mesh button (circled in red in the image above the swatches) in your toolbar (or press the letter "U" on your keyboard) and hover your curser over the left drape.  You'll notice your cursor change into a plus (+) sign indicating that you're ready to place a mesh point where your cursor is.

4.  Select the medium pink color as your foreground and click along the horizontal line at the top of the drape towards the right (as shown in the animated image below).  This will add a vertical mesh line that follows the natural curve of the shape (in this case, the drape) and extends the length of the drape.  Deselect the image.

5.  Next, select the light pink swatch as your foreground color and add a second mesh point.  Click on the same horizontal line at the top of the drape, but a bit to the left of the first line.  You will see a second vertical line created.

6.  Repeat this process, alternating medium and light pink swatches until you have a total of four vertical mesh lines.  If you place a mesh point in the wrong place, you can use the Undo command, or click on the point you just placed using the direct selection tool and delete it.

Notice how as we add the mesh lines, the image is starting to look a bit like a pleated drape.  Since drapes gather towards the middle when pulled back, we will need some coloring there as well.  So let's add a few mesh lines horizontally this time instead of vertically which will allow us to add color to that spot. 

7.  With the medium pink color selected as your foreground color, click just below the middle point on the right side of the image where the drape is pulled in.  Be sure to click on the outline of the drape.  This will add a horizontal mesh line that will extend the width of the image and follow the angle of the area where we are placing the point.  

8.  Click a second time just a bit above the first mesh point you added (above the center point of the drape), thereby placing a mesh line towards the top half.  Click one more time in the middle of the drape and add a third mesh line in the middle.  Notice how the horizontal lines extend at a slight angle down instead of straight across.  The lines are following the angle of the curves of the shape.

!  TIP: When adding mesh points, keep in mind the location of the point, what is around it and the direction you want the color to go in.  If you click on an empty area of a shape, the mesh line will extend horizontally and vertically.  If you click on an existing point (either on a mesh line or an anchor point), the mesh line will extend perpendicular to the existing line. The lines will follow the general direction of the shape, and the angles of the curves.  Although sometimes they will seem to do rather crazy things and go in the opposite direction of where you want it to (or expect it to go).

As shown in the image on the right, the color mostly extends through the top half of the drape.  Given that the color is a gradient, it is strong at one part (in this case, the mesh point, and gradually lightens as it extends out.  Since the shape is quite long, and the start of the color is at the top, it doesn't extend as far down as the bottom.  If we want the color to appear in the bottom half of the drape, we need to add color to the mesh points along the bottom.  There are a few different ways to add color to a mesh that has already been placed.

One way is to click on a mesh point with the direct selection tool and then click the color you want that mesh point to be. You can also add color as we did above, by selecting the color before placing the mesh point. Another way to add color is to select a color swatch and drag and drop it to the mesh patch (the space between the lines).  This will add the color in the patch and it will radiate out.  We will now colorize the bottom half of the drape now so it matches the top half.

8.  Locate the two mesh points at the top of the drape that are light pink.  Follow the lines visually to the bottom of the drape and select them.  To select both points, first click one, then shift + click the second one.  With the two mesh points selected, click the light pink color swatch in your palette.  The lines will change to light pink.  Repeat this same procedure with the medium pink color and the other two mesh points.  The end result should look similar to the image below.

!  TIP: There are a few different ways to select mesh points. You can click on them with the direct select tool, and use the Shift + Click option to select more then one.  You can also use the direct select tool to draw a box around a bunch of mesh points to select them all.  Lastly, you can use the lasso tool to draw a custom "lasso" around mesh points.  The Lasso tool is useful when you are working with a mesh that has a lot of tightly packed mesh points.

Congratulations! You have completed the first half of creating an image using the gradient mesh.  Though our image doesn't look finished yet, it will as soon as we add more color, and shading.  Before we continue, let's review a few important points to know when working with the gradient mesh.

1.  Clicking on an empty area of a shape will add a mesh point with lines that extend horizontally and vertically, following the general shape of the image.

2.  Clicking on an existing point will add a line that extends perpendicular (either horizontally OR vertically) to the existing line.

3.  When placing mesh points, keep in mind the general location where you want to add the highlights or shadows, and using the colors (light or dark), place the mesh points accordingly.

Now we are ready to add some shadows to make our image come to life, and really get our hands dirty with the mesh.  When you're ready to proceed, click the link below to go to the next step.

Page 4: Bringing the Image to Life