How to use the Freeform Gradient in Illustrator

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SECTION: 4
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Course info

104 lessons / 10 hours 33 quiz questions 31 projects Certificate of achievement

Overview

Hey there, I'm Dan Scott, an Adobe Certified Instructor with over 16 years of design experience under my belt, I'm part of the Adobe Expert program, and my online and in-person classes have been attended by more than a million people, just like you! Join me as we dive into the exciting world of Adobe Illustrator Advanced! In this course, you're not just leveling up in Illustrator, you're transforming into an Illustrator SuperHero!

In this course you will work on a bespoke brief designed to ignite your imagination, coupled with immersive course videos, you'll be crafting jaw-dropping graphics in no time. Throughout our journey together, you'll flex your creative muscles and construct projects that will elevate your portfolio to new heights. So, let's dive in and unleash your creativity!

You’ll learn:

  • - How to use artificial intelligence to boost your creativity in ideation. 
  • - The quick way to take hand-drawn sketches and vectorize and color them. 
  • - The building blocks needed to set you loose on a huge variety of beautiful effects and techniques.
  • - To make beautiful charts and graphs for your documents. 
  • - Color mastery to make quick color adjustments, Pantones, and blend it all together beautifully.
  • - How to master images inside of your illustrator workflow. 
  • - To harness all the secret gems that'll help you level up your typography skills. 
  • - All the tricks of the trade for drawing complex shapes easily. 
  • - To double your creativity with the Transform and Distort section. 
  • - To speed up your personal workflow to get the most out of your creative day.

Explore the full course outline for a comprehensive list of topics that will expand your Illustrator prowess beyond imagination.

If you're already comfortable navigating the basics but want to  unlock the true potential of Illustrator, then this Illustrator Advanced course is your ticket to becoming a master of Illustrator! So join me and the ranks of design superheroes and let's embark on this thrilling journey together.

Requirements:

- All you need is a copy of Adobe Illustrator, you can get a free trial from Adobe here to get started.
- A basic knowledge of Illustrator is required. I recommend watching my Illustrator Essentials course prior to embarking on this epic adventure.

Who this course is for:

- Creative adventurers who already have a basic understanding of Illustrator.
- Self-taught Illustrator enthusiasts yearning for structured guidance.
- Graduates of my Illustrator Essentials Course, hungry for more knowledge and skills.
- Visionaries who have developed their own unique Illustrator approach but crave exploration of the vast universe of tools, updates, and time-saving techniques.

What you'll learn:

- How to use Text to Vector Ai
- How to use Text to Pattern Ai
- How to use Generative Recolor
- When to use the Scissor Tool, Eraser Tool & Knife Tool
- Advanced Shape Builder Uses
- The differences between the Pathfinder Vs Shape Builder
- How to use the Join tool & Joining Path Ends
- Advanced Pen Tool Tricks
- Width Tool Advanced Techniques
- The Curvature Tool
- How to master corners with corner widget effects
- How to work with Compound Paths
- The difference between Expand & Expand Appearance
- How to create Graphic Styles
- How to make Symbols
- How to use the Smooth Tool
- Advanced use of Simplify Path
- What Live Shape Effects are for
- How to make Repeating Grids & Concentric Circles
- How to make Random Objects
- Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts in Illustrator
- How to add a Gradient on a Stroke
- How to add a Gradient in Text
- How to use the Freeform Gradient tool
- How to use Advanced Color Swatches
- How to use Global Color Swatches
- What is the difference between RGB vs CMYK color modes?
- How to proof colors
- How to use Pantone Spot Colors
- Recolor Artwork & Changing all colors at once
- How to use Blending Modes
- How to work with Images & Blending Modes
- How to make Black & White Images
- Learn Advanced Workflow Tricks
- All the Super Selection Mastery
- How to use the History Panel
- Advanced Fonts Tricks & Tips
- Use Retype to know what Font is being used
- How to put Text Inside a Letter or Shape
- How to use the Touch Type Tool
- How to add a Connected Stroke Around Multiple Shapes
- How to Offset a Stroke with Text
- How to make a Bar Chart in Illustrator
- How to make a Pie Chart in Illustrator
- Layer Power Moves
- Advanced Artboard & Pages Tricks
- How to Unlink vs Embedded Images
- How to Crop Images Rather than Mask
- How to Mask Inside Text & Multiple Shapes
- How to you use the Puppet Warp Tool
- How to use the Distort Envelope Shape & Type
- How to use the Envelope Mesh
- How to blend lines together
- How to make a Linocut Effect
- How to make 3D Gradient Lettering Blends
- How to spin text into a ring
- How to turn text into a 3D donut shape
- How to make a Duotone image effect
- How to make a Roughen Stamp Vector Effect
- How to make a Neon Sign Glow Effect
- How to use a Halftone Effect using Plugins
- Advanced Exporting Assets Tricks in Illustrator
- How to use the Dimension Tool

So what're you waiting for? Let's start the course now!
Daniel Scott

Daniel Scott

Founder of Bring Your Own Laptop & Chief Instructor

instructor

I discovered the world of design as an art student when I stumbled upon a lab full of green & blue iMac G3’s. My initial curiosity around using the computer to create ‘art’ developed into a full-blown passion, eventually leading me to become a digital designer and founder of Bring Your Own Laptop.

Sharing and teaching are a huge part of who I am. As a certified Adobe instructor, I've had the honor of winning multiple Adobe teaching awards at their annual MAX conference. I see Bring Your Own Laptop as the supportive community I wished for when I was first starting out and intimidated by design. Through teaching, I hope to bring others along for the ride and empower my students to bring their stories, labors of love, and art into the world.
True to my Kiwi roots, I've lived in many places, and currently, I reside in Ireland with my wife and kids.

Certificates

We’re awarding certificates for this course!

Check out the How to earn your certificate video for instructions on how to earn yours and click the available certificate levels below for more information.

How to earn your certificate

Work your way towards your certificate for this course by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Complete and pass the Knowledge Quiz (Merit level courses only)
  • Complete the Distinction Certificate Project (Distinction level courses only) - look out for the video marked with
  • Upload your Distinction project to the My Projects area in your account
  • Request your certificate when you've completed the requirements for the certificate level you're working towards

Good luck!

Pass certificates

We’re awarding ‘Pass’ level certificates for this course.

You can work your way towards your ‘Pass’ certificate by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Don’t forget to request your certificate when all your projects are complete

Good luck!

Merit certificates

We’re awarding ‘Merit’ level certificates for this course.

You can work your way towards your ‘Merit’ certificate by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Complete and pass the Knowledge Quiz
  • Don’t forget to request your certificate when you have passed the quiz and completed all your projects

Good luck!

Distinction certificates

We're awarding 'Distinction' level certificates for this course.

You can work your way towards your 'Distinction' certificate by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Complete and pass the Knowledge Quiz
  • Complete the Distinction Certificate Project - look out for the video marked with
  • Upload your Distinction project to the My Projects area in your account
  • Don't forget to request your certificate when you have passed the quiz and completed all your projects

Good luck!

Downloads & Exercise files

Transcript

Hi everyone. In this video we're gonna look at something called the  freeform gradient. I love it so much. Uh, why do I love it so much? Is look at this fin here. Look at all the colors and stuff going on.

I love it. Can you check out what's happening? There's all these little  dots that are influencing the gradient rather than a  linear or radio one. We've got freeform gradients. Maybe you're not as excited,  but I'm gonna show you, show it  to you anyway, maybe you will. Uh, let's jump in and learn freeform  gradients in illustrator.

Alright, uh, to get started,  open up the file called gradient freeform. Okay? And I am going  to select on the first little flipper and zoom in. Okay? And we are going to go to the properties panel  and I'm gonna apply a gradient. I'm just gonna start with anything.

I'm gonna go to my little swatches panel  and say, oh, there's no gradients in there. I've cleared it out. That does happen. I went and made it nice and tidy for you guys. Then how do you apply a gradient? We're gonna do it with a gradient tool.

Go to a window. Let's go to gradient  and we're gonna say, you my friend is going  to be a linear gradient. Nope, we want a radio gradient. Nope. We are learning the freeform gradient. You're like, oh, what does it do At the moment, by default,  your two little dots will appear in random positions.

I don't know why. Just they appear wherever they appear. What they are is it's kind  of like a linear gradient right now look  and kind of move it around and it's  kind of connecting these two. Um, where it gets really powerful  is when you add a third one. Actually let's color these first. So  let's double click the centers.

I'm gonna go to swatches. You can use your color mixer  beyond HSB if you want, or any other color. And pick from down here. Okay? I've got some color swatches that I want to use, okay. That I've baked in here for you.

Um, go to swatches. I'm gonna go for this first one. Gotta go down here. Double click this one, go to the second color  and I'm gonna add my third one. This is where the magic happens and you just click anyway. Watch this.

If I wave my,  I'm still on my gradient tool, okay? That's important. Okay? And I'm just gonna click once  and it's gonna add a gradient. What color it ends up being is kind of a mystery. Double click it and I'm gonna add this third color.

Oh, look at what we've got. Now we've got this kind of like weird dynamic  where we've got what's called a freeform gradient. I love it. I'm gonna stick that one there. I'm gonna stick that one there. How many can  you add loads of them?

I'm gonna add maybe two more there. And I'm gonna make sure you are this darker one  and double click this one. There's the darker one. Can, can you see? You can do, you can kind of track that line there  and have all these different colors going on. Does it excite me?

Why does it excite me so much? I don't know. I really like it. And when you get 'em close  together, they kind of start fighting it out. I'm gonna click off in the background. Can you see it  does interesting gradient things.

So the other thing to note about it is whether it's selected  a G for the gradient tool is there is, um,  the thing you can do is see this little extent, like  how much influence does this have? Does it have a teeny bit or lot? A teeny bit? A lot. Can you see? It's kind of pushing against this one.

And if you crank that one up as well,  you end up these really kind of like distinctive lines  that you can play around with or kind of freak it out with. Uh, I'm gonna lower mine down, okay? But you get the idea. You can click and drag 'em around to remove them. Just click one and hit delete on  your keyboard and it goes away. Hey, I want you to be bigger.

And there you go. Um, I'm going to,  you can't do freeform gradients across multiple objects. Okay? Just doesn't like  It at the moment. Give  a, yeah, I can't make it work. So maybe if somebody does let me know in the  comments, but there you go.

Uh, I'm gonna work my way around this document now  and do a bit more of it. But that is the, um, basics of it. I'm gonna do this one here. I'm gonna go  to add gradient, freeform gradient. And I did this one. Normally, I kind of hit this first one  linear and then move along.

I dunno why this one here has just added one dot. Okay, which is not very exciting. So I'm gonna add another dot, double click it  and go to this one. I'll change this one up here to the green  and maybe this one over here. Can you see what you can do? Like I clicked that.

Where did that color come from? See this color over here? No idea where that color. It's kind of I guess a mix of these two. Oh man. Where did that one come from?

Magic. Uh, double click it. It can be a little quirky. Um, I guess is what I'm gonna say. Um, that sometimes you need to be quite deliberate  and say, okay, I want this to be the darker color here  and down here I'm gonna use a blue,  but instead of the swatches, I'm gonna just make it darker. So I'm gonna go to my color picker.

And because it's a pre-made swatch,  it only gives me the ability to make it lighter and darker. You can switch to HSB or RGB  and I'm just gonna darker mine down. Cool. I love the freeform grad. It's amazing what you can do with it. I'm gonna mess with mine a little bit more, uh,  the one you saw at the beginning.

Alright, I'll see you in the next video.
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