3 ways to use the Blend tool in Adobe Illustrator. Learn how to use the Blend tool to create colour palettes and gradients and make typography more dynamic.
COLOUR PALETTES AND GRADIENTS:
- Light to dark steps blend – Choose the light and dark versions of your colour and place either side of your document. Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose specified steps. We’ve chosen 4 steps but you can experiment with more. Press okay. Now go to Object > Blend > Make.
- Light to dark smooth blend – Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose smooth colour. Press okay. Now go to Object > Blend > Make.
- Different colours steps blend – Choose your different colour shades and and place either side of your document. Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose specified steps. We’ve chosen 4 steps but you can experiment with more. Press okay. Now go to Object > Blend > Make.
- Different colours smooth blend – Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose smooth colour. Press okay. Now go to Object > Blend > Make.
BLEND TYPOGRAPHY:
- Type out your word or words.
- Place a lighter version on one side of your document and a darker version the opposite side.
- Select over both and go to Object > Blend > Make.
BLEND GRADIENTS INTO TYPOGRAPHY:
- Create a circle and add a gradient (Window > Gradient).
- Change the gradient to a diagonal by clicking edit gradient and dragging diagonally over your circle.
- Make the circle smaller and place to one side of the document.
- Copy and paste another circle the opposite side.
- Go to Object > Blend > Make.
- Then go to Object > Blend > Blend options and choose specified steps and add a high number. We’ve used 200.
- Then drag over your hand-drawn text (made with the Brush tool) and the gradient and go to Object > Blend > Replace Spine.
We encourage you to experiment with the tool and see what you think! We’d love to see your results on socials. Tag @makeitindesign #makeitindesign.
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