In previous articles, youve explored Shapes and basic shapes in Illustrator with TipsMake. In this article, TipsMake will introduce you to the basics of the Mesh Tool in Illustrator.
The Mesh Tool is one of the most difficult tools to use in Illustrator ; it can illustrate vectors that look more like 3D or realistic images. The Mesh Tool works by adding meshes to a closed shape, with the lines of the mesh intersecting at points where different color patterns can be applied to create a vector image.
To learn the basics about the Mesh Tool in Illustrator, please refer to the article below from TipsMake.
Learn the basics of the Mesh Tool in Illustrator.
In this tutorial, TipsMake will guide you on how to create a grape using the Mesh Tool in Illustrator. Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Turn the image layer into a template.
Open your image file in Adobe Illustrator, then double-click the image layer in the Layers Palette. A window called Layer Options will appear . Check the Template and Dim Images boxes and set the percentage to 100%.
This operation transforms the image layer into a template for the grid shape.
Step 2: Adjust the shape of the object
Create a new layer at the top corner of the original image layer and use the Ellipse tool to create a circle. Adjust the circle so that it resembles the shape of a grape.
Step 3: View in outline mode.
Next, click View => Outline . This will display the grid in Outline mode, allowing you to edit the grid while simultaneously viewing the image layer underneath.
Step 4: Open the navigation window.
Click on Windows => Navigator , and a navigation window will appear on the screen. Here you can see what the grid looks like while still in Outline mode.
Step 5: Add a sample point to the grid.
Click the Mesh icon in the sidebar, then click in the center of the circle. You will now see two grid lines displayed.
Step 6: Add more sample points as the object's value/color changes.
Click on different grid lines to add new points, focusing on the areas where the grape changes color or value. Ideally, you should create as few grid points as possible, so in this tutorial, TipsMake only added 5 or 6 grid points to this grape.
Step 7: Use the Eyedropper tool
After adding all the grid points, the next step is to apply color to each point. There are many ways to do this; in this example, TipsMake will use the Eyedropper tool.
Click the eyedropper icon on the toolbar, press and hold the Command or Ctrl key, and click to select the grid intersection points within the grid. Once your grid points are selected, release the Command and Control keys and use the Eye Dropper tool to click on those points. This action samples colors directly from the image and applies them to the grid.
Now, looking at the navigation panel, you will see what the grid shape looks like. Follow the same steps: select the Eyedropper Tool => press and hold the Command/Ctrl keys => click to select grid points => release the keys with all remaining grid points to fill the grape in the grid with a color pattern.
After completion, we have an image of a grape. Click View => Preview to turn off Outline Mode. The grape image will now look like this:
Above, you have learned the basics of the Mesh Tool in Illustrator with TipsMake. Additionally, you can refer to other articles on TipsMake to learn about the Shape Builder tool and the Stroke tool in Illustrator.
The image cropping feature in Adobe Illustrator is also one of the most frequently used functions in the software, with many different cropping options. See the specific instructions on cropping images in Adobe Illustrator in Taimienphi's article.