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Liam
01-25-2005, 11:26 PM
hi everyone, i was just delveing in to the gradient mesh in illustrator and was wondering which is the best route to take when making 3d looking graphics using the gradient mesh.

A. you draw the outline of the object, then apply color and gradient mes over the top once the outline is complete.

or

B. you start a new gradient mesh from scratch using maybye a simple path that you manipulate.

which is the best way, A or B

please let me know, any other kewl gradient mesh tips would be helpful thanks ;)

LIAM

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/attach.aspx/2346/gdfsig.gif

TBdesign
01-25-2005, 11:46 PM
Use the blend tool instead of the gradient mesh, You can use the mesh, but you have alot more freedom with blending, take a look at
graphicdesignforum.com/default.aspx?f=15&m=102127 (http://graphicdesignforum.com/default.aspx?f=15&m=102127)
these are all drawing in Illustrator, done with blend tool.

TBdesign
01-25-2005, 11:49 PM
As for the question your asking, both will work it is all going to depend on the piece you are doing.

Liam
01-26-2005, 01:27 AM
hmmm, well maybye i will push the mesh tool aside and start learning to use the blend. i would be interested to see the outlines, it seems like it would be very complicated using the bend tool, one of my ultimate goals would be to draw a realistic looking human face. Is the blend tool harder to use. i am still kind of an Illustrator noob, but any advice would be helpful.
thx :)
LIAM

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/attach.aspx/2346/gdfsig.gif

TBdesign
01-26-2005, 01:30 AM
It is pretty easy to use. It is alot of pen tool. And following your shapes.
Kind of hard to explain. If I have more time Sometime I might be able to help with a tuorial or something. I will post the outlines for yah in the showcase.

Liam
01-26-2005, 01:59 AM
thx man , i appreciate it ;)
LIAM

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/attach.aspx/2346/gdfsig.gif

TBdesign
01-26-2005, 02:46 AM
here is a quick basic run down of blends on text. Im not gonna have time to do a tutorial on ym own time.

www.wowwebdesigns.com/power_guides/3d_text/ (http://www.wowwebdesigns.com/power_guides/3d_text/)

If you keep the blended text the same color then copy and paste in front and make that a different color, you can get a better 3D shadow effect

This tutorial is just the basic, but it works just like this on just about everything.
When you start piecing together your first piece just get the blends to match up nice and work with the pen tool alot.

Post Edited (TBdesign) : 1/25/2005 9:50:37 PM GMT

TBdesign
01-26-2005, 02:51 AM
the outlines are posted for you to, some are kind fo hard to see, but you will see better once you start doing it on your own.

Liam
01-26-2005, 01:03 PM
thx, ill take a look, them outline look really complex but ill start simple and maybye work my way up. thanx for the tips, and the tutorial link, i think i will start out w/ text then go from there ;)
LIAM

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/attach.aspx/2346/gdfsig.gif

Alias
01-27-2005, 02:37 AM
Mesh in Illustrator, just like strange pen effects cause lots of printing problems - you will never know what you get. I never use that!

Liam
01-27-2005, 08:31 AM
what about if you rasterize the image first at the rosulution and size you want????
illustrator is an awesome program, but jsut cause it is vector based, doesnt mean that you cant export the image to photoshop first. (the two programs work hand in hand. thats the beauty of adobe cs, it all integrates perfectly) and you should allways save as either .EPS or .PDF dont try to print from an.AI file, im sure that you shouldnt have them kind of problems if you dont use native illustrator format. o well.
LIAM

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/attach.aspx/2346/gdfsig.gif

Alias
01-28-2005, 02:41 AM
[quote]You can rasterize that in Illy, and, of course, this willeliminate printing problems. But if i wanna do something like mesh, or evenshadows, i always do that in Photoshop. Maybe this is just fromforce ofhabit. I also never used imported psd layered file from Photoshop - and the reason is obvious from attached files.

Liam
01-28-2005, 12:03 PM
well if you want a 'photoish' look, then obvoiusly photoshop should be your choice hands down, illustrator is a lot better for simple clean, and colorful logo's. it all depends on what you want. Illustrator is capable of creating good illustrations, but can then be imported to photoshop if you want the image to be photo real.. either way, whith the know how, you can print from either software. ;)
LIAM

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/attach.aspx/2346/gdfsig.gif