Understanding Gradient Meshes in Illustrator

This series of lessons will focus on creating realistic artwork with Illustrator's gradient meshes. We will begin by learning about the components of a gradient grid and how they all contribute to mixing multiple gradients together. Next, we will learn how to transform a basic, symmetrically-shaped mesh object into any shape you desire. Once we have built our first mesh object, it will be time to learn how to control and apply different gradients within the mesh. For illustration purposes, we'll keep building gradient meshes until almost every detail is covered. We'll also learn how to incorporate opacity changes into a mesh object and how to create a circular mesh. The last step in our illustration is to learn how to map type to the illustrated object. Software required: Illustrator CS5.