Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
new, jagged shapes and switched back to the Shape Builder tool. While
holding the Option/Alt key, Leavens click-dragged over the area he wanted to
remove, leaving behind newly-broken branches.
Before and after: using the Shape Builder tool to subtractively alter the cactus
branch
3 Adding fast shading with Blob Brush and Draw Inside mode.
In order to add
soft, feathered shading to the puffy purple foliage on the large tree, Leavens
decided to use the Blob Brush. To maintain smooth strokes, he first double-
clicked the Blob Brush tool in the Tools panel, and in Options he increased
the Fidelity and Smoothness settings (in
CC
there is only one Fidelity
setting). He then predefined a graphic style for the shading by mixing a shade
of violet using the Color panel, switching the blend mode to “Multiply” (by
clicking Opacity in the Appearance panel), adding a 3-point feather effect
(Effect> Stylize> Feather), and saving the style by clicking the New Graphic
Style button in the Graphic Styles panel. To ensure that this style would be
properly maintained once he selected and began working with it, he disabled
“New Art Has Basic Appearance” from the Appearance panel menu. He se-
lected one of the purple foliage objects, changed to Draw Inside mode (Shift-
D), deselected, and chose the Blob Brush tool (Shift-B). Before adding the
shading, he clicked on the newly defined Graphic Style swatch. Finally, Leav-
ens brushed in the shading, using the Blob Brush additively to build up larger
masses of darker shading, painting solitary strokes where he wanted lighter
shading, and using the Eraser tool to make corrections.
