Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Color Transitions
Color Transitions
INTRODUCTION
Whether your colors are black and white, a limited palette, or a full spectrum,
mastering the power of Illustrator requires a command of color transitions and
groups of colors. This chapter focuses on the myriad ways of coloring your objects in
Illustrator, from using the various panels, to creating transitions of colors with
gradients and gradient mesh; it also looks at the group of panels and functions that
Adobe calls Live Color.
No warning with Trash...
If you click the Trash icon in the Swatches panel, Illustrator does
not
warn you if
you're about to delete colors used in the document; Illustrator will simply delete the
swatches, converting any global colors and spot colors to non-global process colors.
Instead, choose Select All Unused and then click the Trash icon.
WORKING WITH THE COLOR AND SWATCHES PANELS
The main panels that help you work with color include Swatches, Color Guide,
Gradient, Appearance, and Control panels. Click a Fill or Stroke color to reveal an
arrow, which provides access to a version of the Swatches panel, or Shift-click to
access the Color panel.
To save your current Stroke or Fill color as a swatch, drag it from the Toolbox or
Color panel to the Swatches panel. You can also drag colors from the Color Guide to
the Swatches panel. (See the
CC
section later in this chapter for info on proxy icons
added to the Swatches panel in CC.) To name a single selected color as you create it
(and set is as a global color if desired), click the New Swatch icon at the bottom of the
Swatches panel instead. When you copy objects that contain custom swatches from
one document to another, Illustrator automatically adds the swatches to the new
document's panels.
You can create three kinds of solid colors in Illustrator: process colors, global process
colors, and spot colors. Each is easy to distinguish visually.
•
Process colors
(solid swatch) are mixed from the CMYK colors used for printing with
ink. Change the percentage of each ink to change the color, or choose a color from a
swatch library, such as Pantone process uncoated.
•
Global process colors
are process colors with an added convenience: If you update
the definition for a global process color, Illustrator updates that color throughout the
document. Identify a global process color in the Swatches panel by the small triangle
in the lower-right corner of the swatch in any view, and by the Global Color icon in
List view. Create a global process color by enabling the Global option (it's off by
default) in either the New Swatch or Swatch Options dialog.
