Gradient Mesh help

[Elizabeth_King@adobeforums.com]

I'm trying to use the gradient mesh tool in Illustrator CS, but get the "universal no" symbol around the tool whenever I position it over an object-- even a simple filled object like a rectangle or circle.

I can create a mesh by clicking on the path edge (adding points) but the online help says you should be able to click anywhere in the object (which I was able to do with earlier versions of Illustrator and the gradient mesh tool).

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Gary_Newman@adobeforums.com]

You're sure it's a filled object? Time to trash your Illustrator prefs file.

[Teri Pettit]

Check to see that the "Object Selection by Path Only" preference is off under General Preferences. (This is the preference formerly known as "Use Area Select", but with the sense of the checkmark flipped.)

Despite the fact that both the old and new names mention selection, that preference is relevant to more than the Selection tools; it really means "Hit Testing by Outlines Only". (I think the intention of making the gradient mesh tool honor that preference is so that if you want to restrict the tool to adding new mesh points along existing mesh lines, you can turn it on and thus avoid accidentally making tiny little mesh areas when you click close to an existing mesh line but not close enough.)

[Doug_Katz@adobeforums.com]

That actually makes a lot of sense.

[hitpawz@adobeforums.com]

Is the gradient mesh always going to retain some of the outer shape of the object? What I'm referring to is the weird bends or kinks in the mesh lines that are being transferred from the outer shape (even when the handles for the mesh are perfectly straight). Sometimes I find the gradient mesh an impossible solution because of this and was wondering if there was a way to release the inner mesh from the outer shape influences so that I can shape the mesh exactly how I want?

-- I may not have explained this clearly

[Teri Pettit]

Hitpawz,

Well, the gradient mesh as a whole always retains the exact outline of the path that you create it from. I expect what you are asking is if there is any way to keep the mesh tool when clicking on a path from taking the edges so much into account when it creates the interior mesh lines.

Sorry, no there isn't. The mesh tool makes some pretty inconvenient choices about how to split up the shape whenever it has convex portions of its outline. The worst case is a very curved thin path like an outlined C, S or U, where the user generally has a clear idea of one set of long curved lines snaking through the middle and another set of short straight lines perpendicular to the long ones, but the mesh tool does something very weird instead, where many of the mesh lines extend outside the object!

What most people do to control the situation on shapes which have little kinks on the outside is make a larger simpler convex shape to turn into a gradient mesh, and use the more detailed outline as a clipping mask on the mesh.

For the case of putting a mesh inside a long twisty outline like an S or a C, the easiest thing to do is to first make a long thin rectangle, and then manipulate it into your basic curve with Warp effects, Transform tools, etc. Then mask it with your more detailed outline as before.

[Scott_Weichert@adobeforums.com]

It is much easier to make a basic shape, apply a mesh ten move the mesh points around.

[Elizabeth_King@adobeforums.com]

Aha! That was it, Terri (the "Object Selection by Path only" pref).

Just a quirk of my working, but I had selected that preference, as I don't like to accidently select things by hitting any part of them. I prefer to think of them in wireform mode in my mind.

But that preference was keeping the Mesh tool from "finding" the object.
Brilliant!
thanks so much..

[LRK@adobeforums.com]

I went to Books-A-Million today to see if some of the recently published books recommended were available. The selection was pitiful. Almost all the books they had were one or two or three versions behind but still full price. They even had books for Photoshop 5. So much for that! Next time I'll try Barnes & Noble. :)

Oh... I was looking for the new Illustrator CS Wow! book that is recommended for gradient mesh learning. I thought there was a reason I posted here... almost forgot what it was. :)

[hitpawz@adobeforums.com]

Teri, thank you. Everything you said makes perfect sense. In fact, it's actually working quite well. Combined with the idea of starting with a simple shape, I've pretty much alleviated all of my problems. It takes a bit longer than I'd like and I still feel that the tool is trying to be too smart where it could really get away with being much more simple, but at least now I can work with it. It reminds me a lot of nurbs modeling, which is good for me.

Elizabeth, I apologize for taking the original focus away from this thread. It just sparked the question and I figured I'd keep it here.

[Ray_Craighead@adobeforums.com]

Here is a simple PDF describing the steps for distorting a mesh object with a mesh envelope. It's a little old, but I think it's relevant to the topic. Maybe someone would find it helpful. I suggest opening it in AI so the mesh points can actually be viewed.

<http://lion.mnu.edu/~rcraighe/Demos/mesh_envelope.pdf>

Ray