BLEND TEXT Colors from Dark to Light and back to Dark

[TangerineTots]

Hi, Would love some help. I am working on a logo and the client wants the colors to blend from dark to light and then back to the dark again. I have tried a lot of blend and gradient options and tried custom backgrounds with masks. Can't see to get anything with clean and satisfactory results. The italic font they selected is not helping either! Any tricks or suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[michelew83603738 · Accepted solution]

Once you have picked your main color, have your tried using the color guide and using the Shades and Tints?

[TangerineTots]

Thanks for your reply

[tromboniator]

Hard to guess what "clean and satisfactory results" might mean. Are you having trouble with finding colors? Distribution of colors across the letters? What you're showing us doesn't seem to be any sort of blend or gradient at all. What are you looking for? What, exactly, have you tried, and what about it isn't clean and satisfactory?

Peter

[TangerineTots]

Thanks for your reply. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to create a custom background and clipping mask to get the look I wanted. All the "blending" and "gradient" tools were resulting in a lot of banding.

[Jacob Bugge]

Tangerine Tots,

For the look in your image, you can set the solid Fill Color of each letter when they are selected with the Type Tool.

But since you are talking logo, it would seem obvious to outline the font, and in that case you can just colour each letter shape.

For a skewed gradient across outlined letters, you can:

1) With the Line (Segment) Tool ClickDrag along the side of the I, then Object>Transform>Rotate a Copy by 90 degrees and move its lower right end to snap to the bottom right Anchor Point of the I, then extend the line so it goes well past the A (with the bottom right Reference Point chosen in the Transform palette);

2) Move (a copy of) the original line from 1) to have its bottom end at the bottom left Anchor Point of the A;

3) With the Gradient Tool ClickDrag along the line from 1) between the intersection of the two lines to the left of the A to the bottom right Anchor Point of the I;

4) Set the desired colours/stops in the Gradient palette, you may work with it a bit until you are satisfied.

For a skewed gradient across the letters of live Type, you can with an extended procedure:

0) Copy to the front and Type>Create Outlines, then work with the copy as above to start with:

1) With the Line (Segment) Tool ClickDrag along the side of the I, then Object>Transform>Rotate a Copy by 90 degrees and move its lower right end to snap to the bottom right Anchor Point of the I, then extend the line so it goes well past the A (with the bottom right Reference Point chosen in the Transform palette);

2) Move (a copy of) the original line from 1) to have its bottom end at the bottom left Anchor Point of the A;

3) Hide the outlined letters but not the helplines and select the live Type, then set the Fill to None and in the Appearance palette (flyout) Add new Fill and select that Fill (in the Appearance palette);

4) With the Gradient Tool ClickDrag along the line from 1) between the intersection of the two lines to the left of the A to the bottom right Anchor Point of the I;

4) Set the desired colours/stops in the Gradient palette, you may work with it a bit until you are satisfied.

So it can be done with live Type.

[TangerineTots]

Jacob, Thanks for taking the time to reply and offer so many suggestions. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to create a custom background and clipping mask to get the look I wanted. All my initial attempts to use the "blending" and "gradient" tools resulted in a lot of banding and muddy colors.

[Jacob Bugge]

For my part you are welcome, TangerineTots.

Depending on the further/final use, a Clipping Mask may be a less useful form.

Just to complete the instructions, here is an image from just before deleting the helplines, based on liver Type, with Helvetica Obligue, RGB colours 255/0/0-255/255/0-255/0/0.

[Jacob Bugge]

TangerineTots,

It may be inevitable that someone tells you to tell the client that a logo should also work in black and white so that is where to start.