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_Whitespace_
_Whitespace_
Known Participant
February 12, 2018
Answered

Gradients turning black - Illustrator 22.0.1

  • February 12, 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 25861 views

I'm having an issue where no matter what I do my gradient keeps going from 3-colors to all black. I've removed all spot colors and am working in CMYK. Is there a solution to this?

    Correct answer Ton Frederiks

    Ok. The problem is solved.

    But there are easier ways to detect it.

    Because of: Object > Path > Clean Up...         always change your path (with the given tolerance)

    Better possibilities

    • Looking for little crosses:

    • Or

    select single anchor points

    menu: select > object > single anchor points

    • This is the same selection in path view

    • Or

    release (a copy of your) compound path

    • Now you can see paths or anchor points without dimensions directly in layers palette:

    Delete them and

    Have fun


    https://forums.adobe.com/people/pixxxel+schubser  wrote

    Ok. The problem is solved.

    But there are easier ways to detect it.

    Because of: Object > Path > Clean Up...         always change your path (with the given tolerance)

    Object > Path > Clean Up... does not change your path.

    You probably mean Object > Path > Simplify, which has a tolerance and does change it (but that's not useful in this case).

    4 replies

    POL22
    POL22
    Participant
    December 2, 2020

    ALTERNATE SOLUTION HERE! I had this same issue, I wanted to use a gradient on cursive text, and even after converting to outlines, the gradient fill was showing as black. I tried the Clean Up command but nothing changed.

    I have since learned that overlapping contours were the issue. My cursive font had slight overlaps to give the illusion of one constant handwritten word. The fix for me was converting the font to outlines (CTRL+SHIFT+O), and then using the Shape Builder Tool to join all the contours into one. You can easily do this on one letter, and if the letter instantly takes on the gradient appearance you want then you know it's working! If you want to keep the text editable, try adjusting the spacing betwen each letter in the Character Window until they aren't overlapping.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 3, 2020

    Yours is not an alternate solution to the problemdescribed above.

    In order to apply a gradient to a text you don't even need to outline it.

    pazchris
    pazchris
    Participant
    March 21, 2020

    I had the same issue, what I did is go to "APPEARANCE" and found out the fill was below the characters in the layering. I moved it to the top and it seemed to work after that.

     

    EDIT: Oh shoot sorry, just saw your screenshot and can see it's not the same issue I had.

    NatZaff
    NatZaff
    Participant
    October 10, 2019

    I have the exact same issue with my compound paths and gradients.
    I cleaned up the paths, but Illustrator stated that no clean up was necessary.
    So I was still stuck with gradients going to black.
    I have just found discovered if you expand the fill to a gradient mesh it seemed to fix the issue. For me at least 🙂

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 12, 2018

    Please post a screen shot showing your gradient panel, swatch panel, color panel and the gradient result that you're getting (keep it selected so the panels will show what's going on).

    _Whitespace_
    _Whitespace_Author
    Known Participant
    February 12, 2018

    I've named the gradient and built it with process colors. Every time I open the file it reverts to black even though it shows the gradient in the appearance panel.

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    February 14, 2018

    Ok. The problem is solved.

    But there are easier ways to detect it.

    Because of: Object > Path > Clean Up...         always change your path (with the given tolerance)

    Better possibilities

    • Looking for little crosses:

    • Or

    select single anchor points

    menu: select > object > single anchor points

    • This is the same selection in path view

    • Or

    release (a copy of your) compound path

    • Now you can see paths or anchor points without dimensions directly in layers palette:

    Delete them and

    Have fun


    https://forums.adobe.com/people/pixxxel+schubser  wrote

    Ok. The problem is solved.

    But there are easier ways to detect it.

    Because of: Object > Path > Clean Up...         always change your path (with the given tolerance)

    Object > Path > Clean Up... does not change your path.

    You probably mean Object > Path > Simplify, which has a tolerance and does change it (but that's not useful in this case).

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