How to make a gradual blur in Illustrator?

[KrissserzOne]

Hi!

I’m trying to create a gradual blur in Illustrator, similar to this:



The goal is to use it to illustrate plane trails, like this example:



Could you guide me on how to achieve this effect, please?

Thank you!

Chris.

[Kurt Gold]

There are many ways. For example, Blends, Art Brushes, Bristle Brushes (possibly combined with blending modes on the blue background and / or opacity masks, a bit of gaussian blur etc.).

[Conrad_C]

The demo below is only one of the many ways to do it, but it’s a method I use a lot.

It just applies a linear gradient fill. At one end, the gradient stop Opacity is set to 0% so that it fades out to transparent at that end, to blend in with the colors behind it. The command Effect > Stylize > Feather is applied to soften the edges. The quality of the gradient in the demo is a little rougher than in reality because something about the Adobe forum software degrades animated GIF uploads.

[Syntax_One]

Thank you so much for your effort! However, this isn’t quite what I was aiming for. Let me show you the method I used (although I think it might be unnecessarily complicated).

Here’s the result:



As you can see, the blur transitions gradually from top to bottom.

To achieve this effect, I overlapped two identical shapes—one with a Gaussian Blur applied and the other without. I then used a Transparency Mask with a gradient on both shapes to blend them, revealing one and concealing the other.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

radial blur, set up like this?

But if that is not what you are looking for, then take a look at the options named above.

[Syntax_One]

Excellent suggestion! Thank you! Your solution is indeed much simpler than mine. By duplicating the shape and using a clipping mask at the middle of the Radial Blur to reveal the beginning on one shape and the end on the other, it works perfectly!

Although it would be ideal to create this effect using only one shape, this approach works great for now, and I’ll definitely use it.

Thanks again for your help!

[Monika Gause]

I did not use a mask in mine. You can move the center of the blur in the dialog box.

[Syntax_One]

Thank you!