Skip to main content
M
monicaw73787342
Participating Frequently
April 8, 2018
Question

How to use a gradient stroke with art brush

  • April 8, 2018
  • 8 replies
  • 18419 views

Just yesterday I was using a gradient stroke with a brush in illustrator and now it has gone back to filling with black. I have searched everywhere and it says that you are not able to do this, but I promise that it was happening somehow. I erased all of the strokes thinking I could continue and that this was a new feature, so I don't have evidence.

Does anyone have the best way to paint with gradients? I've seen the step where it says to group, use pathfinder etc. and even if I could get this to work for me I am hoping there is some new feature that allows it that I stumbled on for a moment.

Thanks for any help!

      8 replies

      O
      osyrys808
      Participating Frequently
      December 27, 2021

      You have to rasterize the shape (with your gradient) before dragging it into your brushes to make an art brush. Then it will work. Good luck!

      B
      bahuguna_4
      Participant
      October 22, 2021

      It's been 3 years now since you faced that problem but today I faced the same scenario as you did 3 years ago. I was using that feaure yesterday and today it's filling grey colour only... So, do you know how to fix this issue now?? Please explain if anybody know something about this...

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 22, 2021
      quoteSo, do you know how to fix this issue now??

      By @bahuguna_4

       

      Which issue?

      There are a couple in the thread.

      B
      bahuguna_4
      Participant
      October 26, 2021

      how to use gradient with th brush tool?

       

      chanaart
      Community Expert
      chanaartCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 11, 2018

      You can draw with a gradient now (since CS5? or CS6 when a gradient is applied to a stroke)

      Here is a brush information....

      Painting in Adobe Illustrator

      barbara_a7746676
      Community Expert
      barbara_a7746676Community Expert
      Community Expert
      April 9, 2018

      Your search results are correct. While you can apply a gradient to a stroke, you cannot apply a gradient to a stroke that has a brush applied to it.

      You could Object > Expand the brush stroke. That will result in a filled shape that can have a gradient fill.

      If you want to use a brush, here is a workaround:

      You could create your own brush or edit one of the brushes that comes with Illustrator. Below is a rectangle filled with a gradient.

      That cannot be made directly into a brush, but you can choose Object > Expand. OK.

      Drag that into the Brushes panel and choose Art Brush for type of brush

      Now you can paint with your new gradient brush.

        M
        monicaw73787342Author
        Participating Frequently
        April 10, 2018

        Thank you so much Barbara!

        I've figured out how to add the gradient into the stroke, but can't quite figure out how to create a new brush that allows me to paint with a gradient. I'm not sure how I was doing this before yet, but happy now with this fix!

          barbara_a7746676
          Community Expert
          barbara_a7746676Community Expert
          Community Expert
          April 10, 2018

          What do you want the brush to look like?

          Jacob Bugge
          Community Expert
          Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 9, 2018

          Monica,

          As I (mis)understand it, in older versions you could use an Art Brush based upon a blend.

          Are you sure the path has not been changed to its basic appearance or something so it is a matter of reapplying whatever you applied?

          @mj
          Community Expert
          @mjCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 9, 2018

          Check out this tutorial.

          Illustrator CS6 | New Gradient Stroke Magic - YouTube

          As Monika says, CS6 and later.

          HTH

            Monika Gause
            Community Expert
            Monika GauseCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            April 9, 2018

            In versions CS6 and above you could apply the gradient directly to the stroke.

            Mylenium
            Mylenium
            Legend
            April 9, 2018

            Without more specific details about your brush and its settings nobody can really tell you much. If you don't know what you did it's unlikely that anyone can figure it out telepathically based on such a vague description, anyway.

            Mylenium

            C
            Christh13
            Participant
            January 31, 2020

            if you can't help out then dont even bother replying to the comment in the first place

              D
              defaultpqcuzrfzmhx4
              Participant
              June 25, 2021

              I mean seriously anyway. One shot at life you know! The first question is a fair question that can be worded as such." I am using the watercolor section brush and want to know how to get the gradient usable for something other than the basic brush. How may I do that?" Also for anyone else commenting and helping on my post or the first one, I can speak for all of us saying that we want to have a pact down on using all of the gradient brushes for any specific brush type, such as watercolor or paint etc. Unfortunately for the setting on the brushes, you may not apply a gradient to a stroke that has a premade brush on the program such as watercolor splash etc. However, if you do make your own brush you may apply a gradient successfully! We did it and we did it together!

              Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
              Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices