How to use the smooth color option on the blend tool?

[mm63027729]

I am relatively new to Illustrator and I don't know what I am doing wrong. I am trying to use the smooth color option on the blend tool to create a simple coffee mug and it keeps looking like this:

Why is the color after being blended going outside of the path lines? It could be because I did something wrong to create the original 5 gray sections (I used the divide tool to cut the angles into the original mug. What could I be doing wrong?

[Monika Gause]

Please show the paths you created.

But actually I think a gradient would just fit perfectly for this job. Draw the silhouette of your cup and then apply a circular gradient. Move it around with the gradient annotator.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi mm,

I would like to know if the steps suggested by Monika worked for you, or the issue still persists.

Kindly update the discussion if you need further assistance with it.

Thanks,

Srishti