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Question

Stipple gradients

Forum|Forum|16 years ago
May 27, 2009
6 replies
42742 views

How can I make a stipple gradient in Illustrator CS4?

In drawings for design patents, the US Patent office requires, where shading is needed for clarity, stippled gradients. (Note: line gradients can be used unless the design incorporates lines that would be obscured/confused by the use of line gradients.) Generally, the lighting is assumed to be from the top left and the shading is implemented accordingly. Other gradient effects are forbidden.

Illustrator (version 8 -- yes, I've used it swimmingly for 10 years and only recently upgraded to CS4) has provided for stipple gradients. That is, you could make a 20% to 120% stipple for example. Now, with CS4, I can't see how to create a stippled gradient.

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T

tobiwon

Participating Frequently

I use the very excellent Vectoraster from www.lostminds.com. This wonderful program coverts raster to vector in a very controllable and wide-ranging number of styles. I cannot tell you how many times I have used this program for everything from patent drawing hatching, to abstract art for advertising campaigns, to creating 3D arrays of holes for perforating chair seats, and many many more. Definitly check it out!

My workflow for patent drawings is as follows: 1. Create line art in Illustrator, 2.Create all gradient shading on another layer, 3. Export the layer with all the shading as raster file (.jpg .png or .tif is fine), 4. Import the raster image into Vectoraster, 5. Adjust the screens to be to your liking, 6. Export as a pdf, 7. Import pdf back into Illustrator and place in a layer below your line art, replacing the gradients you created in step 2. There you have it, a completely vectorized, shaded piece.

You can simplify the hatching vectors using Object -> Path -> Simplify. You can also unite the line art with the shading using Pathfinder -> Unite. Warning though, line art hatching adds a lot of points to your Illustrator file, so they can get pretty large; so take it easy on the scale and density of your hatching if file size is an issue.

I sure wish Vectoraster were a plugin for Illustrator, but it all works well anyway.

OldBob1957

Inspiring

This isn't great. But it might help get you part of the way there. Especially if you play with the settings at various stages along the way.

--OB

T

Tho N.D. Tran

Participating Frequently

That's a cool technique. Thanks!

_scott__

Legend

Phantasm's Halftone effect from www.astutegraphics.com

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Tho N.D. Tran

Participating Frequently

Hey Toryanse,

I'm looking for the same thing. A vector-based stipple type plugin or function for Illustrator. I'm now using CS6 but I seem to remember a stipple effect from Illustrator 8 or so.

Did you have any luck with this? Any answers?

Thanks

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toryanseAuthor

Known Participant

Nope, no luck and no answers. Yes, I had used an earlier version of

Illustrator that allowed stipple gradients. But, alas, that functionality

appears to be gone.

If you find it, let me know. I don't need it at the moment, but it

would be nice to have sometime.

In a message dated 9/10/2013 12:23:57 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

forums_noreply@adobe.com writes:

Re: Stipple gradients

created by TMG Consulting (http://forums.adobe.com/people/TMG+Consulting)

in Illustrator - View the full discussion

(http://forums.adobe.com/message/5669278#5669278)

T

Tho N.D. Tran

Participating Frequently

Thanks.

Do you by any chance know of any plugins that create cross hatching vectors in Illustrator?

Z

Zhou_Haixin

Participant

http://www.pixeology.com/ArtisticHalftone/

JETalmage

Inspiring

Those are Photoshop (i.e.; raster) plug-ins.

JET

S

SciDot_ai

Participant

Stipple gradients are so cool in certain projects. I actually have a client who prefers real 'dot patterns' on parts of some drawings, but uses gray shading on others -- and no shadings on some. I have learned so much from him. I took a little time and came up with an 'odd' work-around in Illustrator CS4.

CS4-ai_StippleBrush.pdf

T

toryanseAuthor

Known Participant

Hi,

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a shot. The nice part about this trick is that it works even cases where this is no completed object to fill. That is, pretty often I have a drawing that looks like, say, a thermos bottle, that is composed solely of strokes. Since there are no ellipses or polygons, there is nothing to fill. It should be easier to use your novel brush tool instead of spending the time to join a bunch of anchors to create objects that can be filled.

W

Wade_Zimmerman1

Inspiring

You can try it this way

Fill object (s) with a gradient then while the object is still selected choose Effects>Artistic>Film Grain
you might have to apply the fill to a smaller object and then turn on scale strokes and effects in the preferences and the scale it back up to the actual size to increase the size of the stipple look or there might be another filter type effect that would suit you better.

A

Anonymous

Believe it or not, Illustrator 6 (1996) can do this. It also does cross hatches and numerous other Ink pen effects. The method is similar to Wade's; fill a shape with a gradient, go to Filter>Ink Pen and select the effect from the menu.

W

Wade_Zimmerman1

Inspiring

Yes but the took the then pen and tool filter out and never made it a

live effect because of the scribble tool, why they thought it was the

same thing I do not know but if you look the effects gallery that

might offer possibilities.

Pen and Ink would be good to have back.

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