The Gradient Mesh Tool is an unusual and powerful part of Illustrator you can take advantage of. It takes some time to understand how to use it and apply it in your artwork. It is fairly easy to apply it to small shapes, as a couple of the tutorials below do. Now if you want to take your gradient meshing skills to the next level, then you’ll need to practice. Following is a great collection of mesh tutorials for you to advance your skills with.

Ten Awesome Tutorials

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  Make an Aurora Borealis Design in Illustrator

  To recreate the light patterns of the Aurora Borealis you’d probably turn to Photoshop’s filters and effects. Use Illustrator however, and you’ll not only achieve a stunning end result, but you’ll also benefit from the flexibility of working with vectors. This is an intermediate level tutorial rewarding you with an attractive desktop wallpaper for your efforts!

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  Make a Shiny Gum Ball Machine with Mesh Gradients

  In this tutorial, we’ll explain how to create a gum ball machine with mesh gradient. We’ll create the base, the glass casing, the money slot, and the opening where the bubble gum balls come out. This is an advanced tutorial and the pace is fairly quick. Intermediated Illustrator knowledge is required.

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  The First VECTORTUTS PLUS Tutorial is Available Now

  We recently launched the VECTORTUTS PLUS section of the site. This is the first of upcoming tutorials exclusively available to PLUS members. If you’ve been looking to pull your Illustrator skills together into a super hot and sleek design, then this tutorial is for you. Learn how to illustrate the car of your dreams!

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  Illustrate a Pair of Sweet Gradient Mesh Cherries

  In this tutorial, we’ll explain how to create a pair of cherries solely with the Gradient Mesh tool. If you’re not familiar with the Gradient Mesh tool, then this is a great tutorial to learn how to start using it. You can create artwork with a semi-realistic to very realistic look with that tool. It can take effort to master, but it’s worth your time.

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  Create a Glowing Abstract Light Vector Graphic

  In the following tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a glowing light abstract vector graphic. The great thing about this tutorial is it doesn’t use any raster effects. The final illustration is all vector! In this tutorial, you’ll utilize blends, different blend modes, and gradient meshes. Moreover, these techniques are real easy to apply to other illustrations.

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  Create a Stylized Gradient Mesh Soccer Ball Illustration

  In this tutorial, we’ll show the advanced Adobe Illustrator artist how to create a realistic looking soccer ball with mesh objects. You’ll learn how to create reflections with the Opacity Mask. We’ll also make our own swooshes and custom brushes.

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  Make a Fairy-Tale Inspired Magical Hand Shaped Vine

  In this tutorial, we’ll show the intermediate to advanced Adobe Illustrator artist how to make a fairy-tale inspired magical vine that is shaped like a hand. You should have a basic understanding of Adobe Illustrator tools before you begin this tutorial.

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  Creating Realistic Texture and a Sharp Vector Knife

  Creating convincing vectors can be a daunting task. I will show you how to make wood and metal textures for a vector knife using the Gradient Mesh Tool, layering Gradients, and the Pathfinder Tools.

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  Illustrate a Vector Lifesaver From Scratch

  In this tutorial, we’ll create a unique lifesaver that can be used as an icon or design element. We’ll be working with the Pathfinder Tools to create the shapes. The Mesh Tool will help us to apply the color and highlights to give our object the desired “realistic” look. We’ll also take advantage of the Duplicate and Rotate Tools, so we get a balanced look.

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  Design a Vector Audio Speaker Icon In Illustrator

  In this intermediate tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a vector speaker icon. When you break down the elements you’ll find it fairly easy. We’ll be using some ellipses with gradients, the Grid Tool, and the Mesh Tool to create this icon design.

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