Illustrator’s Blend Tool: A Comprehensive Guide
Tutorial Details
- Program: Illustrator
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Completion Time: 30 minutes
Download Source Files
A few times a each month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of Vectortuts+. This tutorial by Simona Pfreundner was first published on November 14th 2008.
In Adobe Illustrator, the Blend Tool can help you create impressive color blends. But there is more to it than you might know. This comprehensive guide can help you unlock your creative potential and teaches the features, shortcuts, and in depth methods that the Blend Tool has to offer.
Introduction
If you are using Illustrator for detailed imagery creation, the Blend Tool can be your most important tool. Compared to the Gradient Mesh Tool, the Blend Tool is a Live tool, meaning that you can change its object or shape, its color or position, and the blend will be updated live. You can create blends either with the Blend Tool or the Make Blend command. One thing to remember though, the Blend Tool takes a lot of RAM, so it may slow down your computer.
Exercise File
Below is an screenshot of the Exercise file that accompanies this tutorial, and is available to PLUS Members. Want access to the full Vector Source files, Vector Packs, Exercise files, and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join VECTORTUTS PLUS for just $19/month.
1. The Blend Tool
Overview and Keyboard Shortcuts (see image below for Menu items):
- Blend Tool (W)
- Blend selected paths or shapes (Ctrl + Alt + B)
- Release blend (Shift + Ctrl + Alt + B)
- Expand to make blend permanent
- Reverse Spine to flip a blend
- Replace Spine to apply a different path
- Reverse Front to Back to reverse the stacking position of blends (useful for animation)
2. Blends with Various Shapes
You can make a blend between open paths like lines
Or between closed paths like shapes
And blends between blends
3. Blend Options Palette
Under Object > Blend > Blend Options, you will find different settings that you can apply:
Smooth Color
Specified Steps
Specified Distance
4. Applying Blends with the Blend Tool (W)
When selecting the Blend Tool (W), you can easily morph two or multiple colors together. Also, by clicking on the corner points of a shape instead of the middle, you can morph the shape into a mirrored object.
5. Blending Different Shapes
When morphing two or more different shapes together, you can easily built up complex objects.
6. Blending Shapes with Different Gradients
You can blend two shapes with a different gradient and achieve some neat effects. These objects can be used as backgrounds or part of more complex shapes you are creating.
7. Aligning blends Along a Path
Once you applied a Blend, you can modify the path that the blend runs along.
Along a path with Specified Steps
Along a path with Smooth Color
Along a path with Specified Distance
8. Replace Spine Option
Once you have created a blend, you can change the path that it runs along. Just create a path to your liking, select both the path and the blend and go to Object > Blend > Replace Spine.
9. Align to Path or Page
Once you have created a blend and applied a specific path, it can be important that in the Blend Option Palette you choose the correct options.
10. Reverse Spine
If you want to have a spine reversed, for example have a gradient blend run reverse, you can achieve this by selecting your blend and going to Object > Blend > Reverse Spine.
11. Creating Highlights With Blends
You can create some neat highlights for shapes with blends. Especially where the Gradient Tool doesn’t work so well.
12. The Possibilities are Endless!
When working with blends, you can create some really interesting stuff. You can even blend symbols, outlined fonts, or brushes. Remember though that blends are RAM suckers and your AI file could get heavy. Nevertheless, they can save you time and help you create some awesome effects.
Below is an illustration that I made quite a while back. The Blend Tool was next to the Gradient Tool as one of my most important tools in creating this piece. Have fun using the Blend Tool in your work.
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what i want to know is how to rotate and shrink at the same time. I thought it was a blend tool thing because I can’t figure out how to do it with the rotate tool. I have a shape, lets say a star, and I have a smaller star next to it…..I want to progressively “blend” many steps of the star from large to small into a circle….how do I do this.
fantastic tut, keep up the good work!
I am still learning this, took me a few minutes to get the correct image with the blend tool.
thanx…its must recmonded for my friends as well
well.. for some reason it wont work >_< and i dont get the selection process.. like when i go to click ok in the options menu it doesnt do anything after that.
nevermind, got it!
Thanks for this awesome tutorial, I know how to use blend tool now
I have been finding all the tutorials on this website to be extremely helpfull. I just started goin to college for graphic design and it is showing me the path to success. Thank You very much for contributing your time into these tutorials I would very much so be lost without them…
hey really nice article for beginners …. thanks …
Hey, great tutorial. One question though… in example 5, how did you keep the fence aligned to the bottom of all the shapes.
I’ve tried using the blend tool to create the zigzag path between 5 different shapes (just like in the example), and they keep rotating into each other. In the blend options, I’ve set it to “Align to Path” and “Align to Page,” but either way, they rotate.
Thanks for your help
great tutorial… but I am having a problem that I don’t know how to resolve… ( I am a beginer user, so sorry if it’s very obvioius):
I create a circle path and I fill it with orange. then, I copy and scale it down and fill it with yellow. then, I try to blend the colours, but… it doesn’t blend! the big circle goes grey!! and the small circle remains yellow! why? what am I doing wrong? what am I missing?
thanks so much for your help in advance!!
Susana
That’s odd. Is there an outline on the circles? You could try drawing the second one rather than making a copy and try again.
I however could not understand the “Or between closed paths like shapes” point.
Which to create the blend on? The Star and the Line one.
Closed paths, so anything that has an outline that joins up.
Great tutorial,blend tool is very important for Illustrator.Thanks
i am really pleased and giving u lot of thanks.
Okay, just had a discovery today about the blend tool.
The difference between closed paths and open paths is critical when you want to modify a blend spine, such as make it curve. Between open paths, there is no spine shown when a blend is created. Ever notice this? Between closed paths, there is a spine, which can be modified, such as making it curved. Now, the trick is how to modify a spine with open paths when there is no spine shown. Found out today that starting with a closed path, segments can be deleted to make the path open, then the spine can be modified and the open path state maintained!
This is a huge bug in Illustrator and makes no sense to me. Wanting Adobe to fix this in the next major release. Hope this helps anyone struggling with this issue.
Thank you so much John!
I just couldn’t remember how to show the Blend Spine, I have looked a while on line until I read your post. It is an annoying bug.
Thanks again for explaining.
Annoying yes. Alternatively to your work-around you can also:
1. Make the blend;
2. Draw a Spline path
3. Select Object / Blend / Replace Spline.
Cheers
I never knew the importance or the power of blend tool. Now it is one of most important tools for me for sure. Thanks!
Great tutorial! Thank you to the author.
One question. On example 9, how do you curve the blend in order to create the arc? The exercise file says to use the direct selection tool. But the only way I know to create a new point in the path is by using the pen tool. But afterwards you should use the handles to create the arc. Is there a different solution?