1

00:00:00.03 --> 00:00:01.04

- [Instructor] In this movie,



2

00:00:01.04 --> 00:00:03.09

we're going to use gradient

mesh to cast a shadow



3

00:00:03.09 --> 00:00:05.08

underneath the car.



4

00:00:05.08 --> 00:00:07.02

So I'll go ahead and switch over



5

00:00:07.02 --> 00:00:09.09

to this nearly finished

version of the artwork,



6

00:00:09.09 --> 00:00:11.06

and I'll lock the meshes layer,



7

00:00:11.06 --> 00:00:13.09

and twirl it closed if necessary.



8

00:00:13.09 --> 00:00:15.09

And then I'll drop down

to the shadows layer



9

00:00:15.09 --> 00:00:17.05

and turn it on.



10

00:00:17.05 --> 00:00:19.00

And twirl it open as well.



11

00:00:19.00 --> 00:00:20.08

And you can see that we have an ellipse



12

00:00:20.08 --> 00:00:22.09

that's filled with a radial gradient.



13

00:00:22.09 --> 00:00:25.07

I'm going to go ahead and

click on it to select it.



14

00:00:25.07 --> 00:00:27.00

And I want you to notice.



15

00:00:27.00 --> 00:00:29.01

I'll switch to the gradient panel here.



16

00:00:29.01 --> 00:00:32.05

And I want you to see that

we have just two color stops.



17

00:00:32.05 --> 00:00:35.04

One's black, at a location of 70%.



18

00:00:35.04 --> 00:00:37.01

And the other is also black,



19

00:00:37.01 --> 00:00:41.05

but it's set to an opacity of 0%.



20

00:00:41.05 --> 00:00:43.03

So this is not a black to white gradient.



21

00:00:43.03 --> 00:00:45.08

This is a black to transparent gradient.



22

00:00:45.08 --> 00:00:48.01

All right, so I'll copy

it by pressing Ctrl + C



23

00:00:48.01 --> 00:00:49.04

or Command + C on the Mac.



24

00:00:49.04 --> 00:00:52.04

And then I'll paste it in

front by pressing Ctrl + F



25

00:00:52.04 --> 00:00:54.02

or Command + F on the Mac.



26

00:00:54.02 --> 00:00:56.04

Now, I'll go ahead and turn

off the original object



27

00:00:56.04 --> 00:00:57.09

to protect it.



28

00:00:57.09 --> 00:00:59.06

And then I'll go up to the object menu



29

00:00:59.06 --> 00:01:01.04

and choose expand.



30

00:01:01.04 --> 00:01:03.03

And I'll select the fill checkbox.



31

00:01:03.03 --> 00:01:04.06

That's all we got.



32

00:01:04.06 --> 00:01:06.07

And I'll make sure that

gradient mesh is active.



33

00:01:06.07 --> 00:01:08.06

After which point, I'll click OK.



34

00:01:08.06 --> 00:01:11.04

And it's like, what in

the world just happened



35

00:01:11.04 --> 00:01:13.03

to our gradient?



36

00:01:13.03 --> 00:01:15.01

Well, part of the problem

is that we have a group.



37

00:01:15.01 --> 00:01:18.02

So, I'll go up to the object

menu and choose ungroup.



38

00:01:18.02 --> 00:01:21.09

And then the other part of

the problem is that we have



39

00:01:21.09 --> 00:01:23.06

this clipping group right here.



40

00:01:23.06 --> 00:01:25.04

You can see that it's selected



41

00:01:25.04 --> 00:01:27.06

on the far left side of the control panel.



42

00:01:27.06 --> 00:01:29.05

We don't need that at all because



43

00:01:29.05 --> 00:01:31.03

if you go ahead and target



44

00:01:31.03 --> 00:01:33.05

this guy below the clipping mask,



45

00:01:33.05 --> 00:01:36.07

you'll see that it's already a big, huge,



46

00:01:36.07 --> 00:01:38.05

by the way, ellipse.



47

00:01:38.05 --> 00:01:40.01

And so, to address this problem,



48

00:01:40.01 --> 00:01:41.07

I'm going to grab this guy.



49

00:01:41.07 --> 00:01:43.09

I'll just click on it

here in the layers panel



50

00:01:43.09 --> 00:01:46.05

and I'll drag it out

of the clipping group,



51

00:01:46.05 --> 00:01:48.03

at which point we'll be able to see it.



52

00:01:48.03 --> 00:01:50.01

And then I'll target that clipping group



53

00:01:50.01 --> 00:01:51.04

and I'll press the Backspace key



54

00:01:51.04 --> 00:01:52.07

or the Delete key on the Mac



55

00:01:52.07 --> 00:01:55.01

because as I say, we don't need it.



56

00:01:55.01 --> 00:01:56.08

All right, now I'll

target that mesh object,



57

00:01:56.08 --> 00:01:58.07

and I'm going to drag it down



58

00:01:58.07 --> 00:02:02.01

so it's more or less

centered underneath the car.



59

00:02:02.01 --> 00:02:03.07

All right, now you don't need to worry



60

00:02:03.07 --> 00:02:05.07

about this big outer ellipse.



61

00:02:05.07 --> 00:02:07.05

You can just let that go.



62

00:02:07.05 --> 00:02:08.05

And then you may notice,



63

00:02:08.05 --> 00:02:11.01

if you press the A key to

switch to the white arrow tool,



64

00:02:11.01 --> 00:02:12.04

if you marquee,



65

00:02:12.04 --> 00:02:15.04

what you may recall are

two overlapping points,



66

00:02:15.04 --> 00:02:19.02

that they are set to an opacity of 0%.



67

00:02:19.02 --> 00:02:21.08

And then if I marquee

these two guys right there,



68

00:02:21.08 --> 00:02:25.00

they're set to an opacity of 100%.



69

00:02:25.00 --> 00:02:27.07

So we just need to get rid

of some of these extra lines



70

00:02:27.07 --> 00:02:29.05

and move some points around.



71

00:02:29.05 --> 00:02:30.09

And so, I'm going to do that



72

00:02:30.09 --> 00:02:32.06

by switching to the mesh tool,



73

00:02:32.06 --> 00:02:34.06

which you can get by pressing the U key,



74

00:02:34.06 --> 00:02:37.06

and then I'll Alt + click on

this line to get rid of it



75

00:02:37.06 --> 00:02:39.07

as well as this one, and this one.



76

00:02:39.07 --> 00:02:42.03

On the Mac, that would

be three Option clicks.



77

00:02:42.03 --> 00:02:45.03

So you're just left with

this single radius line.



78

00:02:45.03 --> 00:02:47.08

All right, now with this

entire object selected,



79

00:02:47.08 --> 00:02:49.02

let's go ahead and change the fill



80

00:02:49.02 --> 00:02:50.08

up here in the swatches panel



81

00:02:50.08 --> 00:02:52.02

to this guy right here,



82

00:02:52.02 --> 00:02:54.02

all values equal 102,



83

00:02:54.02 --> 00:02:56.08

so that we have a kind of medium gray.



84

00:02:56.08 --> 00:02:58.05

All right, now I'll press the A key



85

00:02:58.05 --> 00:03:00.02

to switch to my white arrow tool.



86

00:03:00.02 --> 00:03:02.00

And I'll marquee these

two points right there.



87

00:03:02.00 --> 00:03:04.01

And I'll drag 'em around a little bit.



88

00:03:04.01 --> 00:03:05.07

And you kind of want to drag them



89

00:03:05.07 --> 00:03:07.03

at the right angles



90

00:03:07.03 --> 00:03:11.04

so that you don't open

up a fissure like so.



91

00:03:11.04 --> 00:03:12.07

Just be careful in your drags.



92

00:03:12.07 --> 00:03:14.05

And if necessary, you can press Ctrl + H



93

00:03:14.05 --> 00:03:18.06

or Command + H on a Mac in

order to check your work.



94

00:03:18.06 --> 00:03:19.09

All right, now I'll press Ctrl + H,



95

00:03:19.09 --> 00:03:21.01

or Command + H again,



96

00:03:21.01 --> 00:03:22.07

to bring back my selection edges.



97

00:03:22.07 --> 00:03:25.07

Now I want to make this

outside ellipse bigger.



98

00:03:25.07 --> 00:03:28.01

And one way to do that

is to use the scale tool.



99

00:03:28.01 --> 00:03:31.03

Another way is to add some points.



100

00:03:31.03 --> 00:03:33.01

And you can add points

to one of these rings



101

00:03:33.01 --> 00:03:35.07

using the add anchor point tool.



102

00:03:35.07 --> 00:03:37.03

And that's going to

allow you to add points



103

00:03:37.03 --> 00:03:39.01

that you can actually use.



104

00:03:39.01 --> 00:03:39.09

And by the way,



105

00:03:39.09 --> 00:03:43.00

you can get to that tool

by pressing the plus key.



106

00:03:43.00 --> 00:03:44.08

And then, I'll go ahead and click



107

00:03:44.08 --> 00:03:46.02

right about there, let's say,



108

00:03:46.02 --> 00:03:47.04

to add a point.



109

00:03:47.04 --> 00:03:49.01

And then I'll press the

A key to switch back



110

00:03:49.01 --> 00:03:50.05

to my white arrow tool.



111

00:03:50.05 --> 00:03:51.09

I'll click on that point to select it,



112

00:03:51.09 --> 00:03:54.03

and then I'll just drag it out like so



113

00:03:54.03 --> 00:03:57.04

in order to extend the

size of this ellipse.



114

00:03:57.04 --> 00:03:58.09

And then I'll press the plus key



115

00:03:58.09 --> 00:04:01.01

to once again select that

add anchor point tool.



116

00:04:01.01 --> 00:04:03.00

I'll click right there

to add another point.



117

00:04:03.00 --> 00:04:05.09

I'll press the A key and

then click on that point



118

00:04:05.09 --> 00:04:07.01

to select it,



119

00:04:07.01 --> 00:04:10.07

and I'll drag it out like so

to make it that much bigger.



120

00:04:10.07 --> 00:04:12.05

All right, now let's go ahead and marquee



121

00:04:12.05 --> 00:04:14.00

these two points right there,



122

00:04:14.00 --> 00:04:18.06

and drag them out a little bit

in front of the car like so.



123

00:04:18.06 --> 00:04:21.05

But, perhaps a little bit down as well.



124

00:04:21.05 --> 00:04:22.05

We want the car to look like



125

00:04:22.05 --> 00:04:24.06

it's projecting the shadow downward.



126

00:04:24.06 --> 00:04:26.06

Now currently, we're not

really properly accounting



127

00:04:26.06 --> 00:04:28.01

for the shape of the car.



128

00:04:28.01 --> 00:04:30.03

So I'm going to click off

the point for a moment



129

00:04:30.03 --> 00:04:32.02

and then click on the segment right here



130

00:04:32.02 --> 00:04:35.01

in order to gain access

to this control handle.



131

00:04:35.01 --> 00:04:37.04

And I'll drag this control handle way out.



132

00:04:37.04 --> 00:04:40.02

And you can see that it has

this kind of crazy effect



133

00:04:40.02 --> 00:04:43.02

on that interior shape right there.



134

00:04:43.02 --> 00:04:44.05

If I want better control,



135

00:04:44.05 --> 00:04:46.01

then I need to press the plus key



136

00:04:46.01 --> 00:04:48.04

in order to select the

add anchor point tool.



137

00:04:48.04 --> 00:04:50.03

And then I'll go ahead

and add an anchor point



138

00:04:50.03 --> 00:04:51.07

right about there, let's say.



139

00:04:51.07 --> 00:04:53.02

And I'll press and hold the Ctrl key,



140

00:04:53.02 --> 00:04:54.06

or the Command key on a Mac,



141

00:04:54.06 --> 00:04:57.06

to regain temporary access

to my white arrow tool.



142

00:04:57.06 --> 00:04:59.04

And I'll click on that point to select it,



143

00:04:59.04 --> 00:05:02.00

and then I'll drag it up like so,



144

00:05:02.00 --> 00:05:04.06

so it takes up more

room underneath the car.



145

00:05:04.06 --> 00:05:07.01

And now I need to add a few

more points for the tires.



146

00:05:07.01 --> 00:05:09.00

So I'll click right there,



147

00:05:09.00 --> 00:05:11.05

and click right there as well,



148

00:05:11.05 --> 00:05:13.01

with my add anchor point tool.



149

00:05:13.01 --> 00:05:14.03

So I've gone ahead



150

00:05:14.03 --> 00:05:16.06

and released the Ctrl

or Command key by now.



151

00:05:16.06 --> 00:05:18.07

And I'll add another

point at this location.



152

00:05:18.07 --> 00:05:20.07

And now I'll Ctrl + click on it,



153

00:05:20.07 --> 00:05:22.02

that's a Command + click on a Mac,



154

00:05:22.02 --> 00:05:23.03

and move it down.



155

00:05:23.03 --> 00:05:25.01

I still have my Ctrl or Command key down.



156

00:05:25.01 --> 00:05:28.02

And so I'm going to drag

this point to this location,



157

00:05:28.02 --> 00:05:29.08

and I'll drag this guy down



158

00:05:29.08 --> 00:05:31.09

to approximately here, let's say.



159

00:05:31.09 --> 00:05:35.03

And I'll go ahead and drag

my control handles around



160

00:05:35.03 --> 00:05:38.00

so that I have a better looking effect.



161

00:05:38.00 --> 00:05:39.09

I might tuck this guy

up just a little bit.



162

00:05:39.09 --> 00:05:42.01

And then I'll release the Ctrl key,



163

00:05:42.01 --> 00:05:43.03

or the Command key on the Mac,



164

00:05:43.03 --> 00:05:45.04

to return to my add anchor point tool.



165

00:05:45.04 --> 00:05:47.05

I'll click there to add a point,



166

00:05:47.05 --> 00:05:49.07

and I'll click here to

add a point as well.



167

00:05:49.07 --> 00:05:51.06

And then I'll Ctrl + click.



168

00:05:51.06 --> 00:05:52.09

You don't want to Ctrl + drag.



169

00:05:52.09 --> 00:05:54.03

You want to Ctrl + click first,



170

00:05:54.03 --> 00:05:55.06

that's a Command + click on a Mac,



171

00:05:55.06 --> 00:05:56.09

in order to select the point



172

00:05:56.09 --> 00:05:59.04

and then Ctrl + drag it

to a different location.



173

00:05:59.04 --> 00:06:01.09

And I'll go ahead and Ctrl

+ drag this guy as well.



174

00:06:01.09 --> 00:06:05.03

Then I'll take this mesh

point down a little bit.



175

00:06:05.03 --> 00:06:08.00

Actually, I might as well

take it down quite a bit,



176

00:06:08.00 --> 00:06:10.06

and reduce the length

of this control handle.



177

00:06:10.06 --> 00:06:12.04

All right, I'll press Ctrl + Shift + A,



178

00:06:12.04 --> 00:06:13.06

or Command + Shift + A on a Mac,



179

00:06:13.06 --> 00:06:15.00

to deselect the object.



180

00:06:15.00 --> 00:06:18.00

And you can see that we have

pretty decent looking effect



181

00:06:18.00 --> 00:06:19.04

at this point.



182

00:06:19.04 --> 00:06:21.04

But I want to darken things up further.



183

00:06:21.04 --> 00:06:23.07

So I'm going to throw

another shadow at the car.



184

00:06:23.07 --> 00:06:26.01

One that I'm just going

to draw with the pen tool.



185

00:06:26.01 --> 00:06:27.08

And so I'll grab the pen tool,



186

00:06:27.08 --> 00:06:28.06

which of course,



187

00:06:28.06 --> 00:06:31.02

any child knows you can

get by pressing the P key.



188

00:06:31.02 --> 00:06:35.03

And then I'll just

click in order to create



189

00:06:35.03 --> 00:06:38.05

a freeform polygon, as

I'm doing right here.



190

00:06:38.05 --> 00:06:40.09

So I'm just going to stay

tight to the bottom of the car



191

00:06:40.09 --> 00:06:42.04

and then take it up.



192

00:06:42.04 --> 00:06:45.00

Doesn't really matter what

I do underneath the car.



193

00:06:45.00 --> 00:06:46.09

So I'll just do this kind of number.



194

00:06:46.09 --> 00:06:51.02

And then click underneath

this tire right here.



195

00:06:51.02 --> 00:06:54.05

And I'll go ahead and

complete the shape like so.



196

00:06:54.05 --> 00:06:56.04

That's not exactly what

I want I don't think.



197

00:06:56.04 --> 00:06:58.07

So I'll press the A key to

switch to the white arrow tool.



198

00:06:58.07 --> 00:07:00.07

And I'll drag this

point down a little bit.



199

00:07:00.07 --> 00:07:03.02

And I think I'll drag these two points out



200

00:07:03.02 --> 00:07:06.06

so that they're still visible

underneath the car like so.



201

00:07:06.06 --> 00:07:08.08

Then I'll drag this guy up a little bit.



202

00:07:08.08 --> 00:07:11.03

Now naturally, I don't

want a white shadow.



203

00:07:11.03 --> 00:07:12.05

That doesn't make any sense.



204

00:07:12.05 --> 00:07:14.04

So I'll press the V key to

switch to the black arrow tool.



205

00:07:14.04 --> 00:07:17.06

And I'll click somewhere on

this path outline to select it.



206

00:07:17.06 --> 00:07:20.03

And then I'll go ahead and

change the fill color to black.



207

00:07:20.03 --> 00:07:22.00

And I'll go up to the effect menu,



208

00:07:22.00 --> 00:07:23.00

choose blur,



209

00:07:23.00 --> 00:07:24.03

and choose Gaussian blur.



210

00:07:24.03 --> 00:07:28.08

And I came up with a

radius value of 30 pixels,



211

00:07:28.08 --> 00:07:30.07

which when I turn on the preview checkbox,



212

00:07:30.07 --> 00:07:32.04

produces this effect here.



213

00:07:32.04 --> 00:07:34.09

After which point, I'll

go ahead and click OK.



214

00:07:34.09 --> 00:07:36.06

And then I'll press Ctrl + Shift + A,



215

00:07:36.06 --> 00:07:38.05

or Command + Shift + A on a Mac,



216

00:07:38.05 --> 00:07:41.01

in order to deselect my artwork.



217

00:07:41.01 --> 00:07:43.08

And if you like, you can modify

the points a little more,



218

00:07:43.08 --> 00:07:46.01

as I ultimately did,



219

00:07:46.01 --> 00:07:48.04

in order to create this final,



220

00:07:48.04 --> 00:07:51.07

I think slightly better

looking version of the artwork.



221

00:07:51.07 --> 00:07:53.06

And so I'll just go

ahead and press the F key



222

00:07:53.06 --> 00:07:54.06

a couple of times



223

00:07:54.06 --> 00:07:56.06

in order to switch to

the full screen mode.



224

00:07:56.06 --> 00:07:59.04

And I'll go ahead and change

the zoom value down here



225

00:07:59.04 --> 00:08:02.01

to let's say 130%.



226

00:08:02.01 --> 00:08:03.03

Now at this point,



227

00:08:03.03 --> 00:08:06.02

you can probably see a

few artifacts on screen.



228

00:08:06.02 --> 00:08:07.07

I'm seeing some gash lines



229

00:08:07.07 --> 00:08:09.06

down here near the bottom of the car,



230

00:08:09.06 --> 00:08:12.01

and this weird pattern along the door.



231

00:08:12.01 --> 00:08:14.06

But again, if you were

to export this artwork



232

00:08:14.06 --> 00:08:16.00

by going up to the file menu,



233

00:08:16.00 --> 00:08:17.03

choosing export,



234

00:08:17.03 --> 00:08:19.04

and then choosing export as,



235

00:08:19.04 --> 00:08:21.02

after which point you could select



236

00:08:21.02 --> 00:08:23.01

the tiff format, for example.



237

00:08:23.01 --> 00:08:24.06

But I've done that in advance.



238

00:08:24.06 --> 00:08:27.07

And I even have that file

open inside of Photoshop.



239

00:08:27.07 --> 00:08:33.01

And you can see that it looks

absolutely pixel perfect.



240

00:08:33.01 --> 00:08:34.08

And those are a bunch of different ways



241

00:08:34.08 --> 00:08:37.02

that you can take

advantage of the powerful,



242

00:08:37.02 --> 00:08:39.06

if demanding gradient mesh function



243

00:08:39.06 --> 00:08:41.06

here inside Illustrator.