Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 3/8/2009

Question
So when I tried to blend between two objects with opacity masks using version 10.0. two following problems occured:
- blend steps ignored opacity masks. Only opacity from slider worked...
- ...Although, they were visible through each other and the knock out group checkbox didn't work.
So my questions are: how do I blend between opacity masks, or are there any walkarounds if I use a lot of blend steps, and Is there a way to make the blends knock out each other's opacity.
Thanks in advance, you guys are doing an excellent job here.

Answer
Hi Marcin,


Unfortunately, with version 10, transparency is not completely flushed out to where it is now with CS4. Blending with opacity masks do not work.

You can try to create a blend at 100%, then expand (object>expand appearance) and create a new shape based on the blend result. Then use the gradient palette and tool to mimic the blending colors. Then run your opacity mask on this new shape. If this is a very complex shape and you are unable to recreate the effect using a new shape and the gradient, you may be out of luck. There is no real cheat or workaround for blending opacity masks.

Thanks

Kevin