Adobe Illustrator/Shading Mountains

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Expert: - 5/28/2010


Question

Mountain Range
What is the best way to go about drawing and shading a mountain range, specifically the drawing of mountains in the attached picture? I don't know if I should be using a gradient, a gradient mesh, or something else. I want them to look realistic, while still pretty simple (as close as possible to the drawing in the picture). I'm most concerned with how to shade them realistically. Especially where there is no defined edge on the bottom.

My other question is how to taper the ends of the stroke on the mountain outlines so it gradually gets smaller until the end--basically I want it to look natural--not just a blunt, sharp, or rounded edge.

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Trisha,

With CS5 you can adjust the width of your stroke to reduce it as you go. Unfortunately, with earlier versions the only way to achieve this look is to create a shape filled with black that gets thinner as you go.

For the gradient, I would create separate gradients for each mountain piece and arrange them in order. No need to use the gradient mesh if you wan to keep it simple.

Thanks

Kevin

Kevin Stohlmeyer

Expertise

I am an Adobe Certified Instructor. I can answer all your questions about Adobe Illustrator version 8 through the new Adobe CS5 versions.

Experience

I am an Adobe Certified Instructor for Adobe Illustrator and have been teaching this application to college students for the past 6 years. I now teach this as a corporate instructor.

Organizations
Milwaukee Adobe Users Group National Association of Photoshop Professionals C2 Graphics Productivity Solutions

Education/Credentials
BA - Graphic Design Adobe Certified Instructor - Illustrator Adobe Community Professional

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