Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 7/29/2010

Question
Hi Kevin, I am actually drawing a map of the Southern Hemisphere in Illustrator CS4. I have applied inner glow to some of the shapes I have drawn, which also have a black stroke applied to them. When I apply the inner glow, the black stroke is no longer black but is grey. I presume that when I have messed with the opacity in the inner glow window, it also affects the opacity of the stroke? I cannot find a way for the inner glow options to only apply to the contents of the shape, not the stroke around it. Is there a way? I would be very grateful for your help, thank you so much for your time.

Misty

Answer
Hi Misty,

Welcome to the Appearance Panel!

Open the panel, and apply the glow to the fill only, not the object (select the fill first like a layer). You can actually arrange your effects like layers using this panel. Just drag the FX symbol to the fill. Next, make sure the fill is below the stroke. If not, rearrange the stroke and fill. You can also expand the fill and stroke to only apply opacity to parts of the object.


Thanks

Kevin