Gradients

A gradient is a graduated blend between two or more colors or between two tints of the same color. The output device you use affects how gradients color separate.

Gradients can include Paper, process colors, spot colors, or mixed ink colors using any color mode. Gradients are defined by a series of color stops in the gradient bar. A stop is the point at which a gradient changes from one color to the next, and is identified by a color square under the gradient bar. By default, a gradient starts with two colors and a midpoint at 50%.

Create a gradient swatch

You can create, name, and edit gradients using the same Swatches panel you use to work with solid colors and tints. You can also create unnamed gradients using the Gradient panel.

Apply an unnamed gradient using the Gradient panel

Although the Swatches panel is the recommended panel for creating and storing gradients, you can also work with gradients by using the Gradient panel (Window > Color > Gradient), with which you may be familiar if you also use Adobe Illustrator. You can add the current gradient to the Swatches panel at any time. The Gradient panel is useful for creating an unnamed gradient that won’t be used often.

Modify gradients

You can modify gradients by adding colors to create multicolor gradients, and by adjusting color stops and midpoints. It’s a good idea to fill an object with the gradient you plan to adjust, so that you can preview the effect on the object while you adjust the gradient.

Add intermediate colors to a gradient

Remove an intermediate color from a gradient

Reverse a gradient’s color progression

Adjust a gradient with the Gradient tools

Once you have filled an object with a gradient, you can modify the gradient by using the Gradient Swatch tool  or the Gradient Feather tool  to “repaint” the fill by dragging along an imaginary line. The Gradient tools let you change the direction of a gradient, change its beginning point and endpoint, and apply a gradient across multiple objects. The Gradient Feather tool lets you soften the gradient in the direction in which you drag.

Apply a gradient across multiple objects

Apply gradients to text

Within a single text frame, you can create multiple ranges of gradient text alongside default black text and color text.

A gradient’s endpoints are always anchored in relation to the bounding box of the gradient’s path or text frame. Individual text characters display the part of the gradient over which they are positioned. If you resize the text frame or make other changes that cause text characters to reflow, the characters are redistributed across the gradient, and the colors of individual characters change accordingly.

If you want to adjust a gradient so that its complete color range spans a specific range of text characters, you have two options:

• Use the Gradient tool to reset the gradient’s endpoints, so that they span only the characters you selected when you applied the gradient.

• Select the text and convert it to outlines (editable paths), and then apply a gradient to the resulting outlines. This is the best option for a short run of display type in its own text frame. The gradient will be permanently anchored to the outlines, not the text frame, and the outlines will continue to flow with the rest of the text. However, the outlines will function as a single inline graphic within the text frame, so you won’t be able to edit the text. Also, typographic options will no longer apply; for example, text converted to outlines will not hyphenate.

For information on converting text outlines to paths, see Create paths from text outlines.

Multiple gradients in a single text frame

Within a single text frame, you can select different ranges of text and apply a unique gradient to each range. Each gradient is added to the text frame and tracked separately with the characters you selected when you applied each gradient. However, the endpoints of the gradient are still anchored to the text frame’s bounding box, not to individual ranges of text.