Gradient mesh tool help! in Illustrator CS2

[Sutekidane]

I have a big project coming up and I need use the gradient mesh too extensively. The problem is that I know how it works and all, but I can never seem to replicate the original image very well (we're reproducing a movie poster using the gradient mesh tool). I'm not sure what it is, people just say that it takes practice, but I've spent hours, and it still looks like crap.

Any tips? I thought the pen tool was obnoxious.

[eclipse525]

I would recommend one of two options. Check out the following website tutorial. It's fantastic and for only $25 bucks a month you have access to the WHOLE tutorial library. Not just Illustrator.

Lynda.com (http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=148)

The other thing is to repost this post on either the Layers Magazine Forum (http://www.layersmagazine.com/forum/) OR Graphic Design Forum (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/)

Both these forums are EXTREMELY helpful. Hope this helps.

PS-> Don't mean to promote other forums but these are very helpful.

~e

[chaosbunny]

I'm afraid I can't give you anything but encouraging words. It's been quite some time until I got that tool to do what I want, but so far I have only used it for Illustrations. To reproduce a photo with it sounds very very complex.

Do you have to work only with the gradient mesh tool? I often use it in combination with some blured/clipping masked objects.

[Sutekidane]

No, I can use other tools too, but my teacher made it seem like it would be difficult/impossible to finish the project without using the gradient mesh tool.

[jaysmith]

oh wow, i actually just picked up advanced mesh tool stuff yesterday.
http://lifeinvector.com/index2.html
go to the bottom and click the tutorial, its amazing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/jaysmith/redbellpepper_both.jpg
did this in about an hour, with minimal mesh tool experience. i have used it before, but never this efficiently.

[Sutekidane]

Funny, i'm doing the same tutorial for my class. I guess the difference is that I've spent about 2 hours on it and it looks like garbage. I'm starting to wish it wasn't too late to change my major.

[Lebowski]

http://lifeinvector.com/index2.html



really amazing stuff. i went to the same school and graduated around the same time as her. now if i could only get my vectors as nice as hers.....