Fill Color and Effects

In lesson 3, you learned how to create objects such as rectangles, squares, circles, ovals, stars, and polygons such as hexagons.

In this lesson, you will learn how to apply a solid color fill to such objects and apply effects to the fills, such as texture and blends. Instead of a boring old rectangle or circle, you can create a psychedelic scene that will blow people's minds.

Basic Fills

To create a basic fill ...

Once you've created an object in your document, select it and then choose:

Window > Fill

from the File Menu.

Select a color by choosing an option from the drop-down menu (shown as "red" at the right)

Advanced Fills

You might note that there are additional options on the Fill menu. You can click on the drop-down menu for type of fill (the default option is "Solid" as shown in the example to the upper right. When you click on this menu, you'll see the options as shown on the left.

• None gives you a blank fill.
• Solid gives you a solid fill.
• Web Dither gives you a fill that combines two colors in a pattern that blends together into a third color.
• Pattern allows you to select from a list of various background patterns, such as aggregate, which looks like rocks, and bricks, which creates a brick wall effect.
• Gradient fills, which are listed below the dashed line, create a variation in your fill. For example, linear creates a fill that moves from dark to light across your object.

Exercise

Open a new document. Create an object such as a rectangle, circle or star.

Edit the fill:

1. Make the fill red.
2. Make the fill blank (none).
3. Make the fill a web-dithered pattern that alternates yellow and purple.
4. Make the fill a pattern showing leaves.
5. Make the fill a gradient fill using ripples.

Your workspace should resemble the exercise examples at the right.

Applying Textures

The fill window also allows you to provide texture to your fill and to establish the color of any gradient pattern you might choose.

In the example on the right, the gradient fill pattern chosen is folds; the color scheme is Violet, Orange; and the Texture chosen is Vein and the Texture setting is 86%. The texture setting determines the amount of texture: 0% is no texture; 100% is maximum texture.

Try playing around with the different gradient fill patterns, color schemes and textures. You'll find that you can make very bizzarre looking objects.