Linear, radial and freeform gradients in Vectornation by Zaweba

Flat colour is clean, but a gradient gives shape, light and depth. Vectornation by Zaweba offers linear, radial and freeform gradients, on fills and on strokes, and an on-canvas Gradient tool on the G key for adjusting them where you can see the result.

Three kinds of gradient

A linear gradient blends colours along a straight line. It is the basic sky, the shine on a button, the fade at the bottom of a photo panel. A radial gradient blends outwards from a centre, and can be elliptical, which suits glows, spotlights, rounded objects and soft vignettes. A freeform gradient lets colours sit at points across a shape and blend between them in every direction, which is closer to painting. It suits soft, organic colour on illustrations, skin tones, petals, clouds and abstract backgrounds.

Gradients on strokes

Gradients work on strokes as well as fills. A stroke gradient can give a line a metallic sheen, make a ring look like a glowing neon tube, or give a hand-drawn lettering stroke a change of colour along its length. Combine a gradient fill and a gradient stroke on the same object for richer effects without adding extra shapes.

The Gradient tool

Press G for the Gradient tool, which works directly on the canvas. Drag across a shape to set the direction and length of a linear gradient, or the centre and spread of a radial one, and adjust it in place. Working on the canvas rather than in a panel means you are judging the gradient against the artwork around it, which is how it will be seen.

Perceptual blending and dithering

Two options improve the quality of the blend itself. Perceptual blending, based on OKLab, blends colours in a way that matches how the eye sees them. A simple blend between two strong colours can pass through a muddy, greyish middle. Perceptual blending keeps the middle cleaner and the change more even, which is especially noticeable between complementary colours such as blue and orange.

Gradient dithering helps with banding, the visible stripes that can appear in a long, gentle gradient when it becomes an image. Dithering scatters the steps slightly so the eye sees a smooth change instead. Turn it on for large, subtle gradients in exported images such as backgrounds and posters.

Using gradients well

Use fewer colours than you think. Two or three stops usually look better than six. Let the gradient follow a believable light source, so the light seems to come from one side consistently across a scene. Check large gradients at full size, because banding and muddy middles are easier to miss on a small preview. For print, check the gradient's colours in CMYK and with colour proofing, since some bright screen colours can't be printed.

For colour that needs to bend around a form, such as a rounded vase, the Gradient mesh tool gives control point by point. For layering gradients on a single object, the Appearance panel lets you stack several fills. Together they cover almost any kind of smooth colour a vector illustration needs.