Through this tutorial you can learn to create abstract background using Gradient Meshes, Steps Blends and Opacity Masks.
Gradient Meshes
Create a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (m). Choose any colour you like. Navigate to Object > Create Gradient Mesh to open the Gradient Mesh dialog box. In the dialog box, change Rows to 10 and Columns to 1. Press Ok, and now the rectangle has ten rows separated by 11 Mesh Points on the left and right side of the rectangle.
You can use the Direct Selection Tool (a) to grab and drag the Mesh Points. Start with the second Mesh Point from the top left. Hold shift, and drag the point up right below the first Mesh Point. When you moved the left Mesh Point, the connected right Mesh Point did not move, thus creating a curve. Do the same for all the other Mesh Points on the left side except the bottom one. You should end up with the below image.
Start adding different colours. With the Direct Selection Tool (a) select the third Mesh Point from the bottom on the right side of the rectangle. Change the colour in the Colour Panel. Use whatever colour you like. Skip the next Mesh Point above and select the next one. Change the colour, and repeat until you fill all the mesh points.
If you want to add more Mesh Points, use the Gradient Mesh Tool (u). This tool enables you to add Mesh Points anywhere on the artwork or on any non-compound objects. In the example below, the Gradient Mesh Tool (u) is used to add points on the left side of the rectangle and changed the colour. Then added a point in the middle of one of the lines, and changed that colour.
You can easily move the Mesh Points and change colours in Gradient Meshes.
Step Blends
Step Blends are another way to make an abstract background. Start with a rectangle and make it a Linear Gradient (>). For the gradient use a dark and light colour and adjust the gradient with the Gradient Tool (g), so that the dark part of the gradient is at the bottom of the rectangle.
Draw a couple of lines using the Pen Tool (p). Draw the first line as a simple Bézier curve. Draw the second line, but vary the curves in the line.
Choose both the lines and navigate to Object > Blend > Make (⌘ alt/option b) to create a blend. Then, go back to Object > Blend Options to open the Blend Options dialog box. Pick Specified Steps under the Spacing drop-down menu. Depending on how your lines are spaced, pick a number that looks the best. Click Preview to see how it will look before you press Ok. You can go back to Object > Blend Options to bring up the Blend Options dialog box to change the number of steps if you don’t like how it looks.
Combine more Step Blends to create different abstract with transparencies and different colours.
Opacity Masks
Draw a shape with any tool. Then navigate to Effect > Distort and Transform > Transform to open the Transform Effect dialog box. You can use the settings given below:
• Scale
• Horizontal = 75%
• Vertical = 75%
• Move
• Horizontal =.25 in
• Vertical = -0.5 in
• Rotate
• Angle = 45 degrees
• Copies
• 5 copies
• 9-Point Proxy (the box with nine points above the Random checkbox)
• Check the middle right checkbox on the 9-Point Proxy
Don’t change the rest and press Ok. You can always go back and edit the effect. In the Appearance Panel, you will see Transform in the list when the transformed shape is selected. If you double click on Transform, the Transform Effect dialog box opens with the current settings, which you can edit. Once you have the effect the way you like, go Object > Expand Appearance. If you don’t expand the effect, the next time you try to rotate it, you might get some undesired results.
With the shape selected, create a Radial Gradient from the Gradient Panel. Keep the swatches of the gradient at default Black and White and move the stroke. Draw a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (m) that encompasses the transformed shapes. Remove the stroke, fill a colour and send the rectangle to the back (⌘ shift ] ).
Choose the rectangle and transformed shapes and select Make Opacity Mask from the pop-up menu of the Transparency Panel. And you are done!
Copy (c), Paste In Front (f), scale, and rotate the artwork to get some different results. In the example below I created a background with a green colour, changed the abstract to white, copied and scaled, and rotated a copies of the abstract.
Combine some of the techniques to get different results.
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