Adobe Illustrator on the iPad has a powerful set of color features including saving color as swatches, creating different types of gradients, and more. In this tutorial, you’ll explore the different ways to add color to your projects.
What you learned: Apply color to artwork stroke and fill, save color as swatches, and create different types of gradients
Create and save color
Artwork you create can have a stroke (border) and a fill.
- With artwork selected, tap the Fill or Stroke in the toolbar on the left to edit the color in the Color panel. In the Color panel, you can create solid colors and gradients.
- To adjust a color, tap in the hue color wheel to pick a color, then drag in the saturation and brightness square to fine tune.
- You can also set colors based on values you enter, like CMYK and RGB.
- Tap to apply default swatches that come with each new document.
- Tap Color Books to apply a color, like Pantone book color.
- Use colors from your saved Creative Cloud libraries by tapping Libraries.
- You can also sample color from images you import or artwork you create using the eyedropper in the Color panel. With the Color panel showing for fill or stroke, tap the eyedropper next to the color wheel. You can then drag the circle to pinpoint the color you want to sample. If you have artwork selected, the color is applied to it.
Create a linear or radial gradient
In Illustrator on the iPad, you can create three types of gradients: linear, radial, and freeform. Here’s how you can create a linear and radial gradient.
- Tap Gradient at the top of the Color panel and select the type of gradient you want to use: linear or radial.
- With an object selected, you can see the gradient ramp on the art. You can adjust the start color and end color by tapping and editing the color in the Color panel, dragging it to change the gradient length and direction. You can also tap the ramp to add a color and tap delete in the common actions bar that shows beneath it to remove colors.
Create a freeform gradient
A freeform gradient is used to create a graduated blend of color stops within a shape in an ordered or random sequence, such that the blending appears smooth and natural.
- Tap Gradient at the top of the Color panel and select the freeform type of gradient.
- Each color in a freeform gradient shows as a color stop in the artwork. You can select and edit the color in the Color panel, drag to adjust how the colors blend, and tap delete in the common actions bar to remove it. To add more colors, tap within the bounds of the shape and edit the color in the Color panel.
