Gradients and Paths

[JustWakinUp]

I have seen this done in several places around
the web but I can't seem to figure it out.
I want to create a path, lets say the paths use
is a pipe winding it's way around a room. In order
for the pipe to appear as realistic as possible you
have to add a gradient so how do you get the gradient
to follow the shapes and curves of the path???? please help

 

[blueark]

I'm sure there are a few ways of doing this, but here's one.

1: Draw a square with no stroke, but whatever fill you like.
2: Object > Transform > Scale...
3: Select 'Non-Uniform', change the horizontal scale to a smaller amount (say, 5%) and leave the vertical scale at 100%. Click 'Copy'
4: With this new (smaller) rectangle selected, change the color to a 'highlight' color.
5: Select both, and use the blend tool to create a smooth gradient between the two.
6: Drag the entire shape onto the Brushes palette, and choose 'New Art Brush' in the dialog box that appears.
7: Change the direction to point upwards, if necessary.
8: (optional) Change the Colorization method if you want to be able to specify the color of your gradients later.

That's the hard work done. Draw any shape you like, and select that brush to get a gradient that follows your path. Note that ordinary gradients can't be used instead of blends. I would also recommend make the blend go from black to white, using a colorization method of tints & shades, and specifying a mid grey as the key color. Then you can change the stroke color of individual shapes to change the whole gradient.

 

[JustWakinUp]

Oh that was the ticket , that worked great.
I set the colorization to tints and shades
but now im sort of confused on the changing
the colors part now. I set it up with greys
as my colors and now lets say i want to change
the highlight color is this something that is possible? I see where I am able to change the stroke color but it
appears as if the highlight stays the same.

 

[blueark]

Try using a different colorization method, such as Hue Shift. You could also create a brush with more subtle shading, such as dark mid-grey to light mid-grey. It takes a little experimentation, but you should be able to get the results you want. If you can't, then set up a blend with the exact colors you want, and set the colorization to none.