User Guide

Chapter 4: Drawing And Vector Effects
objects do not appear as distinct objects. This effect is often used to add realistic highlights and
shadows to objects so they appear three-dimensional.
When configuring the blend settings, remember that the size of the final output affects the number
of shapes required to make the blend appear smooth. For large posters, you might need to use a lot of
shapes, but fewer shapes are required for small illustrations.
To ensure that blended objects have the same number of anchor points, copy an object, edit
its shape, and blend between these objects.
In addition, objects that you blend must have the same number of anchor points for the blend to
appear smooth. Canvas uses the anchor points to calculate the steps and shapes in a blend; an
inconsistent number of anchor points can cause unwanted twists and distortions.
Using blends to create patterns
Although blends are often used to create gradual, smooth transitions between shapes and colors, you
can also use the Blend command to create and evenly space a pattern across a layout. By specifying a
low number of shapes and widely spacing the front and back objects, you can make each blend
object a distinct object. This effect can be useful for creating borders and other patterns.
The artist created this border by first creating a flower-like multigon, copying it, and drawing an
oval. To distribute the flowers evenly around the oval, the artist selected the two multigons, turned
on the “Bind to a path” option in the Blend palette, specified a relatively low number of shapes (10)
for the blend, and chose the oval as the binding path.
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