Operation Manual

170
USING ILLUSTRATOR
Painting
Last updated 11/8/2011
Gap Preview Color Sets the color for previewing gaps in Live Paint groups. You can choose a color from the menu, or
click the color well next to the Gap Preview Color menu to specify a custom color.
Close Gaps With Paths When selected, inserts unpainted paths into your Live Paint group to close gaps (rather than
simply preventing paint from flowing though the gaps). Note that since these paths are unpainted, it may appear gaps
are still there even though they have been closed.
Preview Displays currently detected gaps in Live Paint groups as colored lines, based on the preview color you chose.
Gap rules for merged Live Paint groups
When you merge Live Paint groups that have different gap settings, Illustrator uses the following rules to handle the gaps:
If gap detection is off in all groups in the selection, gaps are closed and gap detection is turned on with Paint Stops
At set to Small Gaps.
If gap detection is on and the same for all groups in the selection, gaps are closed and the gap setting is preserved.
If gap detection is mixed for the selection, gaps are closed and the gap settings of the bottommost Live Paint group
are preserved (if gap detection is on for that group). If the bottommost group has gap detection turned off, gap
detection is turned on and Paint Stops At is set to Small Gaps.
Brushes
About brushes
Brushes let you stylize the appearance of paths. You can apply brush strokes to existing paths, or you can use the
Paintbrush tool to draw a path and apply a brush stroke simultaneously.
There are different types of brushes in Illustrator: calligraphic, scatter, art, pattern, and bristle. You can achieve the
following effects using these brushes:
Calligraphic brushes Create strokes that resemble those drawn with the angled point of a calligraphic pen and are
drawn along the center of the path. When you use the Blob Brush tool, you can paint with a calligraphic brush and
automatically expand the brush stroke into a fill shape that merges with other filled objects of the same color that
intersect or are adjacent in stacking order.
Scatter brushes Disperse copies of an object (such as a ladybug or a leaf) along the path.
Art brushes Stretch a brush shape (such as Rough Charcoal) or object shape evenly along the length of the path.
Bristle brush Create brush strokes with the appearance of a natural brush with bristles.
Pattern brushes Paint a pattern—made of individual tiles—that repeats along the path. Pattern brushes can include
up to five tiles, for the sides, inner corner, outer corner, beginning, and end of the pattern.