How to Gradient a Word in Illustrator

Illustrator's tools make quick and easy gradients.

Illustrator is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. Artists use the program to create digital graphics and illustrations. As in all Creative Suite programs, Illustrator has a wide range of tools to help you create and manipulate images. For example, artists can use these tools to automatically create a color gradient on a line of text.

Instructions

1. Open Illustrator and create a new document. Use the Text tool to create some text. Change the size and font of your text as desired.

2. Use the Selection tool to select your text; a black border will appear around the words. Find your Appearance palette -- open it using “Window > Appearance” if it's not already in your work space -- and set the "Stroke" of your text to None. This setting ensures that your gradient will be borderless.

3. Click on the "Appearance" menu button and select "Add New Fill." Select the "Gradient" option to reveal the screen and create your gradient with the tools provided. Once you like the look of your gradient, save your work.

References

• VecTips: Quick Tutorial -- Adding Gradients to Text
• Jacorre Design Studio: Gradient Text