Create Colour Schemes in Adobe Illustrator | Blend Tool Tutorial, by Ananya Sadhu on YouTube. 20 min 11 s.
- Video length
- 20 min 11 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open a new document in Illustrator and draw two small circles or squares on the artboard. Fill one with your base colour and the other with white.
Select both shapes and go to Object > Blend > Make. The two shapes merge into a smooth gradient of steps between them.
With the blend selected, double-click the Blend Tool icon in the toolbar to open Blend Options. Set Spacing to Specified Steps and enter a number like 6 to 10.
For tints, blend your base colour with white. For shades, blend it with black. For tones, blend it with grey.
Expand the blend with Object > Blend > Expand, then use the Eyedropper to sample each step and save it as a swatch in the Swatches panel.
For a complementary scheme, find the opposite colour on the colour wheel and blend your base into it.
For split-complementary, pick the two colours either side of the opposite hue and blend your base into each one.
For analogous, choose colours next to your base on the wheel and blend between them to fill the gaps.
Group your swatches on the artboard, label each scheme, and save the file as an.ai document.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep the two blend shapes the same size and shape, or the steps will look uneven.
Use Specified Steps rather than Smooth Color when you want exact, repeatable swatches.
Expand the blend before sampling colours, because the Eyedropper cannot pick from live blend steps.
Check contrast between text and background before you commit a palette to a real design.
Questions
Do I need the Blend Tool for this, or can I just use the Color Guide?
The Color Guide panel works too, but the Blend Tool gives you direct control over how many steps appear between two colours. That makes it easier to build an even ramp of tints and shades.
How many steps should I set in Blend Options?
Six to ten steps usually gives a usable set of swatches without clutter. Use fewer for a bold palette and more when you need fine gradations.
Can I save the palette for later projects?
Yes. Save each colour as a swatch, then open the Swatches panel menu and choose Save Swatch Library as ASE. You can load that library in other Illustrator files.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
