how to blend in illustrator

By Melissa Scroggins, Shutterstock Contributor
In this tutorial, we'll examine how to save time by reshaping objects with the "Pucker & Bloat" and the "Roughen" Effects using Adobe Illustrator's star tool and other tools.

Pucker & Bloat

Pucker and Bloat are polar opposite effects. Pucker contracts a vector object's path segments toward the center, while Bloat expands the path segments outward.

Please note: To edit your artwork at anytime, do not use the Pucker and Bloat functions in the Tools panel. Instead, go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat.

The menu panel for Pucker & Bloat has a slider with Pucker at one end (-) and Bloat at the other (+). This slider controls the strength of the effects.

Pucker & Bloat Slider The difference between the two effects can be seen with a square, circle, hexagon, and star. Each shape has the pucker effect and then the bloat effect applied with different settings.

Pucker & Bloat Shapes How can I use Pucker?

A great use for the Pucker Effect is creating quick shapes. In this example, we'll create a quick spider web. Select the Polygon Tool from the Tools panel. Drag out a polygon and at the same time use the Up arrow key (keyboard) to create a nine-sided polygon (nonagon) with a fill of white. Go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat and change the setting to -18% Pucker. Duplicate this shape, fill with the color black, and go to Object > Transform > Scale and set the Uniform=25%.

Polygon Tool Now we'll show you how to blend in Illustrator. With both polygons selected, go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and change the settings to: (Spacing) Specified Steps=8 and the Orientation Aligned to Page. Go to Object > Blend > Make to apply the blend. Add a little spider to complete the illustration.

Blend Options How can I use Bloat?

To create a simple wildflower using only a circle, a star, and the Bloat Effect, select the IllustratorStar Tool from the Tools Panel and drag out a star with a fill color of F271C7. Go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat and change the setting to 105% Bloat.

This will result in a flower with ten petals. Duplicate this layer, change the fill color to C46285, and go to Object > Transform > Reflect and select the Axis as Horizontal. To create a third set of petals, duplicate the first set, change the fill color to F78DD9, and go toObject > Transform > Scale and set the Uniform Scale to 55% to make a smaller set of petals. Add a circle with a fill of FCC0DB. Place all the petal sets together for a quick wildflower!

Illustrator Star Tool Roughen

The Roughen Effect reshapes a vector object's path segments into protruding points. To locate this effect, go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen.

Roughen The menu panel for the Roughen Effect contains: Options for the Size (slider scale %) of the segments, selections for Relative and Absolute to set the maximum segment size, the level of Detail to control the segment density, and options for Smooth or Corner Points.

In this example, the Roughen Effect changes the shape of a circle and a square into jagged abstract shapes.

How can I use Roughen?

Let's create a fuzzy bear head. Select the Ellipse Tool (L) to create a circle with a fill color of D9DADB. Go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen and change the settings to: Size=24%, Relative, Detail=79, and Corner. Duplicate this layer and change the fill color to white. Go to Object > Transform > Scale> and set the Uniform= 75%. This will create a white and gray fur ball. Group these layers. Use this fur ball as the head, then duplicate again and scale to 50%. Duplicate this smaller fur ball and place the set behind the head for ears. Do the same for the muzzle. Add eyes, a nose, and a mouth, and you have a quick bear face!

Roughening a Bear Experiment with the settings on each effect to find new ways to reshape objects. They can be quite the time-saver!