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Make Opacity Mask with a Gradient in Adobe Illustrator CS6

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Video: Make Opacity Mask with a Gradient in Adobe Illustrator CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we're going to show you how to create an opacity mask with a gradient in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7.

Create a Gradient Opacity Mask on Adobe Illustrator CS6.mp4-canvas284 142987.jpg

Steps

1
To begin, open Illustrator on your desktop by clicking it or by clicking the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of your screen
.
This will reveal a list of your recently used programs where you may find Illustrator. It has a brown-and-orange icon with the letters "Ai".

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2
If you still can't find Illustrator, use your search bar along the bottom and start typing "Adobe Illustrator"
.

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3
Click "Adobe Illustrator CS6"
.
It will immediately start loading and will take you directly to your workspace.
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4
From the workspace, create a document by clicking "New..."
.
You can also open an existing document in the menu as well.

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5
Click "OK"
.
There are other VisiHow tutorials on how to open and create documents.
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6
Place an image by clicking "File"
.
There is another VisiHow tutorial on how to place images in a document.

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7
Click "Place..."
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8
Click a file
.

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9
Click "Place"
.
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10
The size of the image can be reduced to fit on the canvas
.
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11
Add a filled background layer
.
If you need help completing these steps in Adobe Illustrator, please view our other Illustrator tutorials.
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12
Then, click "Rectangle Tool"
.
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13
Click the fill color box
.
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14
Click a color
.
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15
Click "OK"
.
This will add a filling.
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16
Click and drag the cursor over the canvas to create a shape
.
It will go over the image.
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17
Click "Selection Tool"
.
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18
Click the "Layers" icon
.
"Layer 1" is in front.
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19
Click and drag the rectangle off the image a bit
.
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20
Click the background image
.
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21
Right-click the background image
.
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22
Move the cursor to "Arrange"
.
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23
Click "Bring to Front"
.
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24
Click and drag the rectangle behind the image
.
There are other VisiHow tutorials on how to arrange layers.
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25
Next, create another shape
.
Click "Rectangle Tool".
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26
Click and drag the cursor over the image
.
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27
Click "Selection Tool"
.
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28
Click the "Gradient" icon
.
Click the "Gradient" tab.
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29
Click "Gradient Slider"
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The gradient will be applied. Experiment with the "Gradient" settings.
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30
Click the black arrow icon at the top-left side of the vertical toolbar
.
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31
Click the gradient object
.
This will highlight the top layer that you want to be the transparency mask. A blue frame and corners will appear around the shape, letting you know it is selected and ready for editing.
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32
Press and hold "Shift" and click the background image
.
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33
Click the "Transparency" tab in the expanded "Gradient" menu
.
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34
Within the "Transparency" tab, click the small icon with a plus sign
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It is in the upper-right corner. A new drop-down menu will appear.
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35
Click "Make Opacity Mask"
.
You can see that where the gradient box was white, you are able to see the image. The mask fades in the black area of the gradient.
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36
You can click and drag the gradient layer around
.
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37
Click the mask in the "Transparency" tab
.
Now, you can begin to edit the mask.
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38
You can adjust the image size, rotation, etc
.
Let's rotate it by clicking and dragging the blue frame corner. You will notice that rotating the mask will reveal different sections of the image.
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39
You can edit other settings in the horizontal toolbar along the top
.
You can apply a blur, adjust the opacity, etc., by clicking the various drop-down menus.
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40
You can also click "Effect" and apply various filters
.
There other VisiHow videos on that.
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41
If you want to edit the whole selection, click the left thumbnail in "Transparency"
.
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42
You can check "Invert Mask"
.
It is recommended to experiment with the settings.
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This was a VisiHow tutorial on how to create an opacity mask with a gradient in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below. Thank you for watching VisiHow!