I began looking at the ways that different artists have used the gradient mesh in Illustrator, and some of the artworks are amazing! I’ve been looking at the work of Japanese artist Yuki Miyamoto, whose been working with Illustrator since it first began, and is now a master of the gradient mesh tool. Miyamoto uses Gradients, Blends, and the Gradient Mesh tool to create amazing reflective surfaces. He traces over a photograph in a “template layer”, then uses the pen tool to mark out objects and reflections. He then fills in these sections with a blend of gradients and gradient mesh. The examples below are absolutely stunning. Some of the examples below show both the “outline” mode and final artwork.

From the “outline” view of the motor bike, it is clear to see the immense amount of detail that goes into these artworks. In fact, they are indistinguishable from their photographic counterparts. Using gradients alone, an unbelievable level of realism has been achieved not only in the form itself, but also each intricate texture that is used. The metal looks perfectly metallic, and the tires look as they should also. The light refraction achieved is amazing, using only gradients.