About Smooth objects

In Illustrator we have the ability to blend various objects together.
We require at least two objects for this, whether or not of the same shape and / or color.
I have drawn two stars, one red the other blue.
To blend both objects into one another, first select the objects with the “Select” tool.

Then click the “Object” button in the menu, you select “Blend” in the drop-down menu and click “Make”. The hotkey for this is Ctrl Alt B on your keyboard.
Illustrator automatically adjusts the Blend option to a number of intermediate steps.
The number of steps Illustrator uses for this purpose is dependent on the last setting used for this purpose.
You can change this number by double clicking on the “Blend” in the tool bar.
This opens the “Blending Options” dialog where you determine the number of steps in the “Spacing”.
Click OK when you are satisfied.

 

Path of blend

The direction of the path between two objects is always a straight line, but this can be changed.
Like any other path, we can add anchor points to the blending path also.
To do this select the “Add Anchor Point” tool in the toolbar and then click in the path at the position where you want to add an anchor point.

Then select the “convert anchor point” tool in the tool bar and click and drag the anchor point until you’ve reached the desired shape.

Release the mouse pointer and your blending now follows the desired path in the desired direction.
If you want to change the stacking order of the different shapes, open the “Layers” palette and below the “Blend” layer, click and drag the desired object to the desired position.
The position of the object in the “Layers” panel will influence the blend color and shape.

Another point.
You can create as many shapes in as many colors as you want.
You can add as many anchor points as you want.
And you can change the direction such that you have the path you want.

Awesome!
You've completed Lesson 33
START NEXT LESSON