Color Editing

When one or more art objects are selected and the Randomini tool is in use, its widget will appear, initially centered over the bounds of the selected art (it may later be repositioned; see below). By using the cursor to click or drag parts of the widget, the artwork can be edited. Except for Hue, all changes are previewed using outlines and are not actually applied to the art until the Apply button is clicked or the Enter key is pressed. Therefore, if you change your mind and decide not to randomize the art, simply switch to another tool and the art will remain as it was. All parameters are retained between uses of the tool. When not over a widget control, the cursor for the Randomini tool has the shape of a die showing various random faces. When nothing is selected, the Randomini tool can be dragged to marquee-select artwork.

Randomino annotation widget

1. Rotation arm and control

Dragging the rotation control changes the angle up to which each piece of art will be randomly rotated around its bounding box center, in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. For example, setting the rotation arm at a 24° angle will cause the preview art to be rotated anywhere from -24° to 24°:

Randomino rotation arm preview

The rotation control may be double-clicked to set the rotation value numerically. Holding down the Shift key when dragging the control causes it to be constrained to steps of 10°. Holding down Command/Ctrl while dragging it enables “Slow-Drag,” which moves the control as if all cursor movements were reduced tenfold, allowing for fine-tuning.

2. Scale slider and thumb

Dragging the scale thumb changes the value up to which each piece of art will be randomly scaled from its bounding box center. For example, setting the scale value to 150% will cause the preview art to be scaled anywhere from 100% to 150%:

Randomini scaling control arm

The scale thumb may be double-clicked to set the scale value numerically. Holding down Shift while dragging the thumb causes the scale values to be constrained to integer values. Holding down Command/Ctrl enables “Slow-Drag”, as per the Rotation control.

3. Offset slider and thumb

Dragging the offset thumb changes the value up to which each piece of art will be randomly offset (shifted in position). For example, setting the offset value to 6pt will cause the preview art to be moved anywhere from 0 to 6 points. The offset direction is randomly chosen.

Randomini offset slider annotation

As with the scale thumb, the offset thumb may be doubleclicked to set the value numerically, Shift-dragged to constrain the value, or Command/Ctrl-dragged to enable “Slow-Drag.”

4. Apply button

Clicking the Apply button applies the currently displayed random rotation, scaling and offset to the selected art, as previewed. Immediately afterwards, since the art is still selected, new random parameters will be selected and previewed, allowing you to quickly apply multiple randomizations. To automatically deselect the art after applying the randomization, hold down Shift while clicking the Apply button. Pressing the Enter key has the same effect as clicking the Apply button unless no art is selected, in which case it opens the tool preferences dialog.

5. Hue button

Clicking the Hue button immediately randomizes the hues (strokes and fills) of the selected art. Note that black (which has zero brightness) and white (which has maximum brightness) are not affected by changing the hue. Also note that grouped objects are only affected if they have a stroke or fill applied in the Appearance panel at the group level, unless the “Ignore Grouping” preference is enabled (see below). Type objects are only affected if they have a stroke or fill applied in the Appearance panel above the Characters; to change the color of individual characters, use the Randomino panel.

6. Center control

The center control may be dragged to reposition the entire widget. Doubleclicking the center control resets all parameters to their default values (i.e., no rotation, no scaling, and no offset).

Changes the color(s) of the selected objects in a random way.

Randomino Panels Color Callouts

In Range mode, color is controlled using the Hue-Saturation-Brightness (HSB) model. Each of the three parameters may be independently controlled (or disabled entirely), with one restriction: all must use the same distribution model. Each parameter’s value may be entered in the numerical input boxes or adjusted by dragging the slider controls. Shift-clicking the thumb area resets the thumbs to the entire range of valid values.

1. Color Preview area

When all three color parameters are enabled, the preview area shows a random selection of colors which would be generated using the current settings. When only one or two of the three parameters are being changed, the preview area shows a selection of colors on top (a standard set if nothing is selected; otherwise colors from the selected art) and the same colors that would result from randomly changing their parameters.

2. Fills/Strokes/Whites checkboxes

You may choose to modify fill colors, stroke colors, or both. In addition, you can choose to affect white colors or not. Gradients (both standard and freeform) are modified on a stop-by-stop basis. Gradient meshes are modified on a selected node-by-node basis. Randomino does not change the colors of raster art.

Tip: If randomizing the colors of art seems to have no effect, check whether 1) the stroke or fill checkbox is disabled; or 2) you are attempting to modify the color of a group (which may not exist if the group does not have an independent fill or stroke) with the “Ignore Grouping” checkbox disabled.

3. Add From Selected buttons (list mode only)

While colors may be added to the list one by one using the color picker interface, it is often useful to add several colors at once, either from the currently selected artwork or from the currently selected swatches.

Phantasm Brightness/Contrast is a live effect/filter that allows brightness and contrast correction of artwork similar to Photoshop’s. As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Brightness/Contrast. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Brightness/Contrast Dialog

1. Brightness: Adjusts the brightness of the art, from -100 to 100. The slider may be dragged, or a numerical value entered directly.

2. Contrast: Adjusts the contrast of the art, from -100 to 100. The slider may be dragged, or a numerical value entered directly.

Phantasm Brightness/Contrast Example

Phantasm Desaturate is a live effect/filter that equalizes color channels. By default, it is the same as using the Hue/Saturation effect with a Saturation value of –100. Note that like Photoshop’s Saturation adjustment, the lightness of the original color is not necessarily preserved. For example, 100% Yellow and 100% Magenta will both be adjusted to a value of 50% Cyan, 50% Magenta, and 50% Yellow.

As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Desaturate. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Desaturate Dialog

1. Gray Tone

Available only if the document is in CMYK color space. It ensures that the altered color is only composed of Black ink, and it equivalent to using the Hue/Saturation effect in Colorize mode with a Saturation value of 0.

Phantasm Desaturate Example

Phantasm Hue/Saturation is a live effect/filter that allows hue, saturation, and lightness correction of artwork similar to Photoshop’s. As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Hue/Saturation. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Hue/Saturation Dialog

1. Hue Range Pull-down Menu

When set to Master, the adjustments will apply to all colors in the artwork. However, it can also be changed to one of six independent hue ranges. By default, these are: Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, and Magentas. Each color can have its own adjustment parameters, with variable start, fade-in, end, and fade-out parameters (see item 6 below). These color ranges refer the artwork’s original colors, not the color that results from any Master adjustment. The menu is not available when Colorize is being used.

2. Hue

Adjusts the hue of the art, from –180 to 180. The slider may be dragged, or a numerical value entered directly.

Phantasm Hue Examples

3. Saturation

Adjusts the saturation of the art, from –100 to 100. The slider may be dragged, or a numerical value entered directly.

Phantasm Saturation Examples

4. Lightness

Adjusts the lightness of the art, from –100 to 100. The slider may be dragged, or a numerical value entered directly.

Phantasm Lightness Examples

5. Colorize Checkbox

When enabled, the hue/saturation/lightness functionality is changed; the artwork is changed to a single hue, with adjustable saturation and lightness. In Colorize mode, the Hue parameter changes to a range of 0 to 360, and the Lightness parameter changes to a range of 0 to 100. The Hue Range Pull-down Menu is no longer available.

Phantasm HLS with Colorize Examples

6. Color Range Stripes

The top stripe represents the original colors, and the bottom stripe shows the corresponding colors after adjustment. Certain adjustments may not be clearly reflected in the stripes, such as increasing the saturation, as the colors shown are already saturated. When adjusting a hue range other than Master, the stripes will also display controls which offer the ability to adjust the start, fade-in, end, and fade-out parameters for that range:

Phantasm HLS with Colorize Examples

To edit the hue range controls, drag the inner controls (B and D) to specify the range that will be affected 100% and the outer controls (A and E) for the fade-in/fade-out limits. Dragging the area marked C will move all four controls together. It is also possible to drag the regions between controls A and B, and between D and E, to move the pair of controls together (this also makes it possible to put A or E on the opposite end of the stripe from its corresponding inner control). Numeric values are shown for each control’s position above the upper color stripe (a, b, d, and e).

The Hue Range menu color name entries will adjust automatically to best describe the range that is described by the controls. If there are multiple ranges that describe the same basic color, a number will be appended to the color name (for example, there might be Reds and Reds 2).

Phantasm Invert is a live effect/filter that simply inverts the levels of all color channels. As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Invert. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Invert Dialog

1. Invert Appearance

Available only if the document is in CMYK color space. Most common CMYK colors do not have large amounts of Black in them, so when that channel is inverted, the Black level becomes high and the colors typically get very dark. When Invert Appearance is enabled, artwork is instead inverted in a visually-similar way to how RGB artwork would be inverted, which is generally more useful:

Phantasm Invert Example

Phantasm Levels is a live effect/filter that allows adjustment of the black, white, and mid-point gray input levels and output levels of artwork, similar to Photoshop’s Levels dialog. As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Levels. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Levels Dialog

1. Channel Menu

Specifies which channel or channels the current levels settings apply to. For CMYK documents, this includes the composite four process colors (CMYK) as well as each individual color. For RGB documents, this includes the composite three primary colors (RGB) as well as each individual color. In both cases, individual spot colors will also appear in the list, as well as Image Alpha, which affects the alpha channel in images with transparency.

2. Input Levels

Sets the levels for the shadows (0 to 253), midtones (0.1 to 9.99), and highlights (2 to 255). The shadow and highlight levels are absolute values, while the midtone value is always relative to them.

3. Histogram

Shows the levels of the tints of the selected channels within the targeted art as a histogram. Due to plugin limitations, if the Levels live effect is applied to multiple targeted art objects, a histogram of only one of them can be displayed (a warning will be shown). Histograms that cannot be displayed, such as for Image Alpha, will show a “Null” symbol (a circle with a slash through it). The slider thumbs under the histogram reflect the current input levels, and can also be dragged to adjust them.

4. Output Levels

Sets the tonal range that the adjusted art will assume. The shadow level can be brought to the right of the highlight level, in which case the levels will be inverted.

5. Output Level Slider

The slider thumbs reflect the current output levels, and can be dragged to adjust them.

6. Warning Area

Displays warnings, such as when the effect is being applied to multiple targeted art objects, or when a spot color is present in the artwork.

Phantasm Shift to Color is a live effect/filter that allows moving all of an art object’s colors towards a specified color by a variable amount, simulating transparency without actually using it. This may be useful when exporting to basic vector formats or other situations where using actual transparency might require flattening which can cause other issues.

As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Shift to Color. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Shift to Color Dialog

1. Color

The color that the artwork is shifted towards. Clicking the color chip brings up the native color picker. Although spot colors can be used, the resulting colors will always be process CMYK or RGB (depending on document type).

2. Shift

Specifies the amount of shift, from 0% to 100%.

Phantasm Shift to Color Example

Phantasm Temperature/Tint is a photography-oriented live effect/filter that allows subtle adjustment of color temperature and tint.

As a live effect, it is accessible through the main menu, under Effect > Phantasm > Temperature/Tint. It can also be applied directly from the Appearance panel using the “Add New Effect” button at the bottom of the panel, or through the Phantasm panel (see Phantasm: Panel).

After applying the live effect using the menu item (or when clicking on the existing effect in the Appearance panel to edit it), the parameters dialog will appear:

Phantasm Temperature/Tint Example

1. Temperature

Changes the “coldness” or “warmth” of artwork by adjusting the orange and blue tones. Ranges between –100 (more blue) and 100 (less blue/more orange).

2. Tint

Adjusts the red and green tones, which can be helpful for compensating for fluorescent lighting or improving natural tone such as skin and greenery. Ranges between –100 (less green) and 100 (more green).

Phantasm Temperature/Tint Example

Available when a single gradient is selected, the Capture button allows you to effectively take a “snapshot” of the gradient; this snapshot can then subsequently be applied to any other paths, or to the same path after it has been edited. Crucially, the gradient retains its absolute position, allowing you to effortlessly line up a single gradient across several separate paths, or to return a gradient to the position it was in before the path was changed.

Gradiator Panel Apply Gradient Example

If Shift is held down when the Apply button is clicked, only the captured gradient’s length and origin will be applied to the selected gradients.

Gradient Source

Indicates the source of the gradient currently being edited. This may be the selected swatch, the selected art’s fill, or the selected art’s stroke. If the selected artwork has a gradient in both the fill and the stroke, a popup menu will be displayed allowing you to switch between the two.

Type Popup

Changes the active gradient between linear and radial. Option/Alt-clicking the “Type:” label is a fast way to switch the menu between its two values.

Editing Mode Popup

Determines how changes to a gradient are applied. Instance Only mode (the default) acts similarly to the native Gradient panel: edits to the gradient are only applied to the selected artwork. If the gradient is used elsewhere, it remains unchanged. Therefore, a new gradient is created. But in Global mode, changes are immediately applied to the gradient wherever it appears in the document, including all art objects (regardless of selection, locked or hidden status); symbols; swatches, etc. Because this powerful functionality can also cause unintended changes if you are not aware of how it works, a tip dialog will be displayed the first time the Editing Mode is changed to Global. Enabling the Don’t show again setting will keep the dialog from showing again (unless tips and warnings are reset; see Gradient Forge: Flyout Menu).

When editing a swatch gradient with no gradient art selected, the setting is hidden, because swatch editing is always done in Global mode.

Live Preview

When enabled, changing the active gradient by dragging (such as moving, duplicating, or deleting gradient stops) causes the affected art to be updated in real time. Because Illustrator gives priority to artboard redraw, this may cause some lag in the redraw of the panel interface elements.

Allows you to make and store up to sixty “snapshots” of the active gradient. These “pocket gradients” are retained even if you switch documents or quit and restart Illustrator.

Gradient Forge Panel Pocket Gradient Area

A. Snapshot Button

When there is an active gradient in the main editing area, clicking the snapshot button copies it to the corresponding pocket slot. If there is already a gradient in the pocket, a dialog will come up to confirm that you want to overwrite the existing gradient. To avoid this dialog, hold Option/Alt when clicking on the button.

B. Pocket Gradient

Each pocket displays a small preview of the gradient it contains. When the cursor is passed over the preview (or the buttons to the left and right of it), the gradient’s stops and midpoints are also temporarily displayed. To delete the pocket gradient, Shift-click on it.

C. Insert/Save Button

Inserts the corresponding pocket gradient into the selected stops of the active gradient, or, if no stops are selected, replaces the entire active gradient. Insertion is only valid when the selected stops are contiguous. If the pocket gradient has stops at both ends (at positions 0% and 100%), then the outer selected stops in the main gradient are replaced by the end stops of the pocket gradient. Otherwise, they are retained and only the inner stops are replaced.

Gradient Forge Panel Insert Pocket Example

If the button is Shift-clicked, the pocket gradient is saved to a gradient swatch. A dialog will appear letting you specify the name of the new swatch. You can save a pocket gradient to a gradient swatch as long as a document is open, even if the Insert/Save button is grayed out.

This is the main area, which displays the active gradient and allows you to manipulate its stops and midpoints as with the native Gradient panel. However, unlike the native panel, you can select and operate on multiple stops or midpoints.

Gradient Forge Panel Editing Area

A. Unselected Stop

Can be made selected by dragging the marquee over it, or clicking on it. Shift-clicking or dragging inverts the selection, as per the Illustrator artboard.

B. Marquee

Dragging the cursor starting from an empty spot in the editing area creates a marquee which is used to select either midpoints or stops.

C. Selected Stop

Distinguished by a hollow blue highlight around it. While some of the function buttons will work with no stops selected (and, in general, then act as if all the stops were selected), other functions, such as setting the location/opacity value or the delete button, require there to be a stop selection.

D. Stacked Stops

Unlike the native Gradient panel, Gradient Forge lets you see stops which are “on top of each other”, i.e., have the same location value. Stacked stops create a hard edge in the gradient, and can be used to create stripes. Stops can be stacked to any depth, but only the first and last contribute to changing the color. Just as stop order proceeds from left to right, stacked stops should be read from bottom to top. In the example shown, the second, orange stop blends to the black stop; the color then changes abruptly to dark red, and then blends to the lighter orange of the right-hand stop.

E. Gradient Preview

F. Spot Color Stop

Stops with spot colors are indicated by the small triangular badge at lower right with a dot (similar to swatches).

G. Midpoint

As per the native Gradient panel; indicates the midpoint of the gradient between stops to its left and right. Selected midpoints are solid while unselected ones are hollow.

H. Global Color Stop

Stops with global colors are indicated by the small triangular badge at lower right (similar to swatches).

I. Ruler

Indicates the positions to which stops are snapped when snapping is enabled (up to 1.0% snapping increments; 0.5% increments are not shown).

J. Opacity Grid

Per the native Gradient panel; the opacity grid is drawn below the gradient, and therefore shows areas where the gradient’s color is not fully opaque.

K. Stop With Opacity

Stops with non-100% opacity are indicated by a small checkered badge below. This is useful for spotting opacities that close to but not exactly 100% (and would therefore leave the opacity grid almost invisible).

Editing Area: Midpoint Operations

Midpoints may be repositioned by dragging them. When a single midpoint is selected, it may be reset to its default 50% location by doubleclicking it.

Editing Area: Stop Operations

Stops may be repositioned by dragging them. If the stops are dragged far enough below the gradient preview, they will deleted when the mouse button is released (as per the native Gradient panel). Various modifier keys can by used when dragging stops to change functionality:

Shift: “Ripples” the locations of unselected stops, i.e. moves them proportionally in the drag direction. This essentially stretches the gradient around the selected stops, retaining stop order:

Gradient Forge Panel Stop Drag Modifiers Example 1

Option/Alt: Duplicates the dragged stop(s), as per the native Gradient panel.

Command/Ctrl: Temporarily disables snapping, if enabled (see below).

Space: Applicable only when a contiguous selection of two or more stops is being dragged by either the first or last stop in the selection; scales the selected stops proportionally (in effect, stretching them out or together). Can be combined with Shift to ripple the other stops.

Gradient Forge Panel Stop Drag Modifiers Example 2

By default, clicking just below the gradient preview will add a new stop at the clicked position, with its color and opacity automatically set to match that of the gradient at that position (interpolating adjacent stops). If you find yourself accidentally adding stops, you may enable the preference Require Option/Alt to Add New Stop (see Gradient Forge: Preferences). In that case, you must hold down Option/Alt when clicking in order to add a new stop. After the stop is added it may immediately be dragged.

Delete Button

As per the native Gradient panel; deletes the selected stop(s), with the limitation that gradients must contain at least two stops.

Snap Checkbox and Value

When enabled, the dragged stop will have its location snapped to multiples of the Snap Value (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 5%, or 10%), except when it is being snapped to a centerpoint. Unselected stops, when rippled, are not snapped. If multiple stops are being dragged, their “non-snap” locations are calculated and then rounded to the nearest snap location. Thus the spacing between dragged stops may change if they were unsnapped to begin with. To snap selected stops without dragging them, see Adjust Positions Section: Snap Button. To temporarily disable snapping, hold down the Command/Ctrl key when dragging a stop.

Snap to Centers Checkbox

When enabled, the dragged stop will snap to locations that are halfway between the stops on either side of it, with magenta arrow annotations indicating this. Snapping to a centerpoint takes precedence over the grid snapping (i.e., the center snap value may not lie on the current snap grid).

Contains controls which set or adjust the colors of selected stops. To switch between Set Colors and Adjust Colors, click the header text.

Gradient Forge Panel Set Adjust Colors Section

A. Swatch List

Shows all of the flat color swatches (i.e., no gradients or patterns) in the document. Each swatch’s name is shown below the grid when the cursor is hovered over it. Clicking on a swatch will change the color of the selected stop(s). Holding Option/Alt while clicking automatically advances the stop selection to the right after recoloring. A swatch may be dragged upwards into the Editing Area just below the gradient preview to add a new stop or recolor an existing stop without having to select it first.

B. Swatch Scroll Arrows

If more 42 swatches exist, these arrows are enabled, allowing you to scroll the list up or down to reveal additional rows of swatches.

C. Color Sliders

Similar to the native Color panel; display and allow editing of the color of the currently selected stop(s). When a global or spot color is being edited, the single slider specifies the tint of the color.

D. Color Value Inputs

Reflect the same color values as displayed in the sliders but allow precise numeric input of these values.

E. Color Model Popup Menu

Available when all selected stops have colors using the same color model; allows switching the color model for editing the color(s), choosing between Grayscale, RGB, HSB, HSLuv, and CMYK. Unlike the native Color panel, switching the color model will immediately convert the color(s) to the chosen model, which may change the color when the gamut of the new color model does not include the original color.

F. Rotate Colors Left/Right Button

Changes the colors of the selected stops (or all stops, if no stops are selected) so the color of each stop is moved one stop to the left/right (wrapping around for the end stops). This, therefore, has the effect of rotating the colors either to the left or right. The positions of the stops themselves are not changed.

Gradient Forge Panel Rotate Example

G. Randomize Color Order Button

Randomizes the order of the colors of the selected stops (or all stops, if no stops are selected). The positions of the stops themselves are not changed. A new random seed is used on each press of the button, which usually results in a different look.

Gradient Forge Panel Randomize Example

H. HLS Sliders

Control the Hue, Lightness and Saturation values which modify the colors of the selected stops when the Adjust button is pressed. While the sliders are dragged, the gradient preview will change in real-time to show what the color would look like with the current adjustment. The H, S and L labels may be clicked to reset each corresponding value to zero.

I. HLS Value Inputs

Reflect the same values that are displayed in the HLS Sliders, but allow precise numeric input of these values. Hue change can vary from -180 to 180; Lightness and Saturation can vary from -100 to 100.

J. HLS Popup Menu

Allows you to use the HSLuv color space instead of the default HSL colorspace (see https://www.hsluv.org).

K. HLSuv Indicator

When visible, indicates that the HSLuv color space is being used.

L. Adjust Button

Applies the adjustment specified by the HSL values to the color(s) of the selected stop(s) (or all stops, if no stops are selected). Stops with spot colors are not affected. When the cursor is hovered over the button, the gradient preview will change to show what the color(s) would look like after adjustment with the current values, but the gradient will not actually be changed until the button is pressed.