This lesson assumes that you already have a basic understanding on how the gradient mesh works. Therefore, we will move on to create a realistic curtain using the gradient mesh.
1. Creating the skeleton
First, we create Rectangle and fill it with red. Select the Mesh Tool and start clicking along the edge of the rectangle. Creating 3 segments close together will give good results as we can simply change the middle segment to black for shadows.



2. Filling the shadows
With the Direct Selection Tool, we select both the top and bottom points in the segments we want it to make it shadow. After that, fill the points with black. Do this to all the segments we want it to be in shadow.


3. Shaping the curtain
Now we can start shaping the curtain to give it some curves. Select the Direct Selection Tool and select the point we want to modify and move the anchor points to change it to curve lines. Other things you can do with the points is move them closer or further to other points by clicking the Right/Left Arrow Keys. A realistic fold normally starts narrow at the top and end wide at the bottom. Hence, we can use the arrow keys to shift the points closer or further away form each other.



4. Final touhup
To create more folds to the curtain, we can add new points with the Gradient Mesh Tool and fill it will a slightly dark tint. Do this until you are satisfied with your curtain. Below is the final skeleton of my curtain. Hope you guys have a great time creating your own curtain!




(21 votes, average: 3.95 out of 5)
February 1st, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Excelent
February 1st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
good
February 1st, 2008 at 5:56 pm
It is helpful
February 13th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Its help me to fulfill my creative idea.
Thank you
February 13th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
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February 28th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Excellent !
March 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
well tutorial was this it helped me alot in using of gradient mesh
March 15th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Excellent, So helpful….
April 10th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Best, I can’t believe this
this is a best tutorial
thanks
May 7th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Thx for sharing
May 12th, 2008 at 2:38 am
Made the curtains this morning and used it for my mother’s Mother’s Day DVD! Big Thx
May 13th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Great Jaimi! Can u send me what you have done? I would like to have a look.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Excellent, Exactly what I’ve been looking for
June 1st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
i was completely shocked when i saw this tutorials. It’s awesome and really cool stuff….
June 1st, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Thanks. You can share it with your friends, stumble it or digg my site. That will be my greatest appreciation~
June 10th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
June 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
its very nice
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
thanks a lot! This is a very good tutorial!!
July 14th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
[...] 8-Realistic Curtain- How to create a realistic curtain using the gradient mesh. [...]
July 21st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
[...] 5-Creating trees in Illustrator 6-Illustrator Tutorial: Figure Shading 7-Texture 8-Realistic Curtain 9-Wood Grain 10-Simple organic shapes the Illustrator way 11-Free Watercolor Brushes and [...]
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
[...] 8-Realistic Curtain- How to create a realistic curtain using the gradient mesh. [...]
July 29th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Good Easy Method
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 am
LUV IT!!!
August 2nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
[...] 8-Realistic Curtain [...]
August 29th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
surprisingly easy method.
September 4th, 2008 at 6:48 am
This is an excellent tutorial. It was so surprisingly easy.
I also used the warp tool along the lower edge of my curtain to give it a flowing look there instead of a straight edge.
September 20th, 2008 at 2:09 am
[...] Roter Vorhang [...]
October 6th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
amazing:) thanks for sharing
October 13th, 2008 at 7:09 am
[...] Read Article [...]