Add rich, colorful gradients to flat artwork

Explore Linear, Radial, and Freeform gradients to add color and style to your artwork in Illustrator.

Published December 18, 2025

00:01

Introduction

Adding gradients is one of the easiest ways to add style, depth, and personality to your artwork.

Hi, my name is Kaleb Gonyea, and today I'm going to show you how to use gradients in your illustrations, plus some of my favorite tips and tricks to make this quick and efficient.

We're going to go through the differences between linear, radial,

00:15

Applying and adjusting linear gradients

and freeform gradients and the best way to use each one.

Let's get into it.

Here's a Western illustration that I have.

I think it looks pretty cool, but right now it's a little flat.

So, let's add some gradients to give it some more dimension.

First thing we're going to do is click on the shape we want to add the gradient to.

In this case, it's going to be the background.

Then we'll head over to the Properties panel, click the Fill color box and select Gradient.

Next to Type, you'll see three different types of gradients.

We've got Linear, Radial, and Freeform.

Let's start with a linear.

Double-click on the first color stop on the Gradient slider to open the Color Picker.

I'm going to start with a dark orange.

Now we'll do the same thing on the right side but this time I'm going to select a bright orange.

This looks nice, but if you want to add more colors, simply just click below the Gradient slider.

Here we can also adjust the Opacity.

Select the stop you want and drop the Opacity using the dropdown.

The diamond in the middle is your midpoint.

Use this to adjust how the colors blend.

Make sure to stay to the end of the video for some bonus tips that make this even faster.

01:17

Directing gradients with the gradient tool

Now let's fine-tune the angle of our gradient using the Gradient Tool.

You can find it here in your Toolbar, or you can also select G on the keyboard.

I'm going to draw a line from the bottom to the top of my background.

This lets me control the direction and the flow of the gradient exactly how I want.

I can also press Shift while doing this to constrain to straight in 45 degree angles.

Once the gradient looks good, we can save it for future use.

Click the Fill color box and go back to Swatches.

Here you'll see a + icon in the bottom right.

Click that.

Let's name this BG.

Let's name it and hit OK.

An even easier way to save your gradient is by simply clicking the Fill color box and dragging it into your Swatches.

Let's move on to radial gradients.

01:55

Using radial gradients for focal effects

I'll use one for the sun behind the cowboy.

Let's select the shape and go back to our Fill color box.

Again, we'll go over to Gradients, but this time we'll select Radial Gradient.

For this, I'll set the inside to a bright yellow, and the outside to a darker orange.

Just like before, we're going to grab the Gradient Tool to adjust our gradient.

Notice, radial gradients have different handles than linear gradients.

I'm going to start from the middle and pull down.

Remember, holding Shift gives you 45 degree angles.

I can then grab my gradient and place it exactly where I want it.

02:28

Creating organic effects with freeform gradients

Now let's move on to the fun one, freeform gradients.

I'm going to select the mountain shape in the background, and then go back over to my Fill color box and select Gradient.

This time we're going to select Freeform.

Illustrator will automatically place several color stops on the shape.

We'll double-click each stop to change the color.

What's cool about Freeform is I can select each stop and drag it to where I want it.

This can give me a very unique look.

I can also adjust the size of each stop's influence by pulling the handle in or out.

To add a new stop, I can click anywhere inside the shape where I see a +.

Here's a quick tip to speed things up.

03:02

Saving gradients and using preset gradient libraries

You can create a folder in your Swatches panel of all the colors you want to use in your gradient.

Then you can select the hamburger menu in the top-right corner and select Create Gradient.

This will automatically create a gradient with the colors in your folder.

Another bonus tip is that Illustrator ships with preset gradients that you can customize.

In the bottom-left of your Swatches panel, you'll see a Swatch Library menu.

Here we can go down to Gradients and we see a list of different options.

You can pick one of the many options like Metals, Neutrals, Pastels.

I'm going to select Metals.

Here we have all different kinds of pre-made gradients.

Let's select Gold.

Just like the gradients we made ourselves, you can adjust these as needed.

And just like that, we've used linear, radial, and freeform gradients to give our artwork a little more life and dimension.

Again, my name is Kaleb Gonyea, and I'll catch you on the next one.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you’ll learn

Explore gradient types

See how each gradient type — Linear, Radial, and Freeform — transforms the artwork, adding visual interest and depth.

Customize colors and placement

Adjust color stops, opacity, and angles. Use the Gradient tool to precisely control where and how colors blend.

Save and reuse gradients

Save your favorite gradients to the Swatches panel or explore Illustrator’s gradient libraries for inspiration.

Instruction by: Kaleb Gonyea
Design by: Kaleb Gonyea
Adobe Stock Contributor: Moleng24

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