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I'm trying to make a perfect infinite blend in Illustrator, but I get this.

I started by creating two simple shapes and a closed path, and then blended all of them by the specified distance. Later I cut open a closed path with the scissors tool to connect the two ends together. Is there a way to make the colors seamless?

Enter image description here

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    The two end colours would need to be exactly the same. Couldn't you use a gradient along a stroke for this? It would be easier to just create a gradient with the two end stops the same colour.
    – Billy Kerr
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:02
  • @BillyKerr sorry for not being clear enough on this, I'm trying to create custom shapes, path with stroke is not enough.
    – Giancarlo
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:17

3 Answers 3

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In this case you might not need to make a blend. Just use a Gradient on a stroked circle.

  • Select the circle and set the stroke width as desired.

  • In the Gradient panel set Type to Linear Gradient and Stroke to Apply gradient along stroke.

  • Setup the gradient so the first and last color stop is the same color.

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  • That was the workaround I was thinking of as well. Nice!
    – Vincent
    Apr 18, 2020 at 9:55
  • @Wolff Thanks, but I think I formulated my question wrong. I'm trying to achieve this with custom shapes, like this: i.imgur.com/vfUpVHy.png
    – Giancarlo
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:11
  • +1.. I didn't see this and posted something very similar :)
    – Scott
    Apr 20, 2020 at 8:34
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Blends can have more than two shapes.

So, with that in mind, it's possible to create a blend using 3 or more filled shapes, but make sure the two end ones are the same colour and shape.

For example, here's one with four coloured shapes. For more complexity, the middle two could even be gradients, or different shapes.

enter image description here

Then you can bend the path of the blend to any shape you want, making sure the ends overlap.

enter image description here

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  • This seems to be the answer. Maybe you should add that the end shapes must have the same color and shape? You could have other shapes along the way.
    – Wolff
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:38
  • @Wolff - yes. I edited it. Thanks
    – Billy Kerr
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:42
  • @BillyKerr I think I understand this now, but is there any way to change the order of the blend, for example I want this to go star-circle-star, instead it goes star-star-circle i.imgur.com/tgQHGPk.png
    – Giancarlo
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:45
  • @Giancarlo I think you would have difficulty lining up two stars at the ends - better to use circles at the ends, since they'll be the same shape, they can overlap perfectly
    – Billy Kerr
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:53
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    @Giancarlo As for the order in which it blends, I think it works in the order they are stacked when you first create them.
    – Billy Kerr
    Apr 18, 2020 at 10:56
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Yes. Enter the blend's isolation mode by double-clicking it with the move tool. In there, select the starting shape, and copy- paste that. Move it around so it overlaps the original starting shape (you can also use paste in front if you like). Using the layers palette, order the shapes from bottom to top: starting shape - ending shape - copy of ending shape.

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  • Sorry for the quick and dirty answer, I'm on mobile and not able to add more detail atm. Please refer to graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/136490/… for a better rundown of the technique.
    – Vincent
    Apr 18, 2020 at 9:55
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    I realize now that you might be right about this. The OP's graphics might be more complex than I initially thought. I'm just trying to avoid using blends in general as it introduces a kind of "resolution" to otherwise scalable vector graphics.
    – Wolff
    Apr 18, 2020 at 9:59

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