Applying Gradient Mesh to complex techical line drawing

Question

I am trying to find out how I can apply gradient meshes to complex vector line drawing I created in illustrator CS6. The line drawing was created by not making closed paths on each shape. I drew it as I would have it if was done by hand without over-lapping any of the paths.

So now it appears that I can't use the Gradient mesh tool because it is seeking only closed path segments and no compound shapes. I could trace over each shape to produce closed paths but that would be an awful lot of work.

In the past, I brought the vector line drawing into to Photoshop to do the rendering but want to utilize the power and control of the Gradient Mesh Tool to make a more realistic rendering.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

The easiest way to add gradient meshes to complex artwork is via stacking and not applying meshes to the original objects themselves.

In other words, create meshes on top of the existing artwork to add depth, don't convert your existing artwork to a mesh.

Answer 2

Gradient Mesh Tool works fine for open path also, it will be closed by mesh tool itself.

As to compound shape, Gradient Mesh Tool cannot create mesh directly for this case, but there is a workaround, you can read about that here.