Here's what I did in Illustrator CC 2015:
- Typed a letter i
- Clicked Create outlines
- Selected the circle and below part of shape and clicked Make compound path
- Copied the whole shape and placed at some distance
- And tried 3 different shades (Black - Black, Black - grey, Black - White) of color on 2nd shape for smooth blend and here's what I got:
Now, I don't understand why 1st experiment acted as if I selected blend steps? Also, why did it kept making it more smoother as I changed shade from Dark black to white?
Finally, even it looks like I achieved my result in Black - White case, but if you zoom in, it is also not completely smooth from bottom edge as compared to top edge. How can I fix it?