: How do I create a 3D linear shape (like this in figure) in Illustrator? How do I create a 3D linear shape (like this in figure) in Illustrator? I try to use mesh tool (but it deformed

@Courtney577

You can get good results if you use 3 lines for the blend! You are right that the blend tool does not work for this with closed shapes. But you really only need it to look closed.

I made a quick example to show you:


As you can see on the left I drew 3 lines.
The blue and the green one are drawn in a way that they seem to be one closed shape. The line in the middle serves as a guide.
You can tweak the anchor points of this line to avoid sharp corners, loops or shapes you don't like.

The way I did it is quite simple:


Draw the 2 shapes forming a closed figure.
Draw another curved line down the middle
Start creating a blend between the first line (1, green) and the middle one (2, cyan)
Cut the third line (3, blue)
double-click the blended object to get into isolation mode
Paste in front (ctrl+F)
Tweak the anchor points and handles until you are satisfied with the results.


Tip: You can get nice results if you also blend different linewidths

Vote Up Vote Down