This is a follow-up to my Free Fading Corners post, which was apparently very well received by a lot of you. I’ve put together a fully VECTOR version of my fading corner, which means it can be manipulated freely in Illustrator or Inkscape without pixellation. But you already knew that, right? Regardless, this file will hopefully be very useful, as it achieves nearly the exact same appearance with only 2 shapes within Illustrator. See below for customization tips.

Here is a preview of the Illustrator (vector) fading corner, this is NOT the Photoshop image. This was saved directly from Illustrator.

Includes: - AI (1) EPS (1) SVG (1) PNG (1)

Customizing This File:

This file is in Illustrator CS format, so no matter what file type you prefer (AI or EPS), you will NOT need CS2 to open it. Once you have the file open, you will notice that the 2 shapes are grouped together but there is no option to “Ungroup” them. This is because it isn’t a typical grouping. The top shape is a black-to-white gradient that acts as an “Opacity Mask.” In order to ungroup and customize, you will need the Transparency palette open. Click on the arrow in the upper right corner of the Transparency palette, and select “Release Opacity Mask.”

Now that the 2 shapes are un-grouped, you will be able to manipulate them as you wish. You can turn the visibility of the top shape off to get it out of your way.

Once you are done, you need to select both shapes and reassign the “Opacity Mask” from the same Transparency palette. That’s it. More on transparency masks later.

Includes: - AI (1) EPS (1) PNG (1)

Related Posts:

1. Opacity Mask Basics: Illustrator
2. Illustrator Tutorial: How to make a Vector Glass Button
3. Improve Your Illustrator Workflow with Layer Masking
4. Tutorial: Web 2.0 Logo Reflection in Vector format with Illustrator
5. Take Vector Paths from Photoshop into Illustrator
6. Glossy Vector Web 2.0 Logo Text in 5 Easy Steps