How to Create the Gold Color in Illustrator

The color gold has always been considered the color of success. In design, it is a hue that is used in many gradients, and it stands out above the rest for its value, and its high hue and brightness. But we do not want to talk to you precisely about the golden color, but rather, to create color ranges. 

To do this, technology has enabled a series of programs and tools that have helped in a certain way to contribute to the development of these CMYK inks. Therefore, in this post, we want to talk to you about how to create a golden range in Illustrator, a program that has been used for years by thousands and thousands of users.

We start

Illustrator: basic features and functions

Adobe Illustrator is a program or software that is part of the suite of programs that Adobe contains. It is the quintessential program for artists, since it allows you to draw and create illustrations, although it also fulfills many other functions that we will explain later.

Illustrator has basic and advanced tools for the development of numerous creations and designs. If we were to highlight The most important thing about Illustrator is without a doubt its brushes, since they are those tools that are most often used.

Its native format is known as he. and it is a format that redirects you directly to the program through the project that you have saved with this extension. It is a program with which you will work quickly, and it will guide you manually and autonomously through its entire interface and its vast possibilities.

General characteristics

1. Adobe Illustrator is not only good for creating illustrations, but also it is also capable of creating vectors. Vectors are graphic elements that can be divided into different shapes and that are completely manipulable and editable, which is why it is also a good program to create logos and certain brands.
2. It not only has brushes of all kinds, but also It has a wide range of fonts. So you can navigate between the different styles available. The good thing about this program is that each of the fonts is divided according to its style, so you can choose to apply those that only contain the style or typographic family that you are looking for.
3. This program has been in use for many years and as far as It also contains different versions that have been updated and renewed over time., to offer the appearance and functionality that we know.
4. Another feature that stands out, is that it is a program that allows you to edit PDF formats. Illustrator allows you to open a PDF and edit it at will. It is one of the features that few users use since they prefer to use the official Adobe PDF editor (Acrobat reader).
5. As it is a tool suitable for drawing, the wide range of colors available is also highlighted. Contains the possibility of using different color profiles, so you can browse through its Pantone inks, inks that offer great quality in pre-printing.

Tutorial: Creating the Gold Color in Illustrator

In the next tutorial, We are going to show you a small guide to be able to establish and create the gold color in the CMTK color profile. Achieving an exact color from scratch is very difficult, but since the program offers us the default values ​​for each color, we are going to take advantage of this small function, to learn how to develop other variants of the same gold with different effects and characteristics.

In this way, you will be able to obtain a gold in different possible ways, take note and do not miss anything that comes next.

Step 1: Set the color to CMYK

1. To set the color to CMYK, we just have to look for its reference code or value.
2. In this case the value of the golden color, part of the base of being:  C: 0% (0.000), M: 23% (0.234), Y: 93% (0.933), K: 6% (0.063). But the problem is determined when the program does not offer us the golden color in all its splendor, but instead offers us a completely flat ink as standard.
3. for what dWe will have to make an ink that is characterized by its brightness and for the small details that make up the classic gold color as we know it.

Step 2: Set the gold color with glitter

1. The first thing that we are going to take into account before applying the values ​​that we are going to show you, is to know that the gold color, from a more graphic aspect and on the screen, will never offer a real visual aspect of the gold color that we see physically in reality, this is due to the fact that graphically some characteristics that the golden color presents in reality are not fully worked on, since it is a color that tends to have a lot of strength and intensity, but we're going to try to make it look as good as possible.
2. To do this, we will rely on the following values: CMYK: C:0% M:20% Y:60% K:20%. Once we have the values, we need to set the type of paper we want the ink to print on, for example, we will not see the same gold on a varnished paper, where it will be much brighter and more realistic, than on normal or matte paper, which will eliminate any shiny and characteristic aspect of real gold.
3. Once we have chosen the type of paper and we have already indicated the values, we only have to print to check the result.

Step 3: Study some variations

1. The variations of the golden color will help you to really know the different ranges available.
2. For example, it would be best if You will make a kind of table in Illustrator, a small table with a total of 7 or 8 rows or columns, in this way, you would only have to play with the different variations, starting with the common gold, until you try lighter and darker tones.
3. Always remember copy and paste in each of the boards the corresponding code or numerical value depending on the type of color or variation that it is, since it will serve as a guide.

Programs to create color ranges

Adobe Color CC

Adobe color is a program that is part of Adobe and that fulfills the function of being able to find and create any type of color range that you want. It is a program that is mainly characterized because it allows you to create up to five completely different color palettes.

It also allows you to create colors from an image or illustration, which is great since you will be able to obtain the exact reference of each of the colors that you see in the image. Plus, every palette you design and save will be saved directly to the Adobe Cloud, so you can always come back to it whenever you want.

Adobe capture

If Adobe Color CC had seemed like a wonderful program to you, Adobe Capture doesn't go unnoticed. It is a program that makes free app function for mobile devices. With this tool, you will have access to being able to capture all kinds of colors in a real and totally exact way.

In addition, you will be able to adjust each one of the tones and each one of the chromatic ranges that you have captured, they will appear immediately in the Adobe libraries, so your palettes and colors will always be safe and saved in some program folders.

Coolors

Coolors is another wonderful program that you won't be able to miss. It is an online tool that generates colors and tones immediately and quickly. You will only have to click on the color you want and immediately the program itself will generate a kind of palette with some of the colors.

It is the simplest and fastest option to be able to create and generate colors of any type. In addition, you will have access to being able to drag the tones and adjust them so that they resemble the way you want them to look. It's the perfect tool that not only adjusts to colors, but to you too.

colordot

It is another of the simplest tools that we can find in this small list of options. Unlike the rest, the working method of this program is very different and it does not have so many facilities, since you must be the one who generates the color from a click.

The palette will be created when you have divided all the colors that you had thought to look for, so it is a more expensive application in terms of its performance and function.

F.Khroma

It is probably the application par excellence, since it has a beta version. It contains an interface that characterizes it a lot, since it functions as a feed of colors and ranges of all possible styles. The website itself provides you with a total of 40 or 50 pre-established colors that best suit your tastes. 

It is a program that will guide you and advise you so that you can find the color palette that you like the most and that defines you and your designs. It is a good way of working and a very comfortable application, that you cannot lose sight of.