Linotype commissioned Frank Jonen to create a new icon suite for the Linotype Library GmbH font collections (Bad Homburg, Germany). Jonen used many masking techniques to achieve the rainbow reflections and glare for the logo (left) representing Linotype’s line of “standard” fonts (the gold logo is at top right, and the platinum logo is bottom right).

1. Creating a disk gradient. Create a circle defining an outer disk shape by holding Shift when you drag with the Ellipse tool. Next, holding Option-Shift/Alt-Shift, from the center of your previous circle, draw a second circle to define the center hole area. Now select both circles and choose Object  > Compound Path  > Make to cut the first hole from the second, like a donut. With his disk created, Jonen filled the compound path with a custom, muted—color radial gradient. Keeping the compound path selected, he adjusted the colors and stops until the colors transitioned where he wanted them.

Left: Creating a compound path and filling the duplicate with a custom radial gradient.

2. Fading the disk. To make the disk vary in tonality, Jonen created a “fader” using an Opacity Mask. After turning on Smart Guides (View menu), with the Ellipse tool, he held Option-Shift/Alt-Shift and dragged from the current circle’s center to create a new circle slightly smaller than the outer disk, and filled it with white (no stroke). After copying this white circle, he pasted a copy on top (Command-F/Ctrl-F) and then swapped the fill and stroke (Shift-X) so it had a white stroke and no fill. Jonen then created a smaller black-stroked circle from the same center (not as small as the CD hole). Selecting the two stroked circles (if you have trouble selecting, expand the Layers panel to view the <Path> objects and Shift-click to the right of the target icons to select both stroked <Path> objects), he then chose Object  > Blend  > Make. Unlocking the white-filled circle underneath, Jonen selected it along with the new blend. From the Transparency panel pop-up he chose Make Opacity Mask, then he set the blending mode to Soft Light, reduced the Opacity to 30%, and made sure to enable Clip.

Left: Fading the disk with a black-to-white blend on top of a white circle, making the blend into an Opacity Mask over the white circle, then placing this Opacity Mask over background disk and applying Soft Light mode at 30% opacity.

3. Creating arc blends. Blends are probably the best way to create arcs of color. To re-create Jonen’s blend, you’ll blend between five different colored lines. On a new layer above, draw the first line from the circle center point beyond the edge of the outer disk, and give it a 1-pt bluish stroke (make sure Opacity is 100% and Blending Mode is Normal). Hide the disk layers. Make the second line by selecting the top anchor point of the line with the Direct Selection tool, grab it and swing it up about 15° and press down the Option/Alt key, holding until after you release the mouse. Color this line Cyan, then repeat the duplication process above (varying the distance) to create the third (green), fourth (yellow), and fifth (red) lines. Before you blend these lines together, select the outer two (bluish-purple and red) and copy (you’ll need these lines on the Clipboard for the next step). Next, double-click the Blend tool to set Blend Options as Smooth Color. Finally, select all the lines and choose Object > Blends  > Make.

Left: Drawing a first line then swinging copies up and recoloring, making a Smooth Color blend.

4. Widening the end colors. To prepare the rainbow to fade along the edges, Jonen created wider versions of the outer colors. To do this, choose Paste in Front (Command-F/Ctrl-F) to paste the copied lines in perfect registration with the blend. In the Layers panel, make a new layer above the blend and move the lines into that new layer by dragging their selection indicators. Now hide the blend layer, showing just your copied lines. Starting with the bluish line, expand it with the Pen tool into a triangular wedge-shape: Start with the upper anchor point to continue the line, then click to create a perpendicular segment that extends out wider than the blend below. Then click the Swap Fill and Stroke icon in the Toolbox (or press Shift-X), so that the new triangular color object is filled, not stroked with that blue color. Repeat this for the red line. Show the rainbow layers, Select All (Command-A/Ctrl-A), and Group (Command-G/Ctrl-G).

Left top: Copying and pasting in front the outer strokes, widening the copies.

Left bottom: Showing the rainbow blend underneath, grouping the wider shapes with the blend objects.

5. Fading the rainbow with an Opacity Mask and duplicating it. To fade the rainbow along the edges, Jonen used three objects to create an Opacity Mask. On a new layer above, he created a small black-to-white blend along the edge of the rainbow. Drawing a black line outside of and slightly longer than the rainbow, he held Option/Alt while moving the upper anchor point (as he did in making the lines in step 3), and changed the stroke copy to white. Selecting and blending these strokes, he then created a mirror version of this blend on the other side of the rainbow (you can re-create this blend, or use the Reflect tool to reflect a copy). Lastly, with the Pen tool, Jonen drew a white-filled triangle covering the remainder of the rainbow, overlapping into the white of the blends. After grouping the black-and-white objects, Jonen selected the rainbow and black-and-white groups, opened the Transparency panel, and chose Make Opacity Mask from the pop-up menu. To create a copy of the rainbow, with the Rotate tool hold Option/Alt and click on the rainbow-blend point, enter 180°, and click Copy.

Left: Creating a black-to-white larger object and applying it as an Opacity Mask for the rainbow and using the Rotate tool to make a copy.

6. Masking the rainbows with a copy of the compound path. Next, mask the rainbows with a copy of the background disk. One way to copy the disk is to expand the layer containing the background disk objects and locate <Compound Path>. Enable the view icon if it’s still hidden, and click on the right side of the panel to select it. Now click the New Layer icon, and drag the selection indicator for the <Compound Path> to the new layer while holding Option/Alt. Since you’re going to make these circles into a mask, it doesn’t matter that the circles are filled; creating the mask removes all styling. To apply this compound path as a mask, select it along with the rainbows, and choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make (if you have trouble isolating objects, use the Layers panel to lock or hide objects that are in the way).

Left top: Drawing two circles centered on the rainbow center point with the Ellipse tool.

Left middle: Selecting the two circles to make a compound path.

Left bottom: Selecting the compound path and the rainbow and choosing Object > Clipping Mask > Make.

7. Fading the rainbow with more masks. Jonen changed the blending mode for both rainbow objects to Overlay. Then, selecting each rainbow group separately, he reduced its opacity—60% for the top group, and 50% for the bottom rainbow group.

Left: Moving the rainbow blends on top, Jonen changed the blending mode to Overlay and reduced the opacity (60% for the top rainbow and 50% for the bottom one).

8. Creating a bright “reflection.” To create a lighter “reflection,” Jonen created an Opacity Mask applied to a white disk. Starting from the circle centerpoint, he drew a black line, a center white line, and an outer black line. Selecting the three lines, he chose Object > Blend > Make. After rotating a copy of this blend across the circle (hold Option/Alt, click on the circle centerpoint, enter 180°, and click Copy), and grouped these blends to form a “butterfly” <Group>. Selecting the donut-shaped compound path in the Layers panel, Jonen copied, and then selected the butterfly blends. Using Command-B (Ctrl-B), he pasted a copy of the compound path directly behind the butterfly objects. Giving this compound path a white fill and no stroke, he selected it and the butterfly objects and chose Make Opacity Mask (with Clip enabled).

Left: Creating a black-to-white-to-black blend, duplicating it to form a “butterfly” shape; then applying this as an Opacity Mask over a copy of the compound-path disk object (filled white).

9. Making glare. Lastly, Jonen created a crescent-shaped glare on half the disk. You can make a crescent by drawing two circles, one slightly larger than the outer disk, and one smaller than the hole. With the Pen tool, draw two arcs defining the ends of the crescent. Then select all and click the Divide Pathfinder icon. After deselecting, Direct Select and delete the excess objects. Selecting his crescent, Jonen set a white fill (no stroke), copied, and used Command-F (Ctrl-F). He applied a radial gradient fill (gray to black) to this upper crescent, selected both, chose Make Opacity Mask, and reduced the opacity to 50%.

Left: Creating a crescent using Divide Pathfinder on a pair of circles with paths defining the cut lines; filling one crescent with white and a copy with a radial gradient, making an Opacity Mask and reducing opacity to 50%.