Script for Adobe Illustrator

✦ Available exclusively on Patreon for Pro supporters.

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Description

Gradient Bander transforms smooth Illustrator gradients into controlled stepped bands, making it easy to create posterized, striped, and intentionally segmented color transitions. The script works on selected artwork with gradient fills, gradient strokes, or both, and preserves the original gradient direction while rebuilding it into a chosen number of bands with optional contrast between each band.

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Features

Gradient Bander gives you a fast visual way to convert existing gradients into banded color effects directly inside Adobe Illustrator, with live feedback before you commit the result.

• Converts gradient fills, gradient strokes, or both at the same time
• Lets you set the number of color bands from 2 to 100
• Includes a Gradient Contrast control for softer or more pronounced separation between bands
• Advanced Band Distribution controls with six distribution curves (Uniform, Logarithmic, Exponential, Ease In, Ease Out, Ease In-Out)
• Strength control (-100 to 100) to fine-tune how aggressively each distribution curve is applied
• Supports live Preview so you can fine-tune the result before applying it
• Includes a Hide Edges option for a cleaner on-canvas preview
• Adds a zoom-to-selection button for faster inspection of the selected gradients
• Automatically saves and restores your settings between sessions
• Handles RGB, CMYK, Gray, and Spot-based gradient color interpolation
• Preserves the original gradient range and direction while rebuilding the stops

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Installation

1. Download the Gradient Bander.jsx script file.

2. Place the script in your Adobe Illustrator Scripts folder:

⮑ Mac: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator <Version>/Presets/<Language>/Scripts

⮑ Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator <Version>\Presets\<Language>\Scripts \Presets<Language>\Scripts

3. Restart Adobe Illustrator if it's already running

4. Access the script via File > Scripts > Gradient Bander

5. Alternatively, run it directly via File > Scripts > Other Script... and browse to the file location

Tip: You can also drag and drop the .jsx file directly onto the Illustrator workspace to run the script instantly – no installation needed.

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Using the Script

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Prepare Your Artwork

• Open an Adobe Illustrator document.
• Select at least one object that contains a gradient fill, a gradient stroke, or both.
• If nothing is selected, or if the selection does not contain gradients, the script will stop and prompt you to choose valid artwork.
• Groups and compound paths are supported, so you can select complex artwork instead of isolating every path manually.

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Launch Gradient Bander

1. Run the script from File > Scripts > Gradient Bander if it is installed in the Scripts folder.
2. If you are running it manually, choose File > Scripts > Other Script... and open the Gradient Bander.jsx file.
3. When the dialog opens, Illustrator immediately shows a live preview because Preview is enabled by default.
4. The script automatically loads your last-used settings, so your preferred band count, contrast, and other options are restored from your previous session.

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➊ Choose What the Script Should Affect

• In the Apply To panel, enable Gradient Fills if you want to process fill gradients.
• Enable Gradient Strokes if you want to process stroke gradients.
• Leave both enabled if you want the script to affect every gradient attribute in the current selection.
• The script always keeps at least one of these options active, so you cannot accidentally disable both at the same time.

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➋ Set the Number of Color Bands

1. Use the Number of color bands slider to choose how many steps the gradient should contain.
2. Enter a value manually if you want more precision.
3. The valid range is 2 to 100 bands.
4. Use the Up and Down arrow keys inside the field to adjust the value quickly.
5. Hold Shift while pressing Up or Down to change the value in larger steps.

More bands create a smoother stepped transition, while fewer bands create a bolder posterized effect.

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➌ Adjust Gradient Contrast

• Use the Gradient Contrast slider to control how much separation appears inside each generated band.
• A value of 0 keeps each band flat and closest to the original sampled color.
• Higher values push the start and end colors farther apart, creating stronger internal contrast and a more dramatic banded look.
• You can type the value manually or use the Up and Down arrow keys for quick adjustments.
• Hold Shift with the arrow keys to change the contrast faster.
• Right-click the contrast slider to reset the contrast value back to 0.

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➍ Control Band Distribution

1. Use the Type dropdown to choose how bands are distributed across the gradient:
   1. Uniform: Bands are evenly spaced (default)
   2. Logarithmic: More bands concentrated at the start or end
   3. Exponential: Opposite of logarithmic; more bands at the end or start
   4. Ease In: Slow start, fast end transition
   5. Ease Out: Fast start, slow end transition
   6. Ease In-Out: Slow at both ends, fast in the middle
2. Use the Strength slider to control how aggressively the distribution curve is applied:
   1. 0: Uniform distribution (bands are evenly spaced)
   2. Positive values (-1 to 100): Increase the effect in one direction
   3. Negative values (-100 to -1): Reverse the effect direction
   4. Right-click the Strength slider to quickly reset it to 0
3. When Type is set to Uniform, the Strength controls are automatically disabled since they don't apply to uniform distribution.
4. Experiment with different Type and Strength combinations to create custom band spacing that matches your design intent.

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➎ Preview the Result Clearly

1. Leave Preview enabled to see updates live while you change settings.
2. Turn Preview off if you want to compare the result against the untouched original without closing the dialog.
3. Enable Hide Edges to temporarily hide the active selection edges so the banding effect is easier to judge visually.
4. If needed, click the ✚ button to zoom the document view to the selected gradient artwork.

This makes it easier to evaluate subtle banding and contrast changes before you confirm the final result.

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➏ Apply or Cancel the Effect

• Click OK to keep the current banded gradient result and save your settings for the next session.
• Click Cancel to restore the original gradient appearance and close the dialog without saving changes.
• When you click OK, all current dialog settings are automatically saved (band count, contrast, distribution type, strength, fill/stroke options, preview state, and hide edges preference).
• When you click Cancel, your previous settings are preserved – the current session's changes are discarded.
• If Preview was active, the script safely reverts the artwork when you cancel.
• If Hide Edges was enabled, the original selection is restored before the script finishes.

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Best Practices and Tips

1. Use lower band counts for stylized poster, risograph, retro, and screen-print inspired artwork.
2. Use higher band counts when you want visible stepping without losing too much smoothness.
3. Add contrast for sharper, more graphic transitions between the generated bands.
4. Keep contrast low when you want a cleaner stepped approximation of the original gradient.
5. Use Uniform distribution for evenly-spaced bands and a clean, predictable posterized effect.
6. Use Logarithmic or Exponential distributions to concentrate color transitions at one end of the gradient.
7. Use Ease In/Out distributions for smoother, more natural-looking transitions that mimic animation curves.
8. Experiment with negative Strength values to reverse the direction of any distribution curve.
9. Test the effect on duplicate artwork first if you want to compare multiple banding styles side by side.
10. Right-click the Strength slider to quickly reset it to 0 (uniform) while keeping your other settings intact.

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Tip: Gradient Bander automatically remembers your preferences between sessions, so you don't have to reconfigure the same settings every time you use the script.

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☻ Wrap-Up

Gradient Bander is a focused tool for turning ordinary Illustrator gradients into clean, customizable banded transitions with far more control than manual stop editing. With live preview, fill and stroke targeting, adjustable band counts, contrast control, and advanced distribution curves, it fits equally well into quick experiments and polished production workflows.

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