Creating a Brushed Metal Texture
Rectangle
Click on the artboard with the Rectangle Tool (m) to bring up the Rectangle dialog box to create a 5 by 5 inch rectangle.
Gradient
Make a Linear Gradient (>) from the Gradient Panel and remove the stroke. Adjust the gradient using the Gradient Tool (g) by clicking and dragging from the top of the rectangle to the bottom. From the Gradient Panel, grab the left swatch and drag it to the middle of the Gradient Slider. Choose the black swatch on the Gradient Slider. Click on the large black thumbnail and drag it into the Gradient Panel on the left side of the Gradient Slider. Now you will have a black swatch on the left, a white swatch in the middle, and another black swatch on the right in the Gradient Slider. Choose the first black swatch and change it to a 60% black, select the white swatch and change it to a 30% black, and change the last black swatch to a 60% black.
Copy (⌘c) the rectangle and Paste In Front (⌘f). Select the copied rectangle and change its dimensions in the Transform Panel to .5 inches wide and fill the rectangle with a 40% black.
Texture
Choose the narrow rectangle and navigate to Effect > Sketch > Graphic Pen. When the Graphic Pen Effect dialog box opens change the following settings:
• Stroke Length = 15
• Light/Dark Balance = 5
• Stroke Direction = Horizontal
Trace and Expand
Select the texture tool and navigate to Object > Expand Appearance. With the new image selected the Control Panel defaults to the Live Trace options. Click the arrow beside the Live Trace Button and choose Tracing Options. Or navigate to Object > Live Trace > Tracing Options. Change the options given below.
• Mode: Black and White
• Path Fitting: 1px
• Minimum Area: 1px
• Corner Angle: 1
• Ignore White: Check this box
Save a preset in the Tracing Options. It’s easy to recall these setting. Next, press Expand.
Transform Texture
Select the texture and change the width to 5 inches from the Transform Panel.
Colour Texture
Select the texture and make a Linear Gradient (>) from the Gradient Panel and remove the stroke. Illustrator remembers the last gradient used, so you should have the same gradient fill from the first rectangle. If not, repeat the steps for the gradient from the first rectangle or use the Eyedropper Tool (i) and sample the first rectangle. Once you get the texture right, select the first 60% black and change it to a 70% black, then change the 30% black to 35% black, and then change the last 60% black to a 70% black. With the Gradient Tool (g) click and drag from the top of the texture to the bottom to adjust the gradient.
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