Adding multiple gradients to object in Adobe Illustrator

Question

I have an object which is a path (a nose to be specific). Now I want both a linear gradient and a radial gradient to be added to the object. So these must be separate gradient objects I guess, and I can't find a way to add multiple separate gradients to a complete path so do I duplicate the object and then apply a new gradient to each object?

And what would the layer transparency features look like? Would the 'normal' overlay of the layers work? I am afraid of multiple shadows creating double dark regions, but maybe that is as its supposed to be if you think in terms of classical art and draw shadows in terms of each light obstruction.

Answer 1

The best recommendation would be to add multiple fills to the object and then make one the base fill and one the overlay. The base fill would have normal transparency settings and the second fill could do the extra highlights. This would allow you to set the opacity and blending mode for the top gradient. This means your object is still solid and has a default transparency and blending mode, but one of the fills won't. Much more control this way.

Answer 2

For a start: you don't have to duplicate the object. You can add multiple fills to the same object in the appearance palette. However I'm not sure about which transparency settings would be right.