Pineapple Girl

Inspired by, but NOT claiming to be an authentic representation of, the "Pineapple Child" folktale from the Ga people of Ghana.

One version of this story is retold in West African Folktales (collected and translated by Jack Berry) as "Adene and the Pineapple Child."

Synopsis:

An old woman counsels a childless couple to pick a talking pineapple and take it home. Three days later, the pineapple transforms into a beautiful baby girl, whom the couple adopts.

The parents raise the child with love and care. All is well until one day the child is left at home while her parents are at the farm. Adene, an older girl who lives with the family, taunts the child about her non-human origins...

Removing unwanted kinks in Adobe Illustrator's gradient mesh

Here is what worked for me on Adobe CS4:

1. Select the gradient mesh
2. Select the Add Anchor Point tool. Now the invisible 'helper' points that cause the kinks will become visible.
3. Add 2 anchor points, one on either side of the 'helper' point that you want to get rid of.
4. Select the 2 points you just added. (When you use a selection tool, the 'helper' point will become invisible again. Don't worry, it's still there.)
5. Hit the Delete button. (When you delete the 2 points on either side of the helper point, the helper point will also be deleted.)
6. Now select the gradient mesh again. You will see that the kink is gone.

Background and acknowledgments: