Duplicating a gradient with Gradient Mesh

Let’s say you have a gradient-filled object. For whatever reason, you want to duplicate the look of the gradient, but you want it to be a Gradient Mesh. Do you laboriously start from scratch and fill in every single point on the mesh?

No! Simply rasterize the object (Object>Rasterize), then choose Object>Create Gradient Mesh…

Make sure to choose “Flat” in the Mesh dialog box, and enter the number of rows and columns suitable for your object.

You may have to do a little touch-up around the edges, but it’s way better than doing the whole thing, one point at a time.