Make conical gradient
Don't tell me about mesh trick, it has it's limits and surely is not that easy to use.
Just make Conical type gradient from the box.

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yicong lu commented
Description:
Please introduce angular gradient (conic gradient) support in Illustrator’s gradient tool. This would allow for more diverse and creative gradient effects, which are already available in other design tools.Why is this valuable to you?
Angular gradients are widely used in modern design. Not having this option in Illustrator means I have to use workarounds or other software, which is time-consuming. Adding this feature would greatly improve efficiency and creative flexibility for myself and many other designers. -
Another related request:
Make fractal noise gradient
http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/49196615 -
Margaret Trauth commented
oh and until Adobe decides to implement this somewhere in the next decade, here's another workaround that's *slightly* less hassle than the mesh trick:
1. draw a box with a horizontal gradient
2. effect>rasterize it, probably a high dpi, no need for anti-aliasing or adding a border OR object>expand into a bunch of shapes
3. make this into an art brush
4. draw a circle with this brush
(ideally the rectangle is the same height as the width/height of the circle)
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Margaret Trauth commented
hahahaha I am here upvoting this one after explaining the mesh trick to someone on a forum :)
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Herman van Boeijen commented
Please. This. Yes.
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Anonymous commented
I'm trying to make a gear for example. I want it to have a hollow center, and have a metallic sheen. Neither linear nor radial gradient fills will give me the effect I'm looking for. I have to create a circle, fill the stroke with the gradient, increase the stroke size, and outline stroke. But I can't subtract a shape from the circle, so I have to create the gear as a separate object and make it a clipping mask for the underlying circle.