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This is the series where we show you simple, but effective tips, tutorials, and tricks related to designer tools. Today is time for a short tip where we will show you how to arrange shapes in circular paths in Adobe Illustrator. It is pretty easy and you’ll wonder how I didn’t know this before for sure. It can be used for various things like making flower illustrations, ornaments, patterns, etc. Try it and give us feedback if it helps you in your daily routines and work.
Step 1 – Create polar grid using Polar Grid Tool
Step 1 - Create polar grid using Polar Grid Tool
Step 2 – Create your shape and snap the shape center to the outer ridge of the polar grid
Step 2 - Create your shape and snap the center to the outer ridge of the polar grid
Step 3 – Copy and paste your shape in place
A quick way to do the copy and paste procedure is is to select your shape, press CTRL+C, and then press CTRL+F. After that, you should have a copy of your shape laying directly above previous shape. We think there is no need to illustrate this step because it is a very basic procedure in Illustrator.
Step 4 – Select newly created shape, click on Rotate Tool, ALT+Click on the polar grid center, and enter the rotation value
In our case, we should put 60 degrees, because we want 6 copies around the circular path. There is also a simple trick if you don’t know how many degrees you should rotate. Instead of putting exact value for rotation, just enter 360/x, where x is the number of shapes you want to make, and Illustrator will do the rest of the work.
Step 4 - Select newly created shape, click on Rotate Tool, ALT+Click on the polar grid center, and enter the rotation value
Step 5 – Continue the procedure for the rest of the shapes
Step 5 - Continue the procedure for the rest of the shapes
And you are done. After all shapes are in place, just delete the polar grid from the scene. Or, you can leave it if you planned to use it from the start. Simple as that.
