May 17
Transform Again in Illustrator
2007 at 06.55 pm posted by Veerle
You can achieve surprisingly cool results using the Transform Again feature in Illustrator starting from a simple shape. As you all know simplicity is my motto. Today I try turn this into practice again. So sit tight for another step-by-step tutorial using this simple but oh so powerful feature.
Step 1 - Start with a simple shape
Start with a simple shape like a circle. Select the Direct Selection tool (white arrow) and delete 1 segment of the circle.
Now, select the object using the Selection Tool (black arrow) and select the Transform Tool. Option/Alt click in the center of the 3/4 circle. Check the Uniform option and enter a value of 110% in the Scale field. You could uncheck the Scale Strokes and Effects options, but it doesn't really matter what you choose here. I've chosen to check it off. Click Copy.
Step 2 - Transform Again
After clicking Copy, the 3/4 circle is duplicated at a scale of 110%, nicely scaled from the center out.
Now hit command/control + D for another 8 times so you have 10 circles in total. Cool :)
Step 3 - Rotating
Now select the smallest circle again using the Selection Tool and select the Rotate Tool from the Toolbox.
Alt/option click again in the center. In the Rotate window enter a value of 15 degrees and click the OK button. Now click the 2nd smallest circle and hit command/control + D twice.
Step 4 - Transform Again and again and again
Select the next circle and hit command/control + D 3 times. Select the 4th one hit command/control + D 4 times.
And so on and on... Till you get the special effect as shown here above on the right.
Step 5 - Changing Stroke width
Change the width of each 3/4 circles, going from 1 pt to 10 pt for the biggest circle using the Selection Tool
You should get the nice effect as shown here above on the right.
Step 6 - Convert to Outlines and add a Gradient Fill
Now select all 10 3/4 circles and convert the Strokes into Fills. Go to the Object menu and choose Path and then Outline Stroke from the submenu. All 3/4 circles are now converted into Fills.
Now we can apply a nice subtle radial gradient which gives this nice final result.
Conclusion
Now, I'm not sure about you, but if you think about this simple Transform Again feature, it opens a lot of possibilities to create some cool effects starting from one simple shape. Another way to achieve cool simple effects is by using the Action palette and record some simple scaling and rotation. Then you can click the play button a few times just like we hit command/control + D. It's pretty easy to do and you can achieve really amazing effects.
Here is my final result :
I've used a lot of techniques here that are perfect food for other tutorials. So stay tuned for the next one ;) As for now, I hope you enjoyed the ride :)
Want to learn more?
Layers magazine is the only magazine that covers the entire Adobe® Creative Suite and everything it has to offer. In addition to in-depth tutorials, each issue is packed with tips, Q&A, product reviews, industry news, and feature articles covering the gamut of digital photography, graphic design, Web authoring, motion graphics, and more.
74served
1
That’s a awesome final result , thanks for sharing
2
Wow thanks! I had no idea about the outline strokes feature.
I’d love to see how you did the line “wave” on the right too.
3
Very informative, thanks!
4
I had no idea where you were going with that at first… VERY cool results.
5
Thanks...I cant wait to try...Your tutorials are awesome
6
WOW looks cool! Amazing as always Veerle! Thanks!
7
Great tutorial. Thanks.
8
Thank you for this nice tutorial - you make it look so easy :)
9
The wave on the right it’s done using Blend.
It kind of looks like the Seagate logo :P A little.
10
Oh I cannot wait to use this!
11
I use transform again to make heaps of repetitive shapes, but had never thought of that one, looks great!
However, you could do it even quicker using transform each… you could’ve rotated it and scaled it up in the same motion, then using transform again over and over, ta-da!
12
Amazing! Very nice use of actions as “patterns” for building great design elements!
13
Awesome article. The transform tool is one of my favorites for this reason. The whole ‘transform again’ (command/control + D) idea opens up so many possibilities.
Thanks again!
14
Veerle,
You are awesome! Thanks for all you share! :-)
15
Oh, and also, you could’ve had the strokes change automatically by making sure that “Transform Strokes and Effects” was on ;o)
16
Wow… awesome.
17
Veerle that is awesome. one question how do you get that wave like lines ?
18
This “CTRL+D technique” is very powerful Illustrator’s feature but many people doesn’t even know about it. I learned it few months ago too. ;-)
19
I’ve always wondered how other designers create the repeated-semi-circle-graphic was done. Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial with us!
20
I love your tutorials - so simple yet the results are great.
21
Hi all, glad you appreciate my hard work :)
Simeon said:
I was wondering if there was a way of doing that.... and I was kind of hoping a reader would give me the answer to that :) I’ll definitely check that out. Thanks for the great tip ;)
Simeon said:
Yes you could, but if you want the same stroke widths applied as in my example then you have to click them one by one again, since the proportion of making them 110% bigger isn’t the same :) You don’t end up with 1pt, then 2pt, 3pt, 4pt… 10pt. That’s why I mentioned that it didn’t matter to check or uncheck. At least not in my example, but of course depending on the result you want, you could leave it on.
kaffass said:
I was going to save that for another article, but I guess this question was bound to pop up here in the comments ;) Alex Buga is right, it’s the Blend tool… I’ll explain this more in detail in a later article.
Alex Buga said:
Oh I see, I guess you are right in a way. I honestly wasn’t aware of that. Simple shapes are never original these days. What hasn’t been invented or used yet, right? It’s a matter of applying it in a personal and original way.
22
Brilliant article Veerle. Your tutorials are always easy to follow and grasp.
Hopefully my test will show in my gravatar to the left.
23
Once again a great tip, i cant wait to try it asap.
24
I’m always amazed how you take small features I’m usually already aware of and apply them in ways I’d never thought of. Great stuff.
25
For people using Inkscape (http://inkscape.org), a nice tool to create shapes like the above is the Clone Tiler.
A bonus is that you can edit the original shape and the clones will follow.
26
Awesome as always. I really like how you put the gradient on it, to fade it out.
27
Great tip, I love these tutorials in few steps. Well done!
28
Whoa great tip!
Definitely will be using that frequently!
++recommend
29
Veerle, two of the images are not shown correctly in Opera’s browser. I reported the problem with the comment form showing the wrong buttons on their support forum, and this seems to have been fixed! You might want to check this thread I started for an explanation, and a screenshot of what I’m seeing for this tutorial! I am not sure what can be done about this!
http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=186944
30
I would love to have this as a desktop background! When is it coming? :)
31
Thanks for another fantastic tutorial! Your work and articles are very inspiring.
32
I have been coming to your site for some time now. I decided it was time for a little de-lurking. You are a great resource. Keep it up. It is inspiring.
33
Very cool and skill, i love it! Thanks!
34
again so simple and yet so a sweet result. thanks veerle, you keep on teaching me new stuff every time I visite your site.
35
pfffiiieeeeuuuuwwww,this is brilliant. the result is impressive. thanks for posting this tutorial.
36
Veerle, your tutorial is fantastic--even someone as graphically inept as I am can reproduce the effect! Wow.
What amazes me is how you come up with these effects in the first place. After seeing them, they’re obvious and natural ... but how do you decide to create such things? What inspires you?
37
I’m coming to design from a pretty strict Photoshop/Dreamweaver background (still working my way into Web2.0 styles). Seeing your articles about design in AI really inspires me to start learning the program, especially because you promote the simplicity of the application. Thanks so much.
(By the way, your article on de-lurking prompted me to respond to this article, and to others on the web. Thanks.)
38
The cool wavy lines technique is tutorialized over at ndesign-studio.
39
OMG! Veerle, your posts are significant for lames like me
40
In Illustrator CS3 drawing a circle, and then trying to cut away 1/4 of it with the direct select tool always results in half the circle going away. I’ve tried everything. Any suggestions?
41
This was an excellent topic for a tutorial!
42
@Court K
Select just a little bit of the circle with the direct select tool. Put the corner of the select box just into the circle at the 135 degrees (with zero degrees being the top). If you select too much you’ll end up with the half circle.
43
Court K said:
Did you click on a segment of the circle? My guess is that you clicked on a point. It this case 1/2 of the circle will be deleted. You need to click on a segment (in between 2 points). Make sure you use the Direct Selection tool or the white arrow. Hope this helps ;)
44
very cool
45
Very nice tutorial. Just wondering how long that took you in total? Not writing the tutorial but creating the artwork.
46
Looking very good as always Veerle
47
Simply genius! I love your tutorials!
48
Thanks for very interesting tutorial Veerle. btw. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. The final result it’s fantastic! So please keep up the great work. Greetings
49
Hi Veerle,
Great tutorial! I just started using illustrator and it’s an awesome tool. I will be going through the rest of your site looking for more tid bits like this ;)
50
nice and easy. thanks.
51
Way cool. I like it.
52
Fantastic tutorial as usual veerle. I can’t wait for the next one :-)
53
Loved your tutorial, please think about writing a book on illustrator someday..
54
Thanks again for taking the time to comment and for all the appreciation :)
Dave Bowker said:
It took me a couple of hours, because I tried several things out. I created more then 1 illustration. The writing took me far less in time, maybe 45 minutes or something.
55
Looks a lot like this tutorial.
56
matt said:
I’m not agreeing on the look and execution, looks cheap. Idea maybe, so what? Mine is about ‘the transform again’ and that one is about transform each. What’s the problem and what are you trying to imply here? I’m not at all pretending to be original. I don’t like your tone to be honest, maybe learn to express yourself in a more friendly way? Manners it make such a difference ;)
57
Thanks a lot for this tutorial! I am certainly having fun experimenting with the Transform Again tool!
58
Veerle,
Stunning website and great article/nice looking artwork.
One thing though… Matt made a one line comment and unless you edited some of his text, I can’t read any implications… Couldn’t find any unfriendliness. Folks, peace please… don’t read between the lines… it was (one) only.
The setting of the tone/comment back and forth does only harm to the artwork.
Humble me ;)
59
Eric said:
I don’t edit any comments. If he doesn’t imply that I copied this article, then he should have formulated this in his comment. This one line is exactly the problem and is typical “troll” style. He could have written it in another way if that’s not his intention. The fact that he uses no link, no real name or last name etc. says enough (just speaking out of experience). Maybe Matt and you should read this article about critiquing. He could have well said : “There is a similar article on this website a while ago. For those who are interested...” Big difference, isn’t it? He makes me feel I’m a thief and copied the article. These are the kind of comments that would convince me to stop writing and sharing stuff, like why bother.
60
Well you certainly are not a thief! Thats ridiculous - I can’t imagine to find a more original person than you :D you are the best! :D and keep up the AMAZING work!
61
Please keep them coming. I’m new to Illustrator and need all the help I can get. :)
62
Please consider the fact that Matt is just one in a million, on the other hand there are plenty of regular visitors - like me :D so please keep them coming :D
63
This is genius! I finally tried it out today. I have no idea how you come up with such simple and great ideas!
One tiny thing - forgive me - you say select the “Transform Tool” early on, but on my copy of Illustrator (CS2, Windows XP) I have only the “Scale Tool”.
Amazing is the “Copy” button - I never knew about that!
BTW, the graphics are loading fine today in Opera 9.21 (new release). Hurrah!
64
Cool creation .
Nice .
65
Awesome… The final result is really cool… Thanks..
66
Loved it.
67
Thanks for this and all your tutorials, although i have used illy for several years ive never been able to move beyond ultra simple effects so many thanks.
68
nice tutorial,simple step gorgeous result,....
69
I stumbled across your blog this morning. I have throughly enjoyed all of the tutorials and have already gotten some great ideas for my own designs
70
hey there,
You have one amazing source of tutorials and after seeing and trying them out, I get a feeling of shifting from Corel Draw to Illustrator......:)
71
Hey, this is a really helpful tutorial. Does anybody know how to produce the cool circle shapes around the “Design Touches Lives” copy? I know Veerle said she would have more tutorials coming, but it looks really good and I can’t work out how to do it!
72
hey there,
I am new to Illustrator. and i was trying out this tutorial. But am stuck in the Transform 1st step itself.
When i press Copy, the same circle grows 110% ... i wonder what step i have missed..... :(
73
me again and i found out my silly mistake!!!!
I have been using Corel Draw so the interface of Illustrator confuses me!
Oops! Veerle for the double post......
74
Wow! Nice tutorial… very interesting… I am going to use it now.