Hello everyone Chris here from Spoon Graphics back
with another video tutorial.
Today we're going to take a look at some nifty tricks in Adobe Illustrator that can be used
to create some extremely detailed patterns.
In this tutorial I'll show you how to create this complex circular pattern that consists
of thousands of intricate paths that loop and overlap each other to form a variety of
bands that form the overall circle.
It might look super complicated, but it's actually all done with Illustrator's Blend
Tool, so let's get started and I'll show you have you can create one yourself.
Begin by creating a new document in Adobe Illustrator.
Before we start, you might want to check your Illustrator preferences and turn off Scale
Strokes and Effects.
This will allow you to resize your objects while keeping the same stroke weight.
Select the Ellipse tool and draw a small circle on the artboard.
Clear out the white fill by clicking the None icon at the bottom of the toolbar.
With the Selection tool active, hold the Alt and Shift keys, then drag out a duplicate
of the shape to the right.
Draw a selection around both shapes, then go to Object > Blend > Make.
Grab the Ellipse tool again and draw a circle at roughly the same size of your desired pattern.
Draw a selection around both the Blend and this circle, then go to Object > Blend > Replace
Spine.
You'll notice that the circles don't follow the entire circumference of the circle.
Instead they start and end three quarters of the way around.
To fix this, grab the Scissors tool and give the top point of the circle path a snip.
Head back to the Object > Blend > Blend Options menu, then check the Preview button.
Change the dropdown menu to Specified Steps, then alter the number to produce a detailed
pattern of ring shapes.
Press CMD+C then CMD+F to Copy and Paste in Front a duplicate of the first pattern.
Scale it down while holding Shift and ALT.
Because of the Blend effect, the pattern doesn't scale perfectly towards its centre.
We could Expand the shape, but then we would lose the ability to alter the blend settings.
Instead, bring up the document Rulers with the CMD+R shortcut and drag out two guides
to form a cross.
Zoom right into the document to make an accurate adjustment, then grab and move each of the
two shapes with the centre handle and line them up manually with the guides.
Select the Ellipse tool and draw another circle as the basis of a new pattern, this time make
it a little smaller.
Add a black stroke with no fill.
Make a duplicate, then create a blend.
When drawing the replacement spine, hold the Alt and Shift keys and drag the circle out
from the centre of the guides so it will be nicely aligned to the main pattern.
Select both the new circle and the new blend, then head to Object > Blend > Replace Spine.
Remember to snip the top point to allow the blend to run all the way around the circle.
Bring up the Blend Options and change the setting to Specified Steps and alter the figure
to create a different style of circular pattern.
If you scale the pattern to line it up with the other circles, remember to zoom in and
correct the centre.
Add another circular pattern towards the centre.
This time crank up the steps to produce a really detailed centre piece for the overall
design.
Let's try something a little different this time.
Grab the Ellipse tool, but instead of a circle, draw an oval shape.
Create a blend, draw a new spine, replace the spine and snip the anchor point.
Bring up the Blend Options and set the mode to Specified Steps.
This oval shape requires one more setting.
Click the Orientation icon that aligns to path to point all the shapes towards the centre.
Go ahead and adjust the steps to create a slightly different type of pattern.
It isn't just ellipses that work with this effect.
Repeat the process with a square, following all the same steps, including the option to
change the orientation.
Simply building up and aligning multiple bands of these circular patterns results in a super
intricate design.
It's up to you how big you go!
So I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial for Adobe Illustrator.
If you did, be sure to check out my channel for more.
You can also find written tutorials and free design resources over on my website at spoon.graphics,
otherwise thank you very much for watching and I'll catch you all later.