posted
Ok, here's one thing I don't know how to do in Illustrator:
I want to create a small circle, and to the right of that small circle...create another small circle.
I want to blend the two circles with specified copies....so that there are several equal spaced copies of the circles inbetween the original far left and far right circles.
I can get to this point....
Now for the question: How can I change the spacing of the circles so that it accelerates from tight spacing to gradually increased spacing?
I know it is a snap in coreldraw because they actually have an "accelerated spacing" slider to do this. (another thing I like about CorelDraw)
How can I achieve this in Illustrator?
Thanks...
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
create the outer shape, then the inner shape, select both, apply a blend, save as *.eps (ver 5 or older), reopen. the blend should now be the descending size circles you're after.
-------------------- Scott Pagan Admark Graphic Systems Admark Motorsports Graphics 9700 Metromont Ind Blvd Charlotte, NC 28269 www.admarkgraphics.com Posts: 325 | From: Charlotte, NC | Registered: Nov 2001
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posted
Sorry guys, I've been out for a little bit.
Actually, not looking for a circles that descend in size, but rather, like this:
Circle (or any shape) is to the far left, another circle to the far right. I select both and apply a blend with say, 20 steps. Now I have 22 circles with even spaces between them aligned along a common baseline.
Now here's the crux of the question: How can I interactively adjust spacing on all these balls so that the first two are quite tight to each other on the left side, and then the balls gradually gain more space between each other as you move to the right side....with the last two balls having quite a bit of space between them?
Hope this helps clarify....thanks for hanging in there.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Thanks Don, I was hoping you'd pop in also. Yeah, I could do that...but doesn't that just suck?
See, this is why I have a love/hate relationship with Adobe Illustrator. On one hand, it does some decent vector work and has it's plus's.....but CorelDraw just smashes it with the ease and creativity of functions it offers right out of the box.
CorelDraw has an "accelerated blends" function which allows you to slide a slider backwards or forwards which makes all the blended objects get progressively tighter spacing to one end or the other. It's a snap.
I guess I can just do it in CorelDraw...but was hoping for an Illustrator solution. I'd rather work in one app if possible.
Thanks for the input though...much appreciated.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
I've been working with AI 10 for about a year now and haven't come across anything that will do what you're looking for. It would be pretty cool to have though. Maybe send Adobe support your question and see what sort of response you get.
Mark
-------------------- Mark Rogan The Great Barrington Sign Company 2 Stilwell Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 mark@gbsignco.com
"Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of fonts" Posts: 332 | From: Great Barrington, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
When you use the blend tool between 2 paths in Adobe Illustrator, the dialog allows you to define the amount ot items and parse them at identical offset one of the other along a blend path. Many people seams to ignore that this path is editable like any other one. You can add anchor points, move the segments etc. just by using the common path tools.
To similutate an acceleration, you have to play with the path as a curve. So once you see the blend path, select the path conversion tool, transform one of its end into a curve point and move the hangle. If you just move it around the point, you will have a curved basis for the blend. If you keep it straight and just increase of decrease the path length by moving the handle extremity in the same angle that the path itslef, you modify the offset between the items, thus the acceleration !
Enjoy !
-------------------- Philippe JACQUES info@magisign.com
Take a look at our NCS MagiSign plug-in for Adobe Illustrator : Posts: 185 | From: Ottignies Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Phillippe has it right, though I was a little confused because he called the "covert anchor point" tool "path conversion tool" Let me explain a step by step:
First double click on Blend Tool-it chould bring the option window up go to specified steps-try 30 for this excersise.
Make a circle (white fill, black outline) make another circle (white fill, black outline)
use blend tool
now that they are blended, there is a line in the middle (or path)
Select your "convert anchor point" tool click on the end of the path and pull it toward or away from the center-it will allow you to modify the path to give it an accelerated look.
This blend feature is also great because you can modify on the fly-the amount of acceleration-put a previously straight blend on a curved "blended" arc-possibly a better feature than the previously used software of choice?
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1539 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Sorry for the expressions. My US version of Adobe Illustrator was not near me at the moment I answered to this topic and you surely know that French is my mother language !
An other tips to be aware about blend tool : you can use the steps of any blend between 2 appearances so AI will compute the art following the algoritms of an effect and not as a "common" distorsion.
Rgds all !
Philippe JACQUES
-------------------- Philippe JACQUES info@magisign.com
Take a look at our NCS MagiSign plug-in for Adobe Illustrator : Posts: 185 | From: Ottignies Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium | Registered: Mar 1999
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Even dragging the node handle from one end point towards another gives the accelerated spacing up until the middle object and then starts decelerating back towards the end object (the side from where you're pulling the handle.
And....if you try to do this on an arc, you have to change the shape of the arc to get the acceleration by dragging a handle from what I can tell. I don't want to change the shape of the arc.
Does this make sense? Try blending 2 balls with several intermediate steps, and then "replace spline" by selecting an closed shape oval path as the new spline to which the balls will align. Now try accelerating the spacing between the balls that are aligned to the oval path. Can this be done and how did you achieve that?
Thanks guys...
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Just like Doug illustrated in his post....thank you Doug, that was a good visual.
I use the "circle" a generic example...it's more complicated than that, but as a simple example let's go with that.
o.o..o...o....o.....o......o
Here's how using the "convert anchor point" tool affected spacing when used to move handles around:
o.o..o...o....o.....o....o...o..o.o
Plus, In reality, I was trying to do this spacing effect to objects that used an oval as it's spline for alignment...so in that instance, when you use the "convert anchor point" tool to move the node "handles" to adjust the spacing, you obviously are changing the shape of the oval's path/spline as well.
posted
I tried and got the acceleration from 2 circles just by moving the handle as described above. Seams that you are moving the wrong one : try the inside one and not the external ! I send you a file in your mailbox for example. Look how I placed the handle !
-------------------- Philippe JACQUES info@magisign.com
Take a look at our NCS MagiSign plug-in for Adobe Illustrator : Posts: 185 | From: Ottignies Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Draw 3 circles-blend the three circles-in the center of the middle circle there is a node in the middle of the path-use your "convert anchor point"+shift tool and pull it will give it that effect.
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1539 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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