Could anyone advise how to make this sparkle shape in Illustrator?

[416mike]

Hey all - been toiling with pathfinder and corner rounding to no avail, and I'm out of options! Could anyone offer up a way of making this kind of sparkle shape in Illustrator?

[Kurt Gold · Accepted solution]

You may have a look at the Pucker & Bloat effect (see Effect menu).

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse · Accepted solution]

Further to Kurt's suggestion: Create a circle; Add anchor points (Object > Path > Add Anchor points) so you have 8 control points. Select your Shape, and apply the Pucker & Bloat (using a negative value. check Preview so you can see the effect). This will give you a star shape with equal-sized points so direct-select the 4 "middle" ones' points and scale them down to your satisfaction.

[416mike]

Whoa, super cool! This was exactly what I needed - I never even knew this effect existed. Thanks so much to the both of you, RoaringMouse and Kurt!

[Kurt Gold]

Thanks for your addition, roaring mouse.

Certainly I was a bit too tight-lipped in this case.