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Piter1288
Piter1288
Inspiring
July 5, 2023
Answered

How to create these 2 shapes

  • July 5, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 656 views

Hello fellas,

 

So I created the horseshoe below, and I need to align the circles with the same space to the uneven shape, what is the best approach?

 

 

I also want to replicate the figure in red, but the flag effect does not do it with a triangle and it only gives me 2 curves. Any trick to make it smooth from wide to narrow?

 

 

Appreciate your help and time in advance!

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Bobby Henderson

The white circles inside the horseshoe can be spaced evenly by using a blend applied to a curved path following the centerline of the horseshoe's curve. You can build that centerline by making a 1 step blend from inner and outer portions of the horseshoe path (do this with a copy of the horseshoe on another layer). It sounds complicated but it's pretty easy to do with Illustrator's path editing tools. Edit: here's an example image of the horseshoe shape with the centerline element I'm describing:

 

Very often when I build centerline paths using the Blend effect I have to reverse path direction on one of the two source paths to get the new centerline path to flow the desired way. Once that is done it's just a matter of attaching the blend to the new centerline path using the Replace Spline command in the Blend flyout menu.

Regarding the red, curved shape. If it's a pixel-based image, I'd just lock it down on one layer and then use the Pen tool to draw a clean path over the top of it on another layer. That's going to be faster than trying to make envelopes replicate the shape.

3 replies

Jacob Bugge
Community Expert
Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 7, 2023

Piter,

 

Whenever you wish to ensure equidistant instances of a blend along a spine/path, you can:

 

1) Create the blend replacing the spine,

2) Direct Select the spine and Object>Path>Add Anchor Points until the instances are equidistant; you can see it directly as you do it, so you can stop/undo when done (more than) enough.

 

In many cases, a blend has a more pleasing/natural appearance when it reflects the differences in curvature/handle lengths rather than having equidistant instances.

 

In this particular case, you might consider how much you wish to represent a real (normal) horseshoe; apart from the fuller (groove) which can be omitted, such a shoe has no nail hole(s) at the toe.

 

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 6, 2023

For the circles in the horseshoe I wouldn't use a blend, because blending along a path most of the time can get really tricke. The spacing depends on the length of the handles which almost never matches. I would just creates a dotted line. You have to apply dashes to the stroke. Make the line endings round. Dash length is 0 and gap as you wish.

B
Community Expert
Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 6, 2023

The method I used to create the centerline in my example above yielded a perfectly symmetrical source path for the blend.

B
Community Expert
Bobby HendersonCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
July 6, 2023

The white circles inside the horseshoe can be spaced evenly by using a blend applied to a curved path following the centerline of the horseshoe's curve. You can build that centerline by making a 1 step blend from inner and outer portions of the horseshoe path (do this with a copy of the horseshoe on another layer). It sounds complicated but it's pretty easy to do with Illustrator's path editing tools. Edit: here's an example image of the horseshoe shape with the centerline element I'm describing:

 

Very often when I build centerline paths using the Blend effect I have to reverse path direction on one of the two source paths to get the new centerline path to flow the desired way. Once that is done it's just a matter of attaching the blend to the new centerline path using the Replace Spline command in the Blend flyout menu.

Regarding the red, curved shape. If it's a pixel-based image, I'd just lock it down on one layer and then use the Pen tool to draw a clean path over the top of it on another layer. That's going to be faster than trying to make envelopes replicate the shape.

B
Community Expert
Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 6, 2023

Just for fun, I couldn't resist applying an old "proverb" as an art brush to a centerline in the horseshoe:

Piter1288
Piter1288Author
Inspiring
July 6, 2023

Glad you had fun with it! Which font is that btw?

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