Pattern maker frustration

[Mike_Abbott]

Here is my 1,000px x 1,000 px document. It has a 500px square - centered on the artboard showing the base color of the square tile I want to repeat. The two brown shapes are the first two shapes in the pattern. Simples...

Even if I just have the green square visible and selected, then go Object > Pattern > Make. I get this:

Everything is shifted off-center to some unknown location.
Why?

And how can I get everything to remain centered?

This off-center situation means I can't position my other shapes accurately.

Any advice appreciated!

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

Hi Mike,

From what I understand, Patterns are locked to a grid that starts in the upper lefthand corner of your Artboard. So the Patterns are not centered.

If you want to move this Pattern, you can select the object containing the Pattern, double click on your Selection tool, and check just Patterns in the dialog window.

All my best,

Jeff

[Mike_Abbott]

Jeff,

Many thanks for the response and advice. The top left origin makes sense, but I still couldn't get it to do what I wanted. It was a bit of an unusual requirement - I was trying to reverse engineer and re-draw in vector an existing seamless pattern. The tool just doesn't seem set up for that. For one thing there didn't seen any way I could find to draw a pattern while having an underlying template layer for reference. I ended up creating it with old-school step and repeat plus some tweaks.

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

Hi Mike,

While the Pattern Options panel makes it really easy to make Patterns, they are not true Patterns. Either the repeat to the right or left is in front AND the repeat to the top or bottom is in front. So it's really just overlapping tiles.

It's not like the old way of making a Pattern where you created a Tile first that would repeat perfectly. With Pattern Options, you just play with the Width and Height settings until it looks right to you. So it's really hard to work from a template.

Not sure this will be of any help.

Best,

Jeff

[Mike_Abbott]

Thanks Jeff - good info, all noted.  Anyway, I've got done what I need to.

@pixxxel schubser yes - it was a mistake in my writing. It was a 500px square in a 2,000px artboard ; )

[pixxxelschubser]

Mike_Abbott  schrieb

Here is my 1,000px x 1,000 px document. It has a 500px square - centered on the artboard showing the base color of the square tile I want to repeat. The two brown shapes are the first two shapes in the pattern. Simples...

Hi Mike_Abbott,

something is wrong with your values.

This could never be a 500px × 500px square in a 1000px × 1000px document.

Have a look at this:

[Ray Yorkshire]

As illustrator  seems to tile patterns  -  using the  original objects  bounding box limit  from the top left -  using the  Global Rulers origin

So could you have set it up like this

With, for a  artboard -  guides at 0 and  250 global ruler

And a 1000px artbord  created to sit like above , so  its centred with the  500 px pattern  tile and allows the whole pattern to be seen  correctly  when altered