Best way to create an array of objects in Illustrator?

Question

I often find myself needing to create an array of objects, either in a straight line, rotated around a centre point, or angled along a path. At the moment I'm using all sorts of different and no-doubt stupid ways to do it, usually one at a time with a little head-math and the transform palette- And I know it's the dumb way to do it. Can anybody point me to the correct way, or to a plugin if it's not possible in Illustrator?

Answer 1

Go to Effects -> Distort/Trasnform -> Transform... Add amount of copies you want then play with the array controls

Answer 2

There are a few ways to achieve this...

• The quickest method is to translate, scale, or rotate an object while duplicating it. To duplicate an object in Windows, hold down the 'alt' key*. The transformation and duplication can then be repeated by pressing CTRL + D.

• For greater precision, select a transformation tool from the toolbox and press enter. A dialogue should then appear, allowing you to enter numerical values, and has a 'copy' button. Again, once the dialogue has closed, you can press CTRL + D to repeat.

• The Blend tool can 'step' objects, which also has an option for rotating objects to match a path.

• The 'Actions' palette can record and playback multiple transformations.

• Illustrator supports a number of languages for scripting, and this offers the most flexible solution but is generally more time consuming to learn and set up.

*Mac key combinations may differ slightly.

Answer 3

You can also use scripting. For example, this is how you can create 20 path items with random rotation and position from center.

// creating a document
var doc = app.documents.add();
// adding a new layer
var layer = doc.layers.add();

// variable declarations
var i, ray, displacement, dx, dy;

// creating 20 path items in a loop and setting their parameters
for (i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
    // adding a path item and saving it to the "ray" variable
    ray = layer.pathItems.add();
    // defining path points
    ray.setEntirePath([ [0, 0], [0, 10]]);

    // generating a random angle for rotation
    // note: rotation in Illustrator is counter-clockwise
    ray.rotation = Math.round(Math.random() * 360);
    // applying rotation to the path, using its bottom as the origin point
    ray.rotate(ray.rotation, true, true, true, true, Transformation.BOTTOM);

    // moving the path away from the center of the document by "displacement" amount
    displacement = 10 + Math.random() * 10;
    // calculating x and y coordinates from "displacement"
    // (which is basically a hypotenuse)
    dx =   displacement * Math.sin( (180 + ray.rotation) * Math.PI / 180 );
    dy = - displacement * Math.cos( (180 + ray.rotation) * Math.PI / 180 );
    // translating the path
    ray.translate(dx, dy);
}

You can then save this as "somefile.js" and execute by File->Scripts->Other script... Or paste it into the ExtendScript toolkit and run it from there.

Answer 4

I find using a technical vector based programs to be the best.

I have Illustrator and AutoCAD open at the same time and can copy clip vector lines into Illustrator. If you know how to use both, you can fly through geometric design work.