In this comprehensive article, we delve into the creative process of center circle design, utilizing tools and techniques within a design platform to achieve the perfect shape and proportion. The guide demystifies the process, going through the step-by-step creation of multiple centered circles within two larger circles.
Key Insights
- The creation process begins with sizing a large circle approximately to the size of the planned center circle, using the ellipse tool within the design platform, and setting the fill to none for visibility.
- The article elaborates on the process of creating smaller circles within the larger ones, emphasizing the use of proportions and maintaining shape while resizing and positioning the ellipses.
- Completing the design involves a series of ellipse duplications and rotations to achieve a symmetrical pattern within the larger circles, followed by saving the work and preparing for further customization.
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In this video, we'll be creating our center circles. So let's begin by zooming in.
In order to create this, we have one large circle, one small circle, and multiple circles in the center. So let's zoom in and begin creating our circles. We'll utilize our shapes and select the Ellipse Tool.
From here, if we click about at the top and hold Shift, we can drag a circle that's approximately the size of the circle in the center. We'll then release, and we'll want to make sure that our Fill is set to None so we can see below. We'll then hit V on the keyboard and drag it to the left while holding Shift to ensure we only drag horizontally.
In addition, we'll want to make sure that our circle perfectly intersects with the center. Next, we want to create our center circle. To do this, we could draw another ellipse, or we can hit CTRL+C on the keyboard to copy our larger ellipse and then hit CTRL+Shift+V on the keyboard to paste it directly on top.
From here, we can drag in from the center, holding Shift to maintain the circle and ALT so that it scales from the center. We'll release when we're about at the size of the smaller circle. As you may notice, the sketch below isn’t perfect, so it may appear slightly skewed when retracing the image.
Next, we need to create the circles on the inside. To do this, we’ll again utilize the Ellipse Tool. I find it easiest to begin by creating an ellipse that matches the height of the path, and then drag below while holding Shift until we're aligned with the ellipse beneath. By doing this, we know it’s exactly the size of the space between the two ellipses.
Then, if we drag in while holding Shift, it will maintain proportions so that it is evenly spaced between the two ellipses. We'll hold Shift and drag it inward. Let's zoom in, and once it's inside the two ellipses, we'll hit V on the keyboard and move it to the left while holding Shift.
We now know that this ellipse is perfectly between our other two ellipses and spaced proportionally in the center. Next, we want to create our second ellipse in the center. To do this, we'll hold ALT on the keyboard and simply drag it downward until we see the pink Smart Guides showing that it’s aligned with the top.
We'll release, and we now have two of our ellipses. In the case of my ellipses, since I have a 3-pixel Stroke, it may not appear to have No Fill; however, this will be visible later in the process.
Next, let's copy these two ellipses by selecting them using V on the keyboard. Select one, then hold Shift to select the second. We'll then hit CTRL+C on the keyboard and CTRL+Shift+V to paste two new ellipses directly on top of the originals, and now we'll rotate them. Right-click and choose Transform > Rotate, enter 90 degrees, and click OK.
We now have four ellipses, but we need four more. Holding Shift, we’ll select the top and bottom ellipses and hit CTRL+C. Then, hit CTRL+Shift+V on the keyboard to paste them on top, and again right-click, select Transform > Rotate, enter 45 degrees, and click OK.
We now have all eight of our circles within our two larger circles. Let's zoom out, and we can see that we've completed our rocket.
We're now ready to fill it. Let's lock our Rocket Sketch layer as well as our Traced Rocket layer, and save our work using CTRL+S on the keyboard. In the next video, we'll begin creating custom swatches from materials provided by our client.
See you there!