Best way to "bend" an object

[TheChadSD]

I have a custom rectangular object I would like to bend along an arced path.  My goal is to take 3 of my custom rectangular objects and bend each one along an arc that represents roughly 1/3 of a circle (~120 degress each) and position them so they form a 3 phase, circular cycle graphic.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Jesseham-jc1rvC]

You can try using effect->warp, but that might mangle too much. [edit - also might be hard to apply to a precise circle]

You can try making a custom brush out of the 3 of them laid end to end and apply that to a circular path.  Lay them out in a line and drag them onto the brush panel.  Choose Art Brush from the dialog that comes up.

[TheChadSD]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I think the warp effect would work if I was trying to make a 2 phase cycle graphic because the horizontal bend options at 100% and -100% create perfect half circles but since I'm trying to make a 3 phase cycle graphic, I need something that can make a 1/3 of a circle (~120 degrees). 

Also, I did try creating a custom brush and it works in principle but it makes some changes and distortions to the proportions and angles of my custom object that aren't acceptable.  So still looking for other ideas.

[Jesseham-jc1rvC]

Sounds like you're looking to bend your group without distorting it's contents.  There's not really any way to do that.  If you have text, it's going to get stretched weirdly.  If you have geometric objects/relationships, they'll be bigger on the outside of the circle and such...

The only way that I can think of to deal with that would be to use the art that comes out of the brush method as a template for redrawing the art with text on a path and such.

[Jacob Bugge]

Or, especially if you wish to be able to work with each object individually, or to adjust the lengths, you may just make each into an Artbrush (drag and drop upon the New Brush button in the Brushes palette), and apply to each part of a  circle cut in three.

My goal is to take 3 of my custom rectangular objects and bend each one along an arc that represents roughly 1/3 of a circle (~120 degress each) and position them so they form a 3 phase, circular cycle graphic.

Should it be precisely 120 degrees or not? The best way of cutting depends on it.

[TheChadSD]

It does not need to be exactly 120 degrees, as long as the 3 bent objects align in the circular cycle graphic and look ascetically clean, sharp and professional it will work.

[Jacob Bugge]

SD,

Maybe a few images showing the originals and the bent shapes may help the helpers suggest a way to overcome the distortions of the latter.

[TheChadSD]

Sure, I'm attaching a PDF showing the original custom rectangular object and the best results I've had so far.  I've used the art brush method a couple folks in this thread have mentioned but as you can see, the arrow ends get distorted in the process.  So I'm looking for a way to work around this...

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

SD,

... the arrow ends get distorted in the process.  So I'm looking for a way to work around this...

You can get past that by and get straigt arrowheads by:

1) Create three concentric circles: two to form the arrow shafts, the third at least the size to hold the outermost parts of the arrowheads;

2) Create the triangular end shape, as a triangle, to duplicate and form the arrowheads;

3) Place 2) so its base extends equal amounts past the shaft circles at the same horizontal level as the centre;

4) Select 3) and the outer circle and rotate copies 120 degrees twice so you have the three arrowheads pointing one way;

5) Delete the outermost circle;

6) Group, Select all, and reflect a copy horizontally so you also have the opposite arrowheads;

7) Rotate the copy to get the desired gap between the arrow points;

8) Select all and Pathfinder>Divide;

9) Delete the parts between the arrow points;

10) Merge the shapes forming each double arrow and colour/whatever;

11) Rotate the lot to final orientation.

In 9) - 10)  you may Ungroup (enough) or use the Direct Selection Tool.

[TheChadSD]

It works!  I had to take a little while to recreate your steps but finally figured it out, the divide and merge pathfinder is key.  Thanks for your help!!!

[Jacob Bugge]

You are welcome, SD.

[JETalmage]

First, let me point out that the figure you are trying to draw--since the shanks of the arrows are just uniform in thickness anyway--can be done by simply applying the Arrowheads Effect to a circular arc:

Also, I did try creating a custom brush and it works in principle but it makes some changes and distortions to the proportions and angles of my custom object that aren't acceptable.

Sounds like you're looking to bend your group without distorting it's contents.  There's not really any way to do that.

Yes, there is. In this kind of problem, remember two things:

A single Path can have multiple strokes applied. Those strokes can be ordinary Strokes, Brushes, or combinations of those.

The position and spacing of a tile in a Pattern Brush is controlled by an invisible noFill/noStroke rectanguar path at the bottom of the tile's object stack. You can therefore prevent end tiles of a Pattern Brush from being distorted by altering the width of that invisible rectangle such that most of the artwork is outside of it:

Again, the arrows of your figure have ordinary straight shanks. So an ordinary Stroke of a heavy weight serves to draw them. But what if you want the shanks of the arrows to be non-uniform?

Remember that you can apply multiple Strokes to a single path. That means you can apply multiple Brushes (and therefore multiple Brush types) to a single path. Study the white arrows (item 6) in the illustration below. They have tapered shanks, yet they have uniformly-sized and shaped heads and elliptical tails. The illustration shows exactly how they are built. They are a combination of an Artbrush (for the shanks) and a PatternBrush (for the heads and tails) applied to a single path. Saved as a Style, I can use it to draw a "lasso arrow" of any shape/length/weight with the desired result:

JET

[Guest]

That's amazing JETalmage, I have to got to read up more on how to create pattern/tiles.

[andrewthomasclark]

That is maybe the best tutorial that I have ever seen! Thanks!