0 Replies Latest reply: Sep 30, 2011 8:48 AM by Mongo345678 RSS

    Creating Laced Spokes in Illustrator

    Mongo345678 Community Member

      Hey, I had a need to create a laced-spoke wheel for a classic car and motorcycle illustration.

       

      I was having a tough time finding direct instructions online, on how to simply build a basic foundation of spokes do this...

       

      I ended up discovering way on my own, so I decided to post it here for others!

       

       

      1. Create a star with very long arms

      Select the Star shape tool (found in the same tool flyout as the Rectangle shape tool). Click anywhere on the artboard, and you get a prompt asking for details. Enter in whatever values you want, but make sure there's a big difference between Inner diameter and Outer diameter.

       

      2. Rotate only the middle vector points

      Using the Direct Selection tool (the white arrow), select only the middle vector points of the star. Then using the Rotate tool, spin them a little bit. This gives you the off-center characteristic of laced spokes.

       

      3. Copy, flip & rotate the star

      Select the entire star, copy it in place (ctrl + F), then flip it using Object/Transform/Reflect (horizontally or vertically, doesn't matter). Now with the copied star still selected, use the rotate tool to spin it a little bit. You probably want to place it so the copied star's tips are exactly in the middle between the original stars tips.

       

      VOILA this should give you an easy laced-spoke wheel.

       

      Of course you'd have to play with the star settings to achieve the lacing pattern you want.

       

      Cheers