Adobe Illustrator Class 6 Rotate Tool & Wrist Watch Illustration (Tech Learning 4U)

 Adobe Illustrator Class 6 Rotate Tool & Wrist Watch Illustration :

Hello everyone ! welcome to Tech Learning 4U . i am your teacher Zohaib and today is our 6th class of Adobe Illustrator

today we will learn Rotate Tool.

this is a very interesting tool with which we can create many interesting things

with some careful calculations

i have already told you that for rotation

we usually use selection tool

but today we will see what is the task of rotate tool

no doubt there are some extra feature

so lets get started

so till now you have done

rotation with the selection tool

this way

it is good

but lets see what this rotate tool offers us

for using rotate tool let me tell you few things

while using rotate tool

you have two options

either you select the object and rotate it this way

and second option is

you can see the pivot point in the centre

a small point

known as pivot point . It is that point

around which a thing rotates. for example

if i click here . i have not rotate it nor drag it

only clicked it

the point comes here

now if i hold it and rotate it

it will rotate this way . it is not rotating from the center

but is rotating from the pivot point

in the same way if I

click it and press the alt button simultaneously

then it will also copy

which means that if i press ctrl D

then it will repeat the same step

like i am now pressing ctrl D

but this is not giving accurate results. because angle is not accurate

now i will tell you how to take accurate angle

number 1 . when you take pivot point

press alt and drag and also press shift with it

it will automatically rotate the object at 45degree

now here i have released the button

and now i am pressing ctrl D

i have put num lock on off mode there is repeated indication down the screen

my viewers gets confused sometimes

actually my keyboard's numlock was on so i put that off

alright

lets make it again

i simply made an oval

and with rotate tool

i clicked here

then pressed alt and shft

u can see it snapped at 45 degree

and now i am releasing my keys

please do remember not to release the keys

release button of mouse first and then ctrl D

i hope u have understood till here . its quite easy

now the question is if i have to rotate something on a specific angle

i can give u a very easy example of this

suppose this is a circle

and i need to put 25 stars around it

so lets make a star

my smart guide is guiding me to the centre

now

take the rotate tool

your guide is indicating the centre but i am telling you an easy way

that if you select your circle and press cntrl R

with ctrl R your rulers will appear

drag your guides from both ways to the centre

both vertically and horizontally to the center

now even though my circle is not selected

but I know its centre point

this is important

now i select this star

took the rotate tool and press the alt botton and click it in the centre

what will happen when u press the alt button

it will ask you at what degree you have to rotate

ans how many stars i had planned to put...25

lets do a small calculation

i am putting the calculator on screen

in a complete circle there are 360 degrees

now 360 divided by 25 as i have to put 25 stars

if u want 20 then divide by 20 if 50 then divide by 50

i have divided by 25

i got 14.4 as the result

means i have to rotate at 14.4 degree

so lets fill 14.4 in the coloum

if u want to see it please switch on the preview but don't press OK

but press COPY

THIS WILL GENERATE THE COPY AND NOW PRESS ctrl D

and here are your 25 stars around the circle

if u want to count, u can. i am not ; )

alright

so i hope that rotate tool is clear to u up till here

its quite easy

it is very interesting but keep this thing in mind

like i have made these stars

with alt button

it will give u dialog box

u put your desired value in it

the number u want should be divided to 360

so .as i have told you in the beginning of the class that we will make an interesting thing today

this interesting thing is wrist watch

we will make a simple flat design

but before that i would like to tell you some important things

so that it will help you to make that thing

one thing that we need the most

now i am hiding my guides

to hide the guides i am pressing ctrl with semi colon ctrl ;

if i will press ctrl ; the guides will appear again

but for now i am hiding these

now one more thing which is very important

suppose we make some objects and wanted to align them together

and the width is different for different objects

i will select them together

there is align box on the top

click it align panel will appear

if u want to keep it on screen then go to windows

choose align

a panel will appear .if u see it carefully

there are few things in it like

there is a line and two boxes are attached to its left

means u can left align the objects

for example

but why horizontal align

objects we have kept are vertical

but the movement of this is horizontal

that is why horizontal align similarly if i want to centre align

then this

if right then this

if my objects are like this

then press middle and the bottom

i hope this is clear to u

one other important thing

if you want to spread your objects

spacing is also given to u

this is horizontal distribute centre

and if these are kept vertically

then u press this

one thing more that your first and last object

are most important as only with their spacing

other middle ones are adjusted

if i select the objects and adjust them

only middle ones will adjust the last and first will not move

this thing we can take it in another way too

for example. i have a square and in the centre

i have to draw a circle

i will change the color of my circle

i select both of them

now i have done horizontal align center and then the vertical align centre

this will exactly come in the center but pay attention to one thing

that i have make square first and then the circle

and whatever thing you make in the last

will appear on front in the entire arrangement

if u make circle first and then the square

lets delete this one ... a new square

this i have made later

means this is in front. now if i align both of them

they get aligned but they are not visible

dont worry. it is at the back . right click

select arrange then sent to back

in this way you can make multiple objects

lets say ...here are multiple circles

lets change their colors

ok.

if i select all of them and align vertically and horizontally both

they will align

have u noticed one thing

that all these circle have left their places and align themselves

i am showing it again...see

now i want that all of these should center themselves to the orange one

means orange one should not move

u select all of them and click the orange one once

a border will appear around the orange circle

it shows that this one will not move during alignment

now if i align u will see that orange one has not moved

if u want u can do this with other circle also

like i have chosen purple one as my master object

now i select all and click purple one and align them

i hope everything is clear to u till here

alright

lets make a wrist watch

so wrist watch that i am going to make

is not of high quality

but will be of basic and flat design

and i hope u will like it. we will use rotate tool

to add membrane and lines in watch 's dial

so i am making a grey colored circle

this will be my main dial

lets make it small . it is too big

now i am taking the help of my guides which are already here

take your circle in the center where there is intersect

perfect

we don't have a need to move this object

i am just locking it

to lock it select OBJECT and Lock

the selected object will get locked

ctrl 2 is the short cut to it

and if you are getting confused just go on to the layer panel and lock the path of the layer

now I am making a simple circle for symbolizing my hours

and i will make its color change to light green

we need 12 more circles

so I take my rotate tool

i clicked in the center with alt

lets calculate 360 divided by 12 gives you 30

simply put 30 in the box

instead of 'ok' click 'copy'

and then ctr l D

so this gives you your hours

lets do one thing select all the hours , right click and group them

grouping gives you an advantage . you can easily align them afterwards

lets move them aside the e art-board for sometime so that it will distract you

now I want to make my minutes lines. lets take our hours too

i am making a rectangle shaped box within the hour circle

make sure it should lie within the center of the circle

and I am making it light grey

now i want to rotate it

and now i press alt and clicked in the center

lets calculate 360 divided by 60 ( as we have 60 minutes) gives you 6 degrees

put 6 and press 'copy' and ctrl D

that's it

now one more problem

like i have made this. grey line appears on top of green circle

no problem. you can select it individually and delete it

or click right - arrange - send to back

lets put it aside for a while

select all that is left and press ctrl G (group)

now select all ( hours also) and align them to the center making minutes as master object

i hope till now the watch is being made nicely

now we need its needles

or arms

i am making it randomly

i am making a rectangle

i have added a point in the centre . took the direct selection

with shift i am taking it upwards

here also, i added a point

with direct selection i moving it downwards

i want to make upper tip a bit narrow

i select this point ... i don't want to make it too narrow ...just a little

so one, two

i am moving it through my keyboard

one more from each side

i am bringing my a little bit downward making it less pointed

that's it

now i want to put some design here

as it is too simple which i don't like

so lets do one thing

lets make a box here and change its color to black

lets select both of them

with shape builder tool delete the extra part

now i also want a cut out here too

so i am making one more box

select the parts and center align

with direct selection I am bringing it bit outside

now i am selecting the cut out and with shape builder removing the extra part

so this is one arm

now i take second arm for hours

I am making it smaller in size

through direct selection

OK

lets make it bit broad.....

alright... lets group each of the object

now I rotate both of these this way and keep them like this

and I am making a black circle in its center

i am changing the color of black part to grey

OK

now i am selecting both the arms

i am putting my guides ON so as to place the arms exactly in the center

these are bit big in size ...lets make them smaller

that's it

now

up till here it is done

now I am not liking the green color

I am making it light grey

much better

fineso what is left?

our SECONDS

lets make a rectangle .

with the help of key board and direct selection , i am moving the points inward

oops!! this is too much

sorry ! sorry!

there are many ways to narrow down these

but I have not yet told you many things

through scale tool it is possible

but for now I want to keep things simpler

so that u can make things easily and does not get confused

so lets take down two points from each side

and

lets make a box here

and the same color, I am pasting here also and I am adding a circle too

this will look good

i have grouped the second hand

make it smaller with the help of shift button

of course! this has gone to the back

this should have been at the top

so right click- arrange- bring to front

and select this and bring it to the center

now I want to rotate it

so it is better to take the rotate tool

place the pivot point here and rotate it

this is quite big in size

so I am making it smaller

That's it. now the problem is

this is looking too flat. lets do one thing .

the arms that I have grouped

I am selecting them

individually

and I am putting one effect which is new for you

but lets put it

go to EFFECTS - stylize - drop shadow

don't put much values in drop shadow

firstly put a tick on preview

see its too much.. we will make it less

I am making its opacity 50 %

I don't need an X offset . so I am putting it to zero

what is X offset?

that how much shadow you want on X axis

Y offset now is 7 but I am making it less

3

blur also, I am making it 3

That's it .... we just have to do this

if we see it closely , it has added depth to our object

which is quite good......ah!ah! this is looking very odd

lets put it right

lets keep it aside for sometime

we are goin to make one more thing ...A circle

we are making the outer part, that is the body of the watch

take a rectangle tool

and make a rectangle

align the objects together

I am taking a copy of this

the align panel is here also

we can use the align from here too

do distribute the objects so as to avoid gaps

select the entire thing

and with the help of shape builder I have joined it

we need one more rectangle

if u want make it of different color

so that u may be able to see it properly

take a copy

select the whole thing and align and distribute

now with shape builder and alt remove the extra part

it is looking a bit odd

lets do one thing

i have selected the upper anchor points

and with shft I am moving my arrow keys down

it helps to move 10 pixels directly

fine

similarly i am taking the lower arrow points 10 pixel upwards

and delete the extra part with shape builder

now I am selecting all these four corners with shft button

now if you have Illustrator cc , you have an advantage

if u drag it , u can see a curve easily

now again I am selecting the outer four corners

and making an inward curve

i hope a beautiful thing is being made in front of you

and this is looking good.

I am going quite slow so I hope you are getting the things

now if i pick this and place it in the centre

right click - arrange - send to back

make it bigger

fine

now

I think I should bring this part a little bit outwards

as it is getting too close

so I selected this and bring ten points down

I think this is sufficient

fine

with shift i am doing here too

perfect

now I have to make its belt

one more thing , I am changing its color

to grey.... now its looking nice

making belt is not a rocket science

simply take a rectangle

fine

and

make it bit narrow

i have pressed alt

pressing alt helps in adjusting width not only from one side but from both the sides

fine

this really helps

I am moving it a little bit

that's it......we want to put some gaps

now my art board is small for this

i want a bigger art-board

lets do one thing.......this is a art-board tool

take this and with shft button adjust the size of your art-board

I am selecting the whole watch and placing it in the center

take the copy of the belt and place it one the top

we will fix it later

now here I want something pointed

so I am again bringing my guides here

now why I am keeping guides here ? because

I want points on both the sides

if there were no guides i would have fixed my points in inaccurate manner

fine...I am increasing the length of this part also

I am also adding one point in its center

well u don't even need this point

with the help of shft directly take the points inwards

fine

now select both the points and round the corners

also select these two and round them too

so this is our one side

now I am taking this side here

and here we need a buckle

for making a buckle , we will make a rectangle again

fine

take a copy of this

and make it small

now select both of them

take shape builder

delete the unwanted part

with direct selection make it bigger

fine

now here I am making a rounded rectangle

this has to be in the center

so select it and align it to the center

again take shape builder and delete the unwanted part

I am making a rounded rectangle again but a slimmer one

this part is too big ...lets make it smaller

usually wrist watches have small buckles

fine

now I want to put some more details on its belt

especially its color

lets make this belt ....this color

i am making this part bit bigger

I want stitching on its belt

for stitching i would like to tell you one thing

it is not a difficult task

I simply made a rectangle

I am changing the color of its stroke to light grey

I have already told you the properties of stroke in our last class.......Dash lines

put a tick on dash lines ....lets make it 4 pts

now the problem is that this part is looking very bad

so I want to teach you one more thing

i want a similar shape of this but a slimmer one

so select this

simply go to OBJECT menu

go to PATH

and OFFSET PATH

OFFSET PATH gives you a copy

big and small both

at present it is showing 10 pts

see I am adjusting the values with my scroll wheel

with scroll wheel I am going into minus values

i need minus 10

I guess minus 10 is fine .....so press ok

see a copy is generated

and I am simply putting a stroke on it

dash stroke

4pts.........perfect

so here is your stitching effect

I am doing the same thing here also

you can see here is a curve

again the same step will help ............PATH .....OFFSET PATH

the last value is already here

put the preview on

see it is here

select it...........take eyedropper tool

and click on this part

fine....exactly the same values apply here also

that's it

one thing more....we need some holes here

so

lets make...

an oval

put this off

I am making it dark grey

near to black

take a copy of this

slide it downwards

and make it light grey

a little lighter

or .... a little dark.....right

alright....select these two

and group them so that they should remain together ctrl G

and now I have taken its copies

that's it

no....one thing is still missing

CROWN

very quickly I am making its crown too

i am simply making a rectangle

fine.....and...........

inside this I am making a small rectangle of darker shade

or do one thing

select these points and make them round

so see from front it is round and from back it is flat

so I am taking its copy

and ctrl D

select these two points and make them round from corners

perfect

select the whole crown and group it

make it smaller

and fix it here

send to back

perfect

i hope everything is understood .

something good has been created

it was no doubt a bit lenghtier

i know some things in this are looking quite odd

some things are visible while some are not

dont worry

today, first time you have made something properly in this class

so , I know it is quite simple

if something in this is not clear to u

you can put your queries in the comments below

or contact me and ask me ...I will definitely guide your query

and I really need your feedback

I hope you will give me a feedback

thank you!!!!!

so i hope you will definitely practice this....

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!