[PookJP]

I don't consider myself an Illustrator master, but I can certainly get around the program quite well. One thing that has eluded me is how to scale concentric shapes with radiused corners.

Let's just say we have three round rectangles (not perfect squares) within each other, each .5 inch in from the one previous on all sides. When you scale all three down, the proportions between the sides (left and right) and the top/bottom get messed up, as do the spaces within the radiuses.

In other words, I want to have .5 inch between the rectangles all the way around, be it on the top, bottom, or middle of the radius. How do you do this? It seems there is always a bulge in the radius, or the sides (left/right) will gain a larger space than the top/bottom.


Hope this made any sense at all.

[frownyfrank]

Yeah, I totally know what you're talking about. I don't use Illustrator as much, but it's the same issue in all programs.

It depends on what you are doing with the illustration, but the best way I know is to take the smallest box, duplicate it, and increase the stroke by double the previous, or however much you need. Rinse. Repeat.

That might not work if you need to import that art into flash, or you need to put gradients, etc, on the whole box. In that case, I know at least in Freehand you can do something like Expand Stroke and it will take the outside edge of a stroke and make it a box in that shape.

Hope that helps.

[designbc]

Create one rectangle with rounded corners. Then go to Object > Path > Offset Path and enter the amount desired. It will create another rectangle with the radius of the corners increased the same amount of the sides. Play a little with it. You can enter positive numbers (it gorws to the outside) or negative (to the inside).

[MikeM33]

I dunno but it sounds like you're expecting the space to be 1/2 inch between the shapes. When you scale it down as a group, the space will obviously be a fraction of the 1/2 inch you originally drew.

Perhaps scaling them down and re-positioning them is a better method?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying though

MikeM

[PookJP]

Originally posted by designbc:
Create one rectangle with rounded corners. Then go to Object > Path > Offset Path and enter the amount desired. It will create another rectangle with the radius of the corners increased the same amount of the sides. Play a little with it. You can enter positive numbers (it gorws to the outside) or negative (to the inside).

There it is! Thank you so much.