Vector Field in Illustrator
Out of context: Reply #10
- Started
- Last post
- 15 Responses
- monNom1
This can be done with some creative control using the symbol spinner tool.
Here's a video that doesn't really show the power of this tool when applied to multiple instances of a symbol, but it's gives you the general idea on a single symbol:
To achieve the effect you want, create your symbol for your vector cell, then array it along x and y to create a grid. Select all and then grab your symbol spinner tool. Dragging the brush over your selection will show you a bunch of direction vectors that attempt to rotate the symbol to match the brush vector, with some fall-off toward the edges. You may want to ctrl+h to hide outlines while doing this as the rotation vectors can get lost among the edges.
You can double click the symbol spinner tool to lower the intensity if you want to have a smoother result. Just paint multiple strokes over your grid to build up the smooth vector flow you want.