Abstract Wall Art from One Circle
All the abstract designs in this video come from the same simple idea: one circle with a gradient stroke, split into two halves, multiplied with a blend, and then rotated step by step. Change the angle or the colours and you get a completely different piece. The result works well as wall art, a poster background or a cover design, and the shapes can also be sold on stock marketplaces as separate elements or as bundles.
What you will use
- Rectangle and Ellipse tools
- Gradient panel with “Apply gradient along stroke”
- Scissors Tool with Smart Guides and Snap to Point
- Object > Blend > Make and Blend Options
- Object > Expand Appearance
- Rotate Tool and Ctrl+D (Transform Again)
- Clipping mask, and optionally Camera Raw in Photoshop for texture
Step 1: Document and background
Create a square document, for example 1000 x 1000 px. A square is easier to work with for this design. Draw a rectangle the same size as the artboard, centre it, and fill it with a dark tone. Pick your palette first by drawing a few small squares and filling them with random colours: one dark colour for the background and two bright colours for the line gradient. Lock the background with Ctrl+2.
Step 2: The gradient stroke circle
Select the Ellipse Tool, click on the artboard and enter 100 x 100. Remove the fill and give the circle a stroke only. Set the stroke to a gradient, then in the Gradient panel (with Stroke selected) change the two colour stops to your two bright colours. Set the stroke weight to 15 pt. Make sure the circle is centred on the artboard. This matters, because every later step rotates around the centre.
Step 3: Cut the circle in two
Turn on Smart Guides and Snap to Point. With the Scissors Tool, click the top anchor point and the bottom anchor point of the circle. You now have two half circles, each with its own gradient. Select both and in the Gradient panel choose “Apply gradient along stroke” so the colour runs from one end of the path to the other instead of straight across.
Step 4: Fake the infinite loop
Illustrator can only put one half on top of the other, but you can fake an interlocking loop with the gradient. Select the top half, move the end colour stop inwards, add the same colour at the very end and set that last stop’s opacity to 0. The end of the stroke fades out, so the half below appears to pass over it. Do the same on both halves and both ends look woven.
Step 5: Blend to many circles
Make a copy of the circle and give it a solid stroke colour for now (a gradient stroke does not survive the Transform and Expand steps cleanly, which is why the video switches to a solid colour here). Centre it, then hold Alt and scale a second copy up until it covers the whole artboard. Select the small and the large circle and go to Object > Blend > Make. Open Blend Options and choose Specified Distance so the circles are spaced evenly.
Step 6: Expand and re-apply the gradient
Select the blend and go to Object > Expand Appearance. In the dialog tick Object only, and untick Fill and Stroke so the gradient is not expanded into shapes. Right-click and Ungroup. Each circle is still made of two halves. Use the Direct Selection Tool to select all the top halves, pick the gradient with the Eyedropper (I) and set it to “along stroke”. Repeat for the bottom halves.
Step 7: Design one, rotate everything
Select all the lines (not the background) and rotate them 45 degrees. Draw an artboard-sized rectangle, centre it, select everything except the background and make a clipping mask. That is the first design.
Step 8: Design two, rotate step by step
Go back to the unrotated version. Select all the lines, double-click the Rotate Tool and enter an angle, for example 15 degrees. Now hold Shift and click the outermost circle to deselect it, then press Ctrl+D to repeat the rotation on the remaining circles. Deselect the next circle, press Ctrl+D again, and continue until only the smallest circle is left. Each circle ends up turned a little more than the one outside it, which creates the twisting pattern. Finish with an artboard-sized clipping mask.
Step 9: Design three, random rotations
The third design uses the same steps, but the circles are selected in a random order and given random angles. The loops no longer line up, which gives a looser, more organic result.
Optional: texture in Photoshop
Bring the finished artwork into Photoshop and open Filter > Camera Raw Filter. Add a vignette to darken the edges and a little grain for a printed look. You can also shift the colours here if you want variations for a set.
Conclusion
Once you understand the sequence (gradient circle, cut, blend, expand, rotate with Ctrl+D) you can produce dozens of designs by changing only the angle, the spacing and the palette. Keep the circle centred and remember to expand as Object only, and the rest is experimentation.
Links from the video
- Sell your artwork on MasterBundles (video sponsor): https://masterbundles.com
- Join the members-only content: https://bit.ly/3fEEvD4
- Premium tutorials on Udemy: http://bit.ly/2Cqmcgo
- Digital Art Creation store: https://bit.ly/3C0Heyn
