Illustrator - Clone Objects along a Path?

[SUNCHIRP]

Hi,

Is it possible in Illustrator to take a shape I have created and distribute it along a path, for instance, a spiral ? Ideally I would also like control of the amount distributed and some sort of randomisation of the scaling too.

I can think of a few ways to just fake this and do it manually, but would love to hear some workflow recommendations or even if this is possible at all?

Thanks.

 

[NeedForBleed]

It is indeedy. There are in fact a number of ways to do what you're asking. I personally would take your spiral (provided it is a vector) and make it a brush.

So wherever you draw with the pen, your spiral will form a trail. To do this, highlight your entire spiral, go to the brushes palette, and simply click new brush (which can be found in the top right corner of the brushes tab).
You'll then be prompted with a bunch of options regarding direction/flow of the brush, have a play, I think there are scaling options too.

Alternatively, there's a technique where you can create a path and use envelope distort, but this means your final shape is static, so I won't bore you with that.

Let me know if you have any questions about the above mish mash.:icon_smile:

 

[SUNCHIRP]

Hi, NeedForBleed

Thanks for your feedback, the brush pallette options work perfectly and do exactly what I require, thanks again for the help.

Regards.