Create flower shapes in Illustrator

Creating vector flower shapes in Illustrator couldn't be easier with DynamicShapes and PathScribe (both part of the VectorScribe plugin). Many tutorials on how to make flowers will show you how to do it with the Pucker and Bloat effect in Illustrator. This is perfect if you want a 4 pointed object, but it you want more than 4 petals then you have to start adding more points to the circle and then make sure they are evenly spaced. This becomes more and more complicated, with more clicks and more time. But there is an easy way!

Dynamic Shapes allows you to create basic shapes in Illustrator, and with the up/down arrow keys, you can add more or less perfectly spaced segments. PathScribe then allows you to select all the handles on your shape and manipulate them in one go with live feedback, giving you much more control than Pucker and Bloat, and no need to expand the appearance either.

Creating flower shapes in Illustrator:

🌼 Draw out a Dynamic Circle with the Dynamic Shapes tool (part of the VectorScribe plugin).

🌼 Use the UP arrow key to increase the anchor points.

🌼 Navigate to the PathScribe Panel (also part of VectorScribe).

🌼 Click Select All Handles on the Selected Path button.

🌼 Make sure you’re in the Counter-rotation mode. It says this at the bottom of the PathScribe Panel. If you’re in Normal rotation mode, press the C key to toggle over.

🌼 Drag one of the selected handles up and out from your circle and all the handles will follow.

🌼 Release the mouse when you’re happy with your flower shape.