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Controlling rotation in Illustrator
Rotating elements in Illustrator is straightforward - you can use the Selection tool, or the Rotate tool, and simply drag to rotate.
However, how do you do this if you want to rotate something to a particular angle? And additionally, what if you want to rotate the object around a different centre point? For example, you might want to draw a clock face, and set the tick marks accurately using 30º increments.
Step by step: using the Rotate tool
To use the rotate tool, first select any object, then click on the Rotate tool.
To constrain rotation to 45º increments, hold down the Shift key as you rotate. To make a copy of the object, hold down the Alt key as well. Let go of the mouse first, then the keys, and you have a rotated copy. Note that the cursor appears doubled when you hold down Alt.
The small light blue marker visible in the centre of the object represents the axis of rotation. If you want to change the axis of rotation, you can either drag the marker or click anywhere you like to move it to a new position. Now when you rotate the object, it will rotate around the new centre point.
Repeating the transformation (step and repeat)
Keeping the copied object selected, go to the Object menu, and Select Transform, Transform Again. Repeat this as many times as you need (save time by using the keyboard shortcut for Transform Again).
Rotate an object to a particular angle:
Select an object, then doubleclick on the actual Rotate tool. Alternatively, go to the Object menu, and select Transform, Rotate.
Type in the Angle you require, and click Copy, or Ok to rotate the original without copying. Note that the object is rotated counter-clockwise by default. Use negative values for clockwise rotation.
So far, so good, but how do we combine both things: setting the axis and the angle of rotation?
Step by step - Draw a clockface:
Draw the background circle by holding down the Shift key as you draw.
Draw the hour marker - I drew a simple rectangle, but any shape will do.
Align the two shapes by selecting both of them, then clicking the Horizontal Align Centre button in the Options bar, or by using the Align panel.
Now select the hour marker.
Click on the Rotate tool.
Here's the trick: hold down the Alt key, and click on the centre of the circle.
This pops up the Rotate dialog box, and sets the axis of rotation as well.
Type in the angle of rotation you require (in this case 30º would be appropriate), and click the Copy button. Apply the Repeat Transform command to continue making rotated copies.
The same technique can be applied to the other Transformation commands - Scale, Shear and Reflect.
relevant stuff
Important Keyboard modifiers
Hold down the Shift key to constrain rotation to °45 increments. (This value can be changed via Preferences.)
Hold down the Alt key to make a copy while rotating.
Finding the centre
It's much easier to find the centre of an object with Smart Guides switched on (View menu, Smart Guides), as Illustrator will show you an 'intersect' marker when you are in the right place. Alternatively, you can work in Outline view (View menu, Outline), which makes the centre of the circle visible by default.
Aligning to a Key Object
When aligning objects to each other, first select all the objects you want to align, then make one of them a Key Object by clicking on it again. You don't need to hold down the Shift key as you do this - Shift+clicking turns the selection off and on again.
