ition a direction of the path. The transformation will be applied to these handles. Use the transform tools or menu commands to change their direction. Again, don't use the Selection Tool (V) for moving points, as it only works with entire objects - choose the Direct Selection Tool to move anchor points. The Transform again feature also works with separate elements, also reference point can be changed just like with entire objects.
Section 7. Dynamic Transformation
All the transformation methods we described above are so-called destructive methods - they change the shape of an object. There are, however, ways of altering an object with non-destructive transformation. This is done with Illustrator Effects. This transformation embodiment can be applied to entire objects only, it does not work with separate points or segments.
Advantages of Effects
Adobe Illustrator Effects allows one to apply transformation or any other change as a style, when the initial object shape is kept intact. In this case all effects are shown in the Appearance panel (Shift + F6) and are fully editable. You can duplicate, delete, change settings of any effect applied to the object in the Appearance panel. If you want to apply all the effects applied to an object, go to Object > Expand. There are plenty of outstanding effects in the Effects menu, but we'll only learn how to work with Transform effect in this tutorial.
In the Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform is hidden an important transformation command. It's a dialog that looks pretty much like the Transform Each window - the same options for scale, move, rotate, flip, and random. All usual transformation tools are combined here in one effect. The only one field we didn't see before is number of copies. Here you cam enter how many copies of the object you want transformed.
Enter all the settings you need for every field and apply - the effect will be shown in the Appearance panel. Now you can go back any second and tweak the settings of the Transform effect, changing dynamically any parameter. The interesting fact is that the initial object shape is not altered - you can check it in outline mode (Command + Y). Moreover, you can apply several transformation effects with different settings to one object.
Free Distort Effect
In the Effect > Distort & Transform > Free Distort there is an effect that works much like the Free Transform Tool we spoke about above. Here you'll see a model of your object with a bounding box and four corner points. You can change the object shape freely by dragging corner points in any direction to distort it manually. Again, the effect is listed in the Appearance panel and does not affect the initial object's shape.
Other Distort & Transform Effects
There are other interesting effects in Effect > Distort & Transform group that can alter the object's visual appearance drastically. Pucker & Bloat drags object anchor points inwards or outwards on the distance you insert. Roughen, Tweak, and Zig Zag create nice random effects. Twist will twist an object to the desired angle. We won't observe them in detail, but try them all to get familiar with these Transform effects.
Any topic in such a powerful program like Adobe Illustrator can be discussed for hours - you always find more secrets, tricks, and new features. It is especially true with Transformation - one of the most popular Illustrator features.
I tried to sum up everything I know about Transformation fundamentals in this tutorial, but I'm sure any of you can practice and find your own secret to transformations. Below is a simple abstract composition created with transformed geometric shapes - an example of how transformation can be applied in your artwork.
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