Distribute non-uniform objects equally
Would love to have a function that would arrange/distribute different non-uniform objects evenly within a prescribed area. This would be similar to how the current horizontal and vertical "distribute spacing" works but across a two dimensional area rather than just one dimension. The spacing should based on the edge of each object, not from the bounding box.
This function would be valuable for:
-creating unique patterns
-quickly arranging objects for a layout involving many individual objects
-maximizing space for printing/die cutting individual custom pieces such as stickers
User defined parameters could include:
-apply to selected objects
-fit within artboard
-fit within custom shape
-uniformly scale objects to fit area
-overlap objects when necessary
-expand beyond border when necessary
-rotate objects
-rotation limit (degrees)
-minimum space between object edges
-outside edge of objects (ragged/aligned)
-optical spacing (more space between large objects, less between smaller objects)
Seth
shared this idea
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What you are looking for is 'nesting'. It’s quite easy to do with native Transform effect when you deal with simple repeatable shapes, but if they are different in shapes and sizes... then it goes beyond Ai’s general capabilities directly to prepress tools. Still, there are some solutions for Ai, but they have their limitations.
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Seth
commented
Thanks, Egor. These are some interesting options especially for creating patterns. Would love it if Adobe incorporated many of the AstuteGraphics' tools into native Illustrator.
I'm also looking for a tool or function that will give a little more control over laying out a set of objects or groups. For example vector art that will be printed as individual stickers that need to be spaced out a certain distance from each other. The tools you mentioned either overlap items or space things in a grid format, which is nice, but they don't quite maximize space the way I would like.
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Seth, you should try Space Fill plugin by AstuteGraphics:
https://www.youtube.com/c/astutegraphics/search?query=space%20fillAlso, you can try these free scripts:
https://github.com/alexander-ladygin/illustrator-scripts#harmonizer
https://github.com/alexander-ladygin/illustrator-scripts#fillinger
