How to Easily Design a Spiral Mesh Orb in Illustrator

Illustrator Shapes

Creating intricate designs in Adobe Illustrator can seem like a daunting task, and a spiral mesh orb is a good example of this. However, by using the right tools and techniques, it becomes a straightforward and enjoyable process. The Transform Panel is a powerful feature in Illustrator that allows you to manipulate and duplicate shapes with precision and ease. By leveraging this tool, you can create complex patterns and designs with just a few clicks. This method not only saves time but also ensures accuracy and consistency in your artwork. Today, I will show you how easy it is to make your own spiral mesh orb in Illustrator, in under 5 minutes, with the ability to change the shape and colors even after the effect is finished.

Step 1

Open Illustrator and make a new file at any size you want. For this tutorial, I will make mine at 1080 x 1080 px.

Step 2

Select the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw a rectangle covering your whole canvas using any color you want. In this case, I will set mine to black so you can better see the effect.

Step 3

Select the Ellipse Tool (L) and be sure to have the Fill set to "none" in the toolbar.

Step 4

Click once over the artboard and set the Width and Height to any value that you want for your circle.

Step 5

With the circle selected, go to Window > Stroke and set the stroke Weight to 3pt.

Step 6

Go to Window Gradient.

Step 7

In the Gradient window select the Stroke, the Linear Gradient option and set any kind of gradient that you want. In this case, I will set mine from #00acec to #ca0088.

Step 8

Lastly, with the circle selected, go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Apply the following settings and click OK in the Transform Effect window.

Some Final Notes:

Now that you know how to easily make a spiral mesh orb in Illustrator, you can change the stroke gradient from the Gradient window or even edit the shape as you normally would in Illustrator, without having to recreate the entire effect and generate new shapes, as shown in the following example.