Cirlces within Circles

[Xanzia]

Hi all, i need to draw out a schematic for a paper im writing. The form of the diagram is like an onion with many (8) layers, each of which needs a brief annotation.

I am completely new to PAINT.net and would really appreciate a walk-through 'for dummies' on how to draw circles within circles...hopefully somebody knows about this out there.

Thanks.

[mountnman]

open a new image

go to the layers window and add a new layer

select the elipse tool from the tool window

hold shift then use your mouse to draw a circle- holding shift will draw a perfect circle, without holding shift you would have a hard time drawing this... at the bottom of the PDN window is a bar where you can read how big your circle is in pixels- make this first circle to the largest size you will need-- for my example say-- 400 pixels

go to the effects tab and use align object to center the circle

add a new layer

using the same proccess make a smaller circle-- say 375 pixels

use align object again

keep repeating with smaller and smaller circles untill you get them all done

[Xanzia]

Thanks for the input! A couple of things still causing issues:

1. I can't find Effects > Align Object. I did find an Align Objects plug-in and d/loaded it but it didn't seem to make any difference.

2. I guess I need to find Align Object to stop the first layer disappearing when I try to draw a smaller circle inside it, right?

So, could someone tell me where the Align Object function in pls?

Thanks.

[mountnman]

there is align object and there is object align, i know the one is a plugin, but i didnt think the other was.. if it has been installed correctly it will show up in the effects drop menu

either one will do the job

Edited August 9, 2011 by mountnman

[Xanzia]

Thanks for the input! A couple of things still causing issues:

1. I can't find Effects > Align Object. I did find an Align Objects plug-in and d/loaded it but it didn't seem to make any difference.

2. I guess I need to find Align Object to stop the first layer disappearing when I try to draw a smaller circle inside it, right?

So, could someone tell me where the Align Object function in pls?

Thanks.

Actually, I have found the Align Object function (altho again it doesn't seem to do anything to the circle).

The big problem I'm having is drawing circles within circles, the original circle disappears when I draw the next and I cannot see how I can build a concentric pattern...if anyone can help while I try a bit of trial and error it would be much appreciated.

[BoltBait]

Ok, here is an alternate way to do it:

1. Install my plugin pack (link in sig)

2. Use the circle selection tool to outline the largest circle. Use shift (I think) to constrain to a circle.

3. Use Effects > Selection > Outline Selection. Select the color for the innermost circle. Set the outline width to the sum of all line widths. Click ok.

4. Use Outline again, only this time reduce the line width by how wide you want the inner line to be. And, select white.

5. Repeat step 4 alternating your line color and background color until you get all the way out to the selection edge.

[mountnman]

im gonna guess that if the align tool didnt move the circle at all, then you probably put it ON the white background layer, and not on its own transparent layer

the align tool works on each object, and on the white filled background layer, it aligns the entire feild of white-- which is basicaly doing nothing

Edited August 10, 2011 by mountnman

[yellowman]

There is an easy way of creating circles using Radial Gradient and Paint Bucket with low Tolerance "adjust the tolerance to the required thickness of circles", no need for any additional plugins,

if you can center the gradient in canvas you can apply the Radial Blur for smoother edges, and that is also part of the basic PDN effects.