how to draw random circles f.e. backgrounds

[Ascalon]

Hello,

i want to draw random circles for a backgroundimage. I know the power duplicate tool - so i can quickly draw a lot of circles in row and colums. But i also want that the circles have a litte random size. Can i do this also with the "power duplicate"? I think, i onec saw a tutorial, where you can type something in the transform panel to achieve random sizes during the power duplicate.

Would be glad if someone can help me out, thankx

[gdenby]

Looking at the help files, the expressions don't seem to have a random function. 

 

I messed w. the problem today, and plain human eyeballing coupled w. power dupe can easily give a wide range of scales.

 

Draw a circle, duplicate it. With scaling OFF, do a small constrained scaling, and move away to the right enough to clear the original. Repeat until there are a bunch of ones w. different sizes.

 

Grab the row, and use the boolean combine. Dupe the combine, and as above, scale and move away down. Dupe, dupe, dupe.

 

So then you will have a sort of warped grid. Select all the combined objects, and divide so there are just a bunch of circles.

 

To randomize the positions, grab all, or bunches, and use the distribute functions. Distribute by vertical and horizontal centers works well. Space by vert or horiz can be good to. You might need to various bunches to get a decent irregular distribution.

 

See appended.