need help with creating guides

[kim-berly]

I started designing Mandalas in Illustrator recently. Always loved them, but I design tileable images and I finally figured out (for me) the best way to make them tileable. I set up a template with guides for 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (don't know the proper term) pie slices for the Mandalas along with my own favorite color pallet. I was disappointed that this couldn't be transferred to AD. But I figured I'd just recreate it. Well that's not going so well. I've been watching videos and haven't seen anybody try to create guides for a round design.

I don't like the Symmetry option. I use vectors not pixels. I just can't use the Symmetry option for a Celtic or Tibetan or any Mandala that I want to design. Symmetry in vectors might be nice. Not sure that would help me that much, but I'd love to give it a try. I've provided a few examples of my tileable Mandalas. I've got to have guides! I also use circles that I turn into guides to help with alignment. The first thing I've always done when creating a tileable design was set up a guide layer. The template I've set up in Illustrator has all of them and I just delete the ones I don't need.

So, can I turn strokes into guides? Can't find a setting for it. i'm using the guides I created in Illustrator by releasing them and giving them a stroke. So now they are a pain as strokes in AD. Really not happy with that as my solution.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I love AD! Really enjoyed all the videos I've watched. It's fast and sleek and I'm ready to switch if someone has a solution for me.

[MEB]

Hi kim-berly,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
This can be achieved (with vectors) if you use Symbols to replicate the modules/tiles. Check this Mandala template provided by Tamauro. It should give you a head start/idea of what's possible with symbols. Here's a video tutorial that may also help you get started with them.

[kim-berly]

I have a png file with the design on it. It's my guide. I don't stick to the png faithfully. It's a fun process and many changes happen along the way. I have to have guides to place my pen by. I have to see the design behind the guides. There are many layers with the various sections of the Mandala on them. I'm very organized and name everything. I use place holder colors while I'm working and then go through the layers and color and export them to PS and finish up.

While designing a Mandala with the template is fun for a hot minute, I don't see how I could ever design one I've provided using your method. Maybe I'm missing something? The guides disappear when I click on the layer I'm supposed to draw on and I'm not sure where I'd put my image in the layer order. Couldn't find a place where I could see it and the guides disappeared anyway.

I'm not trying to be difficult. I really do want to make the switch. Doesn't look good though.

[kim-berly]

Think I've boiled down the problem. Rewatched one of the videos on youtube for drawing a Mandala.

I need to have guides on a layer that I can select and use the transform panel to input their degree of rotation, length and position. Seems pretty straight forward.

But, the Mandala is drawn with the pen tool making a path and the symbols, yada yada.

In Illustrator I changed my guides (for 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 sliced Mandalas) into paths and opened that doc and saved it in AD. I just hate trying to draw a design with those paths as my guides. As I roll over them with my pen tool (selecting my spot to start my new vector path) they light up and drive me crazy. Very intrusive. They need to be guides. I can't figure out how to create my guide layer and have my guides on it to transform them. I need something other than just a 15 degree rotation for a 5 or 7 sliced Mandala. I have to be able to input where I want a guide. I just did it in Gravit and I've never used it before. Tell me what I'm missing! Please!

Edited August 9, 2019 by kim-berly

[kim-berly]

Downloaded some tutorials and was reminded of the guide panel. Saw it in another video. Any who.... so basically I should go eat worms and die! Sometimes you fall in love and it just doesn't work out. Think that's where we are at. There just isn't anyway to select a guide nor rotate it. And there won't be a way to put guides on a layer since there is already a panel for guides. Which would be fine if you could rotate them or turn a path you've already rotated into a guide and add it to the panel. I use circles and turn them into guides as well with Illustrator. Can make any path a guide.

All the amazing things this program can do and the 1 seemingly simple thing I absolutely have to have it be able to do is impossible. Can't believe no one else that designs art hasn't found this a problem and requested a solution.

Corel Draw has a guides panel and you can input degrees for the guides (and dynamic guides, too), so I know it's possible. I just don't like using it at all. And I find InkScape a challenge I'm not willing to tackle.

Don't expect you to make a change in your software for me. I have seen other posts about rotating guides and using the guide panel. I'm not alone. Maybe you'll change it in a future release. Until then maybe I can find my old copy of Illustrator 10 with all the plugins I had for it.