How to Easily Duplicate and Rotate Objects Around Any Point in Illustrator

In Illustrator there are many different ways to rotate an object, but when it comes to rotate it around a certain point with a copy of it, things can be a bit tricky. You probably saw many tutorials on how to rotate and duplicate an object in a circle, but those tutorials often use the center of a circle, and then you end up with many circles which has been rotate as well. Today, you will learn a super quick and easy way to duplicate and rotate an object around any point you wish, in a circular form without any extra objects on your artboard.

Step 1

Open Illustrator and make a new file at any size you want. In this case, i will setup my document at 1800 x 1200 px.

Step 2

Select the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a circle (or any other shape you want).

Step 3

Be sure to have the rules visible (if not, press Ctrl+R on your keyboard).

Step 4

Click and drag a guide from the left ruler to the center of the circle as shown (you can now hide the rulers if you want by pressing Ctrl+R again).

Step 5

Select the Circle and press "R" on your keyboard to select the Rotate Tool.

Step 6

Hold the Alt key on your keyboard and click anywhere on the guide to establish the rotation center point.

Step 7

In the Rotate window set any rotation angle you want and click the Copy button.
Tip: be sure that the angle you choose is divisible by 360º.

Step 8

With the copied circle selected, press Ctrl+D on your keyboard to duplicate and apply the rotation again on a new circle.

Step 9

Keep pressing Ctrl+D until the circle is completed.