Tutorial: Creating Party Timeline Charts in Adobe Illustrator

Objective

A quick guide on creating political party timeline charts using Adobe Illustrator, focusing on using geometric shapes and manipulation techniques.

Tools

• Adobe Illustrator
• Similar methods can be applied using LibreOffice with some variation.

Steps to Create a Curved Line

1. Setting Up the Lines

   • Red and blue lines represent two political parties.
   • Illustration done in separate pieces for control.

2. Creating the "Donut" Shape

   • Use the circle tool in Illustrator:
     • Create a large circle, holding Shift to maintain its circular shape.
     • Adjust the size to fit over two bars (lines) – important for maintaining alignment.

3. Subtracting a Circle (Minus Back Tool)

   • Create a smaller circle within the large one and align it.
   • Put the smaller circle behind the larger using 'Arrange > Send to Back'.
   • Use the Minus Back tool (in pathfinder menu) to cut a hole, creating a donut shape.

4. Quartering the Donut

   • Use a rectangle to cover half the donut.
   • Use Minus Back tool to remove half, leaving a half-circle.
   • Repeat to get a quarter-circle.

5. Color Matching and Rotation

   • Match the donut segment's color to the respective line using the Eyedropper tool.
   • Rotate the segment by holding Shift and dragging a corner.

6. Duplicating and Mirroring for Other Lines

   • Copy and paste the constructed curve using shortcuts (Cmd+C, Cmd+V on Mac).
   • Transform > Reflect vertically to mirror and position the segment.

7. Aligning for Dynamic Representation

   • Place over existing lines to represent overtaking positions.
   • Shift segments slightly for visibility if lines overlap.

Additional Tips

• For quick switches, a smaller curve can be created by scaling down the whole arrangement, keeping design consistency without losing visibility.

This guide demonstrates creating visual elements representing changing political dynamics, emphasizing control and precise manipulation of shapes in Adobe Illustrator.