How to curve a line into an arc along a circle in Adobe Illustrator?

Question

I would like to create a shape similar to this, and I was thinking of using a line and then bending it along a circle, but I'm not sure how to do that.

Answer 1

• Draw a circle.
• Press P and click on the actual circle in 2 places (see below). The cursor changes when you're directly above the line.
• Press A and drag to select one of the points you added then hit DEL to remove that.
• With this shape selected, in the Stroke panel increase the weight value until it looks thick enough and click the 'Round Cap' option.
• Hit R and drag around to rotate the object and adjust the gap position.
• And this is how you add a gradient: https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/30344/62949

Answer 2

Create a circle, and then add some extra anchor points to it (Object > Path > Add Anchor points and do it a few times)

(You can also just add the extra points via the Pen Tool P)

Then use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select and a delete a few anchor points from one corner:

Now apply a thicker stroke to it and go to Window > Stroke (Ctrl+F10);

set the Cap to rounded

Now just apply a gradient to it.