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Is there a fairly simple way to divide a circle into equal parts using Adobe Illustrator CC?

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5 Answers 5

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38

Polar Grid tool... just tap the arrow keys while you drag.
Up/Down for inner circles, left/right for diameter divisions.

grid

Or, Option/Alt-click with the Polar Grid tool to set specific numbers of divisions.

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  • Of course, you're stuck with the limitation of having all segments the same size.
    – plainclothes
    Mar 4, 2014 at 0:15
  • 9
    Err.. question states..... "divide a circle into equal parts"
    – Scott
    Mar 4, 2014 at 0:18
  • How do I divide it afterwards? I set it to 6 equal parts but using the Divide tool only makes two halfs of the circle.
    – InanisAtheos
    Dec 30, 2016 at 13:17
  • @PatrikAlienus Swap the Stroke to a fill.. then it may divide properly.. or use the Live Paint Bucket Tool to Fill the individual areas with color, then Divide.
    – Scott
    Dec 30, 2016 at 17:17
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Like plainclothes said ... an easy screenshot-walkthrough for an even number of segments:

  1. Draw a circle
  2. Add a line across
  3. Rotate line/path with (TRICK!) the copy button N-times.
  4. Repeat action (Command-D on OS X).
  5. Select circle and all sections.
  6. Use the pathfinder tool and select divide.
  7. You got segments.

enter image description here

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2
  • welcome to GD do you mind adding a little bit of explanation of each screenshot and possibly editing out all the unneeded panels so it would be easier for an un-experienced person to understand what you're doing
    – user9447
    Oct 31, 2014 at 16:32
  • I feel like a complete idiot because I seem to be the only one who does not understand this. What is happening on point 3? What is "the copy button"?
    – InanisAtheos
    Dec 30, 2016 at 13:13
12

You can simply make a piechart with Illustrators own chart-functionality:

enter image description here

Fill in whatever % you want for the different slices, and then ungroup the whole thing afterwards, if you want to remove parts of it.

enter image description here

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  • 2
    That would be the logical solution.
    – plainclothes
    Mar 4, 2014 at 0:14
  • There are certainly other ways too, but i use this as it is extremely precise.
    – benteh
    Mar 4, 2014 at 0:26
  • Fastest solution.
    – Matěj Kříž
    Apr 8, 2020 at 16:46
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  1. Draw a path across the exact middle (horizontal or vertical)
  2. Rotate and duplicate according to your needs to define the slices
  3. Use the divide feature in the Pathfinder to split the circle up using your paths
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0
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  1. Draw a circle using the ellipse tool
  2. Object -> Path -> Add Anchor Points
  3. Repeat 2nd step as needed
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1
  • Inserts 4, 8, 16, 32...etc anchor points. Doesn't generate slices as closed shapes, not useful if for ex. one wants 5, 7 or 9 equal slices which together are the original circle.
    – user82991
    Feb 11, 2019 at 22:07

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