How to duplicate circles increasing their size in Illustrator?

Question

I want to copy a circle and re-size it at the same time, then do Ctrl+D several times to imitate the behavior and end up having circles with increasing diameter. I don't want it to scale the new circle by the same fixed %, ending up with a sort of logarithmic growth related to the original circle. What I'd need to do is to have a **linear growth**, so that the increasing in the radius is linear.Not sure if I explained it correctly, any doubt let me know!

Answer 1

The solution I've found is to make an automated setting by using "Actions."

Yes, when using the "Scale" tool with the "duplicate" function, it will grow an item by percentage, but will not keep the equal measurement of growth with the next scaled circle.

When using the "Offset Path" function with the "duplicate" function, it keeps the growth of the circle the same accurate measurement, but it doesn't keep the circle in the same position

So to solve this problem, I recorded a set of "actions" and once that set is recorded, you can hit the "play" button (or assign a hotkey) and see the selected circle copy and "grow" very much like the duplicate function

Here are the steps you can follow to achieve this effect:

1. Create your first circle (the innermost circle)
2. Open your "Actions" panel (found under the "Window" menu)
3. Create a "New Set" - folder icon at the bottom of the "Actions" panel
4. Name your Set - i.e. "Grow at .125 in"
5. Create a "New Action" - click the "page" or "+" icon at the bottom of the panel
6. Name your Action - i.e. "Grow"
7. (Optional) Assign a function key - like a shortcut key
8. Click Record
9. Select your circle
10. Go to "Object" menu > Path > Offset Path
11. Type the measurement you want it to grow ( i.e. .125 in)
12. Click the Preview box to see if you are satisfied with the estimated results
13. Click "OK"
14. Click the "stop" button (square button) at the bottom of the Actions panel
15. Now you click the play button as many times as you want the action repeated -or- use your newly assigned shortcut key to new action item you just created! (You can also select other objects and see it perform the same function with that object as well!)