Although this is quite possible the most simple tutorial on this website, the results are quite complex.

Create a shape, any shape. The ones that look the best are stars, curves, spirals, and polar grids. I’ll start with a star. Make the fill null(clear) and the stroke color black. Spread the star out to a medium size, but dont let go of your cursor.

With your other hand, press and hold the ` button on your keyboard. Its the same button as the tilde (~). Now with your hand that is holding down the left mouse button, move the mouse around.

What Illustrator is doing is creating a new star for every movement you make with the ` button pressed. The number of shapes depends on the speed at which you move the mouse.

If you are wondering how the gray got in that image, it’s because I used a very small stroke width. The stroke color is still black. Here are more examples:

Full version of the thumbnail.

Final Tips:

-Try filling the ones you make with the curve tool, and then setting the opacity low.

-Hold alt for a different look.

-Try different stroke widths and fills.

-Change the opacity.

_{Keywords: Adobe Illustrator, Spirograph Tutorial, Twirls, Shapes, Patterns, Tricks}