Creating Polygons on Motion 5

Keeping in the spirit of helping the OP with options (all of these are good btw), I realized that with Pixelmator Pro, I get the advantage of other software that is built to create more complex vector art. For example I also use Affinity Photo, which has even more tools for vector shapes

• Polygons (with up to 48 sides and curved segments)
• Gears
• Diamonds
• 3 different star variations
• ...and more

You can also this to generate SVGs to export to Pixelmator Pro and then directly into Motion as Motion shapes.

@adrianvalia, I think the point is you have a couple of different options. Fox has provided some great suggestions to do this for free inside Motion. Budget is something to think about. Others of us use additional tools that may have an additional cost(example: Affinity Photo = $55, Pixelmator Pro = $40). And don't forget time is a consideration, how quickly you need or can build what you need may be a factor. Fox is fast at cranking out examples in the app because of experience, I could do the same, but the time for me to do this with outside tools is maybe just as fast or faster (even going from Affinity to Pixelmator to Motion to create a test took under 2 min), and better suites my needs.

In the end, you've got lots of options (win!). It's up to you to determine which of these options is the best for your needs. Everyone has a different way of working hope any one of these helps you. Cheers

You can build one and it will be reusable.

Create a New Group.

Go into the Library > Shapes > Triangle and Apply it (make sure it's in the new group).

Select the Triangle shape and type L to create a Replicator.

Set the Shape to Circle and the Arrangement to Outline.

Check the Align Angle Box and adjust the Radius until the points of the Triangles just touch (approximately 230).

Now, you can adjust the Scale > X (in Cell Controls) when you change the Points value to the number of sides you want.

Example: Set Points to 12. Adjust Scale > X down until you see divisions then hold the Option key down while you move Scale > X back up until the edges *just touch*. [Holding down the Option key allows you to make much more fine-tuned adjustments — drag up or down on the numeric value, don't use the slider.]

Rename the Group "Polygon Generator" and drag the group into your Library Favorites for future use.

For a solid polygon, select Polygon Generator and type the K key to create a Clone — now you have a solid shape (although it can't be edited AS a shape.) Turn off the Polygon Generator group visibility.

Need and Outline? Go to Filters > Border > Stroke. Set the Position to Center and change the Color and Width. Outline only? Check the Hide Source option.

Dodecagon:

The replicator affords other options as well ;) [Color Mode: Over Pattern — Replicator > Offset to "rotate" the Triangle arrangement on the Shape > Circle.]

You could always use this as a template for the Bezier Shape tool to quickly create an actual Shape object.

Any time (later) you need a polygon generator, just find it in your Library and apply it to the project.

HTH

GFXZen wrote:

Another option is to pick-up Pixelmator Pro. It has a polygon tool that will allow you to create shapes with 3-11 sides. You can then export this to a Motion project and drag the shape to your library. The nice thing about Pixelmator Pro is that it has a full set of vector tools so you can create more complex shapes and then export to Motion. It's also a nice alternative to more expensive photo editing software.

https://www.pixelmator.com/blog/2021/12/22/pixelmator-pro-gets-motion-file-format-support/

Great suggestion! It occurred to me to use Pixelmator Pro, but I had not realized how flexible the polygon tool is.

There is a little green dot, and by rotating it one can change the number of sides. I failed to grasp before.

Thanks for that.

How much is Pixelmator Pro? That price is worth just a couple of minutes of effort?

Crosshair Minute.png. Replicator. Circle. Outline. Points. Bezier tool and connect the centers. For gears and stars, duplicate the Replicator and scale the radius down — Offset to align between the outer points. **MAYBE** spend a minute or two centering the Bezier Points on crosshairs if you're obsessive (like I tend to be.)

How hard is this? $49 worth?

Another option is to pick-up Pixelmator Pro. It has a polygon tool that will allow you to create shapes with 3-11 sides. You can then export this to a Motion project and drag the shape to your library. The nice thing about Pixelmator Pro is that it has a full set of vector tools so you can create more complex shapes and then export to Motion. It's also a nice alternative to more expensive photo editing software.

https://www.pixelmator.com/blog/2021/12/22/pixelmator-pro-gets-motion-file-format-support/

Not everyone has your expertise, and Pixelmator Pro is very well worth the price for all the other graphics use I get out of it. That work takes the rest of us more than two minutes to do in Motion. I'm much faster in PixPro. VERY worth it. And way cheaper than Photoshop.

Fox: it does not have to be a competition.

I agree that I would not buy Pixelmator Pro just for this one task, but I also agree with Ben that Pixelmator Pro can be used for a lot of other things. I do not have and will not pay for Photoshop, but I did buy and do use Pixelmator Pro.

The fact that it now can export directly to a Motion project is a very nice bonus! I did buy it long before that, though. I think I paid 15 euros for it, on sale. A pretty great bargain. I'd still consider it a great buy at the current price of $40, but that does not mean you can't do what you did, or that it is better or worse. Horses for courses, I'd say.

Plus Pixelmator Pro has introduced integration with Motion.

https://www.pixelmator.com/blog/2021/12/22/pixelmator-pro-gets-motion-file-format-support/

An elementary Replicator — no Cell Controls involved — expert?!

... I think I just quit...