Tutorial – Easily Create a 3D Pie Chart Using Adobe Illustrator CS3+

Category: Extras, Tutorials Tags: Graphic Design, Illustrator, Tutorials

Ever wondered how those nifty 3D tools in Illustrator can be put to work? Take a look at our latest tutorial to learn how to make a simple 3D pie chart using Adobe Illustrator CS3+!

Final Product – What We Will Create:

Step 1

Open Adobe Illustrator CS3+

Step 2

Navigate to “File > New…”

Step 3

Create a new file with the following settings:

Step 4

From the left toolbar, click and hold the graph tool icon and select the “Pie Graph” tool.

Step 5

While holding down shift, click and hold anywhere on the canvas and drag diagonally to create the base pie graph.

Step 6

Once the graph is created, a data entry window will pop up.

Step 7

Enter your chart values horizontally along the row.

Step 8

Once you have entered in your values, click the apply check mark icon, located within the pop up window’s toolbar.

Step 9

Click the red “x” in the top right corner of the pop up window to close it. From the left toolbar, click the “Direct Selection Tool”.

Step 10

Click on each section of the pie graph and apply a swatch to each to change its color.

Step 11

Switch to the “Selection Tool” and select the entire graph.

Step 12

Navigate to “Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel…”

Step 13

Click the “Preview” checkbox to see a preview of the graph as you make edits.

Step 14

Under the “Position” heading, enter in the following values for x,y and z:

Step 15

Under the “Extrude & Bevel” heading, enter in the following value:

Step 16

For “Surface” choose “No Shading”.

Step 17

Click the “OK” button to apply the settings. Duplicate the graph and drag a copy off canvas, in case there are changes to the graph in the future.

Step 18 (optional)

If needed, you can edit the 3D settings for the graph by navigating to “Window > Appearance” and double clicking on the “3D Extrude & Bevel” layer style.