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 sweet 3D pie chart using Adobe Illustrator CS3+!

Final Product – What We Will Create:

Step 1

• Open Adobe Illustrator CS3+ and create a new file.
• From the left toolbar, click and hold the graph tool icon and select the “Pie Graph” tool.

Step 2

• Click and drag diagonally across the canvas to create the base pie graph.

Step 3

• Once the graph is created, a data entry window will pop up.
• Enter your chart values horizontally along the row.
• Once you have entered your values, click the apply check mark icon, located within the pop up window’s toolbar.

Step 4

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

Step 5

• Next, we will knock out the center of the chart to give it some style.
• Switch to the “Ellipse Tool” and draw a circle on the canvas, aligning it to the center of the pie chart.
• Select the pie chart, then navigate to “Object > Flatten Transparency…”
• Choose the “High Resolution” preset and then click “Ok”.
• Switch to the “Selection Tool” and select everything on the canvas.
• Navigate to the “Pathfinder” panel and select the “Trim” pathfinder.
• Select the center circle with the “Direct Selection Tool” and delete it.

Step 6

• Switch to the “Selection Tool” and select the entire graph.
• Navigate to “Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel…”
• Click the “Preview” checkbox to see a preview of the graph as you make edits.

Step 7

• Under the “Position” heading, enter in the following values for x,y,z and Perspective:
  • X: 35°
  • Y: -12°
  • Z: 2°
  • Perspective: 0°
• Under the “Extrude & Bevel” heading, enter in the following value:
  • Extrude Depth: 60pt
• For “Surface” choose “Diffuse Shading”.
• Click the “More Options” button and then enter the following values:
  • Light Intensity: 100%
  • Ambient Light: 57%
  • Blend Steps: 256
  • Shading Color: Black

Step 8

• Click the “OK” button to apply the settings.
• 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.
• Finally, lets shift a few slices to emphasize the chart values.
• Navigate to the “Direct Selection Tool” and select each of the smaller slices, while holding down the “Shift” key.
• While still holding the “Shift” key, slightly drag the selected slices diagonally toward the upper-left area of the canvas.
• You can also add shadows, highlights and texture with Photoshop to give the chart some more style, if needed. Enjoy!