How to Draw a Chain Link Fence on Illustrator
Creating a chain-link fence in Adobe Illustrator is complicated, but not difficult. A chain-link fence is actually a series of interlocking vertical zigzags; when hooked together, the appearance is that of a grid of connected diamond shapes.
This tutorial will assume a basic understanding of Adobe Illustrator. It is written for a Mac, but it works just as well on a PC; wherever the tutorial calls for a Command key combination, substitute Control for Command and Alt for Option.
Before you begin, turn on the rulers: press Command-R (on the PC, Control-R). Make sure Snap to Point is checked in the "View" menu.
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Instructions
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Making a Link
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1
Create a rounded square. Select the Rectangle tool (hidden behind the Rectangle tool). Click on the page, and when the "Rounded Rectangle" window opens, type in the width, height and corner radius size. Set the width and height at 1 inch and the corner at 0.125 inch.
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2
Rotate the shape 45 degrees to make a diamond shape.
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3
Drag a guide from the top ruler to the center point of the diamond. Cut the diamond on the left corner in the center of the curve using the Scissor tool. Cut the left anchor points of the top and bottom corners. Cut both anchor points of the right corner, then cut the curve in the center.
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Delete the top and bottom of the diamond, leaving the left side and the small curves of the right corner.
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5
Drag the top half of the right corner piece down to the bottom diagonal line of the left side so that it snaps to the bottom anchor point. Drag the bottom half of the right corner up to the top diagonal line of the left side so that it snaps to the top anchor point. Select the anchor points where the top curve joins the diagonal line. Join (Command+J) the two points. Join the bottom curve to the lower diagonal.
Combine the Elements
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6
Select everything (Command+A). Change the stroke width to 3 points. Change the fill to "none."
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7
Copy the pieces (Command+C). Paste in front (Command+F). Change the stroke color to a light gray and the stroke width to 2 points. On the stroke palette, change the stroke ends to rounded.
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8
Select the two strokes that make up the top half by holding down the option key and click-hold-dragging over them. Group them (Command+G). Repeat for the bottom half.
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9
Select everything (Command+A). Select the Mirror tool (hidden behind the Rotate tool). Hold the Option key and click anywhere. Select "Vertical" and click the "Copy" button in the pop-up palette.
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10
Drag the new pieces until second anchor point from the top snaps to the corresponding point on the other path.
Finish the Job
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11
Select the top half of the left-pointing shape. Select the bottom half of the right-pointing shape. Go to the "Object" Menu, to "Arrange" and choose "Bring to Front."
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12
Select everything. Using the Direct Selection tool, Click and hold on the upper left anchor point, then hold down the Shift and Option keys, and drag to copy the whole thing down until you reach the lower left anchor point. When the point snaps in place, release.
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13
Use the Duplicate function (Command+D) to repeat the copy-and-move. Repeat until you reach the height you need.
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14
Select everything. Grab the second anchor point from the top, and copy-drag to the right until the anchor point snaps over the anchor point on the right side. Duplicate the action (Command+D) until your image is as wide as you need.
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15
Zoom in. look for sections that need to be sent to the back to create the interlocking effect.
The chain-link part of your fence is done. You can add whatever posts, signs or other elements you like.
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Tips & Warnings
Many variations are possible; you could expand the strokes and fill them with gradients for a more photo-realistic effect or use different stroke colors or thickness.
