1. Select the Ellipse Tool (L).
2. Double-click the tooltip on the canvas to open the Ellipse Options dialog.
3. Enter easy-to-remember numbers for the width and height. For example, 200 for the width and 50 for the height.
4. Select the Selection Tool (V). Bring it over the ellipse you just drew and press Alt. Your tooltip should display double arrows. This means that you are ready to repeat the ellipse.
5. Click and drag the ellipse to drag away a duplicate.
6. Select the Rectangle Tool (M).
7. Double-click the tooltip on the canvas to open the Rectangle Options dialog.
8. Enter the same width that you used for the ellipse. For example, 200 for our example.
9. Enter any height you want.
10. Place the two oval pieces roughly on the top and bottom edges of the rectangle. Don’t worry if they don’t line up perfectly to resemble a 3D cylinder.
11. Open the alignment panel (Shift + F7).
12. Left-click the selection tool (black arrowhead) and drag over the three objects to select them.
13. Click the Horizontal Align Center button to align the centers of both the oval and rectangle exactly above the center line.
14. Click and select the upper ellipse. Click the down or up arrow as needed until its sides line up exactly with the top edge of the rectangle.
15. Click and select the bottom ellipse. Click the down or up arrow as needed until its sides line up exactly with the bottom edge of the rectangle.
16. Note: The ellipse will be perfectly aligned with the rectangle when the white squares on either side of the ellipse’s radius line up with the corners of the rectangle. Or you can also select View > Snap to Point feature from the main menu. This way, when you bring a circle/ellipse over a rectangle of the same diameter and width, they will snap easily.
17. Click and select the upper ellipse.
18. Right-click and from the pop-up menu select Arrange > Bring to Front. The top of your cylinder is finished.
19. Select the Direct Selection Tool (A).
20. Click on the bottom edge of the rectangle and press Delete. The bottom of the cylinder is also done.
21. Select the bottom ellipse and the rectangle and select Object > Group from the menu to group them into a single graphic object.
22. Now color it the way you want it.
23. Then select the upper ellipse and color it separately. It will overlap the rectangle and hide its top edge.
24. Now select everything on your ribbon (Control + A) and select Object > Group from the menu to group everything as one graphic object.
Your disc is ready. You can now transform this vector graphic and use it in any way you like without losing any of its fidelity.
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