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Task Guide: Designing a Maritime Meteorology Instrument Icon Set

These instructions describe the checked VectorCraft foundation as of 14 October 2026. XiVector Alpha is free; public installer availability and XiKey integration are not yet verified.

Scenario

You are designing a 24-icon vector instrumentation set (barometer dial, anemometer cups, wind-rose compass, isobar front markers, and swell arrows) for a coastal meteorology dashboard. Every icon must sit on a 24 × 24 px pixel-snapped grid, share reusable Symbol components, and export simultaneously at 1x, 2x, and SVG.

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Create a 24 × 24 px Artboard Grid with Pixel Preview

  1. Create a new document (Ctrl+N / Cmd+N) in Pixels (px) and use the Artboard Tool (Shift+O) to lay out a 6 × 4 grid of 24 × 24 px artboards named wind-rose, barometer, anemometer, cold-front, etc.
  2. Press Ctrl+Alt+Y (Cmd+Option+Y) to turn on Pixel Preview and press Ctrl+' (Cmd+') to display the pixel grid and inspect stroke edges at the export scale.

2. Draft Radial Compass Ticks and Variable-Width Isobar Swells

  1. On the wind-rose artboard, draw a single north compass pointer with the Pen Tool (P).
  2. Choose Object ▸ Repeat ▸ Radial and set the instance count to 8 so cardinal and intercardinal points stay live-linked around the dial center.
  3. On the swell-wave artboard, draw a smooth S-curve using the Curvature Tool (Shift+~), then press Shift+W for the Width Tool and drag the midpoint of the stroke outward to taper the wave crest organically.
  4. Stack a subtle inner highlight stroke onto the barometer casing using the Appearance panel (Shift+F6) and save the styling in Graphic Styles (Shift+F5).

3. Register Symbols and Batch-Export Multi-Scale Assets

  1. Drag the calibrated compass needle into the Symbols panel (Ctrl+Shift+F11) so you can reuse instances across the wind-speed and barometer artboards.
  2. Open Export for Screens, select the artboards and configure SVG and PNG at 1x and 2x. Review the files at their intended display sizes.

Sources