Illustrator 04 – Basic Shape Creation

Illustrator 04 – Basic Shape Creation

August 1, 2023

Illustrator provides various shape tools that make it easy to create basic shapes like rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and more. Let’s go through the steps to create shapes and learn how to combine, resize, and rotate them.

Creating Basic Shapes:

a. Rectangle Tool (M):

Select the Rectangle Tool from the Tools panel (shortcut: M).
Click and drag on the canvas to draw a rectangle. Hold the Shift key while dragging to create a perfect square.

b. Ellipse Tool (L):

Select the Ellipse Tool from the Tools panel (shortcut: L).
Click and drag on the canvas to draw an ellipse. Hold the Shift key while dragging to create a perfect circle.

c. Polygon Tool:

- Click and hold the Rectangle Tool in the Tools panel to reveal a fly-out menu. Choose the Polygon Tool from the menu.
- Click on the canvas and specify the number of sides for the polygon in the dialog box. Drag to draw the shape.

Combining Shapes:

a. Union (Shape Mode):

Create two or more overlapping shapes.
Select all the shapes you want to combine using the Selection Tool (shortcut: V).
Go to “Object” > “Path” > “Unite” or use the “Unite” option in the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder).

b. Minus Front (Shape Mode):

Create two overlapping shapes.
Select both shapes and ensure the shape you want to use as the subtracting shape is on top.
Go to “Object” > “Path” > “Minus Front” or use the “Minus Front” option in the Pathfinder panel.

c. Intersect (Shape Mode):

Create two overlapping shapes.
Select both shapes.
Go to “Object” > “Path” > “Intersect” or use the “Intersect” option in the Pathfinder panel.

d. Divide (Shape Mode):

- Create two overlapping shapes.
- Select both shapes.
- Go to “Object” > “Path” > “Divide” or use the “Divide” option in the Pathfinder panel.
- This divides the overlapping areas into separate shapes.

Resizing Shapes:

Select the shape you want to rotate using the Selection Tool (V).
Move the cursor outside the shape until the Rotate icon appears.
Click and drag to rotate the shape to the desired angle. Hold the Shift key to constrain rotation to 45-degree increments.

Remember to experiment with these shape creation, combining, resizing, and rotating techniques to create more complex designs and illustrations in Adobe Illustrator. The versatile shape tools give you the foundation to build various artwork and designs with precision and creativity.