Shapes

Creating & Selecting Shapes

• To create basic shapes, go to the Tools Bar and select the shape you want. Click and drag to create the shape, and release the mouse button to finish;
• To deselect a shape, use the Selection Tool or go to Select > Deselect (shortcut: Shift+Ctrl+A on Windows or Shift+Cmd+A on Mac);
• Hold Shift while creating a shape to make it a perfect square (for rectangles) or a perfect circle (for ellipses) for example;
• Hold Alt/Option while dragging to scale the shape from the center;
• Hold Spacebar while creating the shape to move it around the canvas without changing its size;
• Clicking once on the canvas will prompt you to input the exact width and height for your shape. Use the chain icon to constrain proportions if needed;
• For the Polygon Tool, use the Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys to increase or decrease the number of sides (e.g., from triangle to hexagon). Alternatively, after creating a polygon, you can adjust the number of sides using the small anchor point with the plus/minus symbol;
• For the Star Tool, similar to the polygon tool, use the Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys to adjust the number of star points. You can also manually adjust star points with the anchor point slider;
• The Line Segment Tool is used to create straight lines by clicking and dragging. You can reposition lines on the canvas and adjust them as needed;
• Hidden or less common shapes like the Spiral Tool can be accessed by clicking the three dots in the Tools Bar;
• The Shaper Tool allows you to freehand draw shapes that will automatically form into basic shapes like circles, squares, or triangles. You can also combine shapes by drawing lines between them.

Fill and Stroke Settings

• Select a shape, go to the Properties Panel > Appearance, and adjust the Fill (interior color) and Stroke (outline color);
• Shapes like lines (path-based shapes) usually don't have a fill, and the stroke can be adjusted to increase the thickness of the line. For open-path shapes, avoid using a fill as it may result in a strange appearance. Instead, adjust the stroke for desired thickness.

Selection Techniques

• The Lasso Tool in Illustrator is used to select specific anchor points or paths in vector graphics, unlike Photoshop, where it selects areas of an image. To use it, go to the Tools Bar, select the Lasso Tool (under the Direct Selection Tool), and draw a selection around the desired points;
• After selecting the points, switch back to the Direct Selection Tool to move or modify them;
• The Magic Wand Tool selects objects that share similar attributes (e.g., stroke color, fill color). It's found in the extra tools (three dots in the Tools Bar). Selecting an object with the Magic Wand will select other objects with the same properties;
• The Magic Wand's function can also be accessed through the Select > Same menu, which provides additional options like selecting by Appearance, Fill & Stroke, Opacity, or more;
• The Select Inverse command selects everything except the current selection. It's found under Select > Inverse. You can assign it a custom shortcut via Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts, if needed;
• You can modify shortcuts in Illustrator to suit your workflow. Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts and assign custom shortcuts for tools or menu commands;
• Frequently used tools can be dragged from the extra tools (under the three dots) and added to the main Tools Bar for quicker access;
• Under Select > Object, you can choose to select by different attributes, such as selecting all objects on the same layer or those with the same Stroke or Fill;
• You can also select elements like Direction Handles or Brush Strokes from this menu for more precise control;
• Selections can be saved for later use. After selecting objects, go to Select > Save Selection and give it a name. This saved selection can be quickly re-selected by choosing it from the Select menu;
• To remove a saved selection, go to Edit > Selection, select the saved name, and click Delete.