Path creation tools are applications that provide more efficient ways of creating commonly used paths than working with the pen tool.
The principle behind these tools is that since paths are ultimately anchor points and control handles, Ai can create or transform any path by routine mathematical processes that specify or systematically alter these defining points. The shape tools and shape transformation dialogs are simply the interfaces of applications that perform these mathematical operations based on parameters that you enter (either graphically or via dialog boxes).
There are two broad categories of path creation tools. Those for creating:
When you are using path tools, you are typically creating several (possibly many) objects, and therefore, alignment becomes a critical issue. A typical workflow is to:
Set up a grid or guides to aid in aligning the objects,
Create lines and shapes using the grid or guides to align the objects, and then
Modify, transform, and combine the objects to create an artwork, again using a grid or guides to align the components.
Because, in practice, grids and guides are critical to the typical workflow, we start this page with articles on how to use these alignment aids.
Grids
Grid Settings
A Grid is a background that looks like graph paper but does not print. You can use a Grid to quickly align objects optically.
To use the Grid in Adobe Illustrator:
To toggle the Grid on or off, execute the View > Show/Hide Grid command.
To tell Illustrator that when moving an object, you want it to snap to the Grid, do View > Snap to Grid.
To adjust the Grid settings, execute the Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Mac) command.
Rulers and Guides
Rulers
Ruler Features
Since the commonest use of Rulers is to place Guides, Ai considers guides a feature of rulers, and to create guides you must first enable Rulers (Ctrl + r).
To use Rulers in Adobe Illustrator:
To toggle Rulers on or off, execute the View > Rulers > Show/Hide Rulers (Ctrl + r) command.
Ai allows you to use Rulers in one of two ways:
Global Ruler. Use a single Global Ruler setting for all artboards, or
Artboard Rulers. Use a different Ruler setting on each Artboard. This is the default. In this mode, Ai will remember where you set the origin point on each Artboard.
To toggle between Global and Artboard rulers, either:
Right-click the ruler. Ai will pop-up a menu that allows you to specify the ruler's measurement units and switch between Global and Artboard rulers , or
View > Rulers > Change to Global/Artboard Rulers.
To set the zero point on a Ruler, click + drag on the cross-hair icon in the upper left corner of the document window where the horizontal and vertical Rulers intersect.
Guides
Guides as Objects
Guides are thin, horizontal, or vertical, lines that do not print, and that you can create and place in arbitrary locations to help you position and align objects relative to one another, and to the artboard. You can toggle guides on and off, and you can choose their color and whether the line is solid or dotted
Guides are software objects that are represented in the Layers panel. Consequently, instead of deleting (or clearing) them when they are no longer needed, you can simply make them invisible by clicking the eye icon in the Layers panel. In that way, you can save guides for later use. You can also move a set of related guides to their own layer, name the layer and control the locking and visibility of the entire set as you would any other Layers panel object.
Typically, you create guides using Rulers. However, you can also convert arbitrary lines or objects into guides.
Using Guides
The three basic operations for using standard Guides in Adobe Illustrator are as follows.
Create a Guide:
Ensure that you have Rulers enabled (Ctrl + C)
Place the guide:
Drag from a Ruler, or
Double-click on a Ruler, or
Shift + drag from a Ruler. This will snap the Guide to the increments on the ruler that is perpendicular to the Guide that you are creating.
To create a vertical and horizontal guideline in one operation, Ctrl + Click + drag the crosshair icon in the upper left corner of the document window.
Move a Guide:
Make sure that the Guides are unlocked (View > Guides).
Get the Selection tool and drag the guide to a new position.
Delete a Guide:
Select the Guide.
Press the Backspace key.
Centering Guides
Hint
To center guides:
Make sure that the guides are unlocked (View > Guides > Unlock Guides).
Select the guides.
In the Align Panel:
Change the Align To option to Align to Artboard.
Vertical Align Center and/or Horizontal Align Center.
Re-lock the Guides.
Converting Paths into Guides
Paths to Guides
You can make custom guides from any path. This is particularly useful for (A) creating guides from shapes created with the polar or rectangular grid tools, and (B) creating non-linear guides.
To convert any path to a guide in Adobe Illustrator:
Select the lines.
View > Guides > Make Guides.
View > Release Guides is the inverse operation. It converts a guide into a line.
Smart Guides
Smart Guides are pop-up guides that appear as you hover over, draw, or transform objects. They provide information that can substantially improve your productivity as you create and layout the elements of your composition. There are seven Smart Guide features, which you can choose to enable or disable. The purpose of this article is to help you get the most out of Smart Guides by describing each of the features in sufficient detail to enable you to (A) know what features are available and (B) to make an informed decision about which features to use.
Preferences Dialog Box
In the Edit > Preferences > Smart Guides dialog, you can:
Select the color of the guides,
Set the Snapping Tolerance, i.e., how close to an object the cursor must be before Ai launches a Smart Guide feature,
Enable or disable any of the features described below.
Note that turning on View >Snap to Grid or View > Pixel Preview disables Smart Guides.
Smart Guide Features
Alignment Guides.
Alignment Guide
When you are moving an object, alignment guides show you when a feature (e.g., an edge or the center) of the object that you are moving is aligned with a feature of nearby objects. For Alignment Guides to detect the center of a shape, you must have selected the Show Center icon in the Attributes panel.
Anchor/Path Labels.
Anchor/Path Labels
As you move the cursor, Anchor/Path Labels show you when you are hovering over an anchor point or a path segment.
Object Highlighting.
Object Highlighting
As soon as you hover over an appearance attribute of a path, Object Highlighting shows you the underlying path. This is most useful when the path has an Effect applied to it, as in the figure, where a line's stroke has a scribble effect (Effect > Stylize > Scribble).
Measurement Labels. Measurement Labels
When you are creating a Live Shape, Measurement Labels will show you the dimensions of the shape. When you hover over an Anchor point of a selected path, Measurement Labels will show you its x-y coordinates. Finally, when you hover over the center of a selected shape, Measurement Labels will show you its x-y coordinates, provided that you have selected the Show Center icon in the Attributes panel.
Transform Tools.
Transform Tool Smart Guides
When you use Transform Tools (Scale, Rotate, or Shear) and you have the Measurement Tools setting enabled in the Smart Guides Preferences panel, the tools will display guides that preview the effect of the transformation.
Spacing Guides.
Name
When you are moving a shape into position with a series of two or more other shapes, Spacing Guides popup to show you when the shape that you are moving has the same relative spacing as the other shapes in the series.
Construction Guides.
When you have made the Pen tool or a Live Shape tool active, and you hover its cursor at position that is a specified angle relative to the nearest anchor point of the nearest path, Ai will display a Construction line. You set the angles that trigger the display of Construction Guides in the Edit > Preferences > Smart Guides dialog.
Construction Guide
Construction Lines
Angle Settings
Open Path Tools
Tools for drawing open paths include:
Line Segment
Arc (quarter ellipses)
Curvature tool
Pencil Tool
Line Segment
The Line Segment tool creates a Live Shape. When you create a Line Segment, the Layers panel will not give it the default name "Path", but will give it the name "Line. "
As with most tools you can use the Line tool to create an object either quantitatively or visually.
Generate a Line Segment quantitatively
Generate Line Segment
To create a line segment using the Line Segment Tool Options dialog box in Adobe Illustrator:
Click once on the Line Segment tool (\) to activate it.
With the tool active, click once on the artboard. Ai will display the Line Segment Tool Options dialog box, which shows the tool's defining properties: Length and Angle.
Assign values to the properties and click OK. Starting from where you clicked, Ai will draw the line that you specified.
When creating a line segment quantitatively , by default Ai uses the stroke color. To tell Ai to use the fill color, click the Fill Line box. However, for that to work, you still must have the stroke color set to none. If you have both a fill and stroke color specified, Ai will use the stroke color, even if you have specified Fill Line.
Draw a Line Segment
Draw a Line Segment
To create a line by drawing with the Line Segment Tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Click once on the Line Segment tool (\) to activate it.
Click and drag on the artboard (Shift + click + drag constrains the drawing angle to multiples of 45 degrees.
Provided that you have turned on View > Smart Guides, as you begin dragging out a line segment, Ai will display a Measurement Label, which shows the segment's length (distance D) and the angle.
When working with the Pen tool, the Smart Guides show only the length of the current line segment. With the Pencil tool Smart Guides do not work at all.
Line Segment Objects versus Straight Line Paths
Lines vs Paths
The Line Segment tool does not create a simple path as does the Pen tool or the Pencil tool. Rather it creates a line that is a Live Shape. The accompanying figure illustrates the differences. In the Layers panel the Pen tool or the Pencil tool will create a Path; whereas, the Line Segment tool creates a Line. On the art board with Bounding Boxes turned on, Line Segments do not show the bounding boxes, but display only two end points and a center point.
When working with a line that was drawn with the Line segment tool and Bounding Boxes turned on, you can use the Selection (black arrow) tool to move either endpoint of a Line Segment independently, or you can Alt + drag on an endpoint with the Selection tool to rotate the Line Segment about its center. This is not possible with a line that was drawn with the Path tool or the Pencil tool.
Expanding a line (Object > Shape > Expand Shape) turns if from a Live Shape into a regular Path.
Arc Rectangle with Handles Occupying 50% of each Dimension
The Arc Tool fills a rectangle with a Bézier curve that arcs from one corner to the other. You set the Length of the rectangle's X and Y axes, in the Arc Segment Tool Options box.
The curvature of the arc is determined by perpendicular control handles that extend from the corner where the curve launches to the corner where it lands.
You set the length of the control handles by the Slope setting in the Arc Segment Tool Options box. The Slope is the percentage of the X and Y dimension along which the control handle will stretch.
Slope settings determine the length of the control handles
As with most tools, you can use the Arc tool to create an arc either quantitatively or visually
Generating an Arc quantitatively
Arc Tool Options
To generate an arc using the Arc tool dialog box in Adobe Illustrator:
Click once on the Arc tool (\) to activate it.
With the tool active, click once on the artboard. Ai will display the Arc Tool Options dialog box.
Assign values to the options in the Tool Options dialog box. When you press the OK button, Ai will generate an arc from one corner of the box to the other.
Drawing an Arc
To draw an arc with the Arc tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Click once on the Line Segment tool to activate it.
Click and drag on the artboard. Think of drawing from one corner of an imaginary rectangle. When you start dragging, Ai will pop up Smart Guide Measurement Labels that tell you how wide and high the imaginary rectangle is. By default, the tool creates a quarter ellipse, with a slope setting that makes each control handle half as long as its dimension.
When working with the tool, you can:
Shift + drag to constrain the path to a quarter circle.
Tap the f-key while dragging to flip the path.
Tap the up and down arrow-keys to change the slope (i.e., the length of the control handles).
Curvature-Tool
The Curvature tool (shortcut Ctrl + ~) is an alternative to the Pen tool for creating and editing paths that are made entirely of smooth points and corner points.
By default, it creates a path made entirely of smooth points.
It always smoothly connects the last 3 points (i.e., the current and the last segment). Each time you place a new point, the tool reconfigures the current and previous segment to maintain a smooth curve.
To create a corner point, Alt + click.
To toggle any anchor-point between a smooth and corner point, double-click the point.
To constrain the next point to be placed at an angle that is an increment of 45 degrees from the previous point, hold down the Shift-key until you click to place the point.
When you are creating or editing a path with the Curvature tool:
The last point is represented as a solid circle that is filled with the Layer color.
Previous smooth points are represented as empty circles,
Previous corner points are represented as a circle with a small plus-sign inside.
A cursor with an Asterisk means that you can start a new path.
A cursor with a small empty circle means that you are about to close the path.
Create a Path with the Curvature Tool
Drawing a Circle with the Curvature Tool
To use the Curvature tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Assume for the moment that you want to create a path made up entirely of smooth points. The figure illustrates drawing a circle with the Curvature tool with Smart Guides turned on.
Get the Curvature tool.
Click to place the first smooth point (Alt + click to place a corner point). Ai will place a small solid circle to mark the point.
Click again to place a second smooth point. Ai will place a small solid circle to mark the point, switch the first point's marker to be an empty circle, and connect the first and second point with a straight line. But, as soon as you move off the second smooth point, Ai will show a "rubber band" preview of the curve that would result if you clicked at that point.
Click again to place a third smooth point (Alt + click to place a corner point). Ai will connect the three points with a curve.
Continue until you have placed the last point. If you have closed the path, the Curvature tool will deactivate the path. If you want to close an open path, either press the Escape-key or press the Ctrl-key to get the last used selection tool and click anywhere off the path.
Shift + click at any point to create a corner point. If you hold down the Shift-key continuously while you create points, the tool will simply create straight lines. After you create a corner point, the Curvature tool will resume creating a curve only when you have created three consecutive smooth points.
Edit a Path with the Curvature Tool
You can perform common path editing operations with the Curvature tool.
To To edit a path with the Curvature tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Select the path that you want to edit.
Get the Curvature tool (Shift + ~).
With the Curvature tool, do any of the following:
To focus on an anchor point, hover over it until, Ai changes its cursor to display a modifier symbol that looks like a small circle with a dot at its center. The modifier signals that you are successfully targeting the point.
To convert a smooth point into a corner point, focus on the point and either double-click it or Alt + Click it.
To add an anchor point, hover over a path segment until you see the cursor display the plus sign (+) modifier and click.
To move an anchor point, focus on it, then click and drag it.
To select an anchor point, focus on it and then single-click it.
To delete an anchor point, select it and then press the Delete-key.
The Pencil tool is useful for creating organic (irregular, asymmetric) shapes. It allows you to create a smooth freeform path by making a simple, click + drag gesture. The tool automatically sets down anchor points and can also smooth minor deviations that are introduced by small jerks in the dragging gesture.
The tool's smoothing capability much improves its usefulness but creates a fundamental tradeoff: you can have either (A) high accuracy (fidelity to your drawing gesture) and too many anchor points, or (B) nice smooth lines with few anchor points and low fidelity, but you cannot have both. Some segments of the path will always remain either too jagged or else smooth but not accurately placed. For that reason, working with the Pencil tool is an iterative process of drawing and redrawing a path to get it to be both smooth and accurate.
Fortunately, the tool makes redrawing paths easy by allowing you to keep a path selected and correcting it by drawing over it. The Pencil tool has several drawing states, which it signals by adding small icons that modify the cursor. Of these, the states related to redrawing (the Start Path state and the Continue Drawing-Redrawing) are the most important.
Cursor State
Modifier
Means that the tool will:
Start
*
Start a new path
Continue
/
Continue the current path.
Straignt Line
_
Shift + drag draws a straight line constrained to 0, 45, or 90 degrees.
Alt + drag draws a straight line that is not constrained to a particular angle.
Close
o
Close a path.
Before you start using the Pencil tool, you will probably want to do some experimentation to find and set the optimal tradeoff between fidelity and smoothing. To do that you will want to use the Fidelity slider in the Pencil Tool Options dialog.
To set the Pencil Tool Options, double click the Pencil tool, and update the setting.
Note that to use the tool in the normal, iterative (drawing and redrawing workflow), you will want to accept the default Keep Selected option and have the Edit Selected Paths option set to a non-zero value (the default is 6 px). The Edit selected paths option enables or disables the smoothing function of the Pencil. Choosing the Keep selected option makes the smoothing work flow more fluid by keeping whatever path you are working on selected after a drawing gesture so that you can immediately correct problems by retracing the path.
Option
Description
Fidelity
Controls how many anchor-points the Pencil tool will insert for a given gesture. The Accurate setting makes the path faithful to your gesture, but produces the most anchor-points. The Smooth setting produces the fewest anchor-points, but omits small deviations in your drawing gesture.
Fill new pencil strokes
If you have chosen this option, then if you select a fill color before drawing with the Pencil tool, Ai will fill all subsequent Pencil tool paths with the fill that you selected.
Keep Selected
The path will stay selected after you release the mouse button to finish drawing the path.
Alt key toggles to Smooth Tool
Makes pressing the Alt-key invoke the Smooth Tool instead of drawing an unconstrained straight line.
Close paths when ends are within:
Set a value for how close you must get to the starting point before Ai will close the path.
Edit selected paths Within: _ pixels
Set a value for how close you must get to a path before a gesture counts as retracing and correcting the path trajectory.
Drawing with the Pencil Tool
Because of the imperfections of freehand drawing, working with the Pencil tool is an inherently iterative process of drawing and corrective redrawing. Fortunately, with the default Edit selected paths option selected in the Pencil Tool Options dialog, you can refine a path by simply drawing over it with the Pencil tool. There is no separate editing process; just draw over imperfections until they look the way you want.
To draw a free-hand path in Adobe Illustrator:
Single click the Pencil tool.
Draw the first approximation of the path with your mouse or stylus.
If you want to redraw any part of the path, place the Pencil tool close to the path and draw over it to smooth or reposition it. For the redrawing gesture to be successful, the tool should be at least as close to the path as specified in the Edit Selected Paths slider in the Pencil Tool Options panel.
Hints
Adding Straight Lines with the Pencil Tool
To use the Pencil Tool to draw a straight-line segment either by itself or as a continuation of freeform path: Alt + click and drag. When you Alt + click, the cursor will display the Straight-Line cursor modifier. When you release the mouse button, the tool will draw the line.
To use the Pencil Tool to draw a straight-line segment constrained to a 45-degree or 90-degree angle either by itself or as a continuation of a freeform path: Shift + click and drag.
Further Smoothing a Freeform Path
The Smooth tool is an alternative to using the Pencil tool's iterative (Keep Selected and Edit Selected Path) workflow to reduce the number of anchor points in a path. However, the Smooth tool works on any path.
To smooth a path with the Smooth tool:
Double click the tool to invoke the Smooth Tool Option dialog and set the Fidelity slider.
Select the target path.
Get the Smooth tool and trace over the selected path.
Erasing Part of a Freeform PathPencil Tool and Related Open Path Tools
In contrast to the Eraser tool, which cuts a swath the size of its brush into any object, the Path Eraser tool is designed specifically to erase parts of a path by using a tracing gesture.
To precisely erase parts of a path:
Select the path.
Get the Path Eraser tool.
Trace over the part of the selected path that you want to erase.
Optionally, reconnect the paths with the Pencil tool.
Join Two Paths with a Third Path
To join two parts of a path or to rejoin two parts of a path after you have created a gap by an erasure.
Select both paths.
Hover on an endpoint until you see the tool enter the Continue state.
Get the Pencil tool and draw the connection.
Closed Path Tools
Live Shapes and Their Defining Properties
Tools for drawing closed paths include:
Live Shape Tools
Rectangle
Rounded Rectangle
Ellipse
Polygon
Star
Blob Brush Tool
Live Shape Tools
Orientation
Live Shape tools programmatically generate all of the anchor points and control handles needed to create common geometric shapes from a few properties that define the shape. You can supply the defining parameters, quantitatively via a dialog box or visually via gestures of a mouse (or a tablet stylus). Using these tools not only provides a faster way to create basic shapes, but Illustrator has largely eliminated the need for using tools other than the Transformation panel to move, scale, rotate, reflect, or shear Live Shapes.
Creating a Shape
The operation of all Live Shape tools is similar, so let the following example stand for them all.
Generating a Shape Quantitatively
Generating a Shape
Suppose that you want to generate a rounded rectangle using the quantitative method of supplying the parameters in a dialog box. You would simply click the Rounded Rectangle tool, then click on the artboard (which makes Ai pop up the dialog box. Then you enter the three defining properties of a rounded rectangle: height, width, and the radius of the corners. From the three parameters Ai, will generate 8 smooth anchor points and 8 control handles placed at exactly to correct locations to create a perfectly symmetrical rounded rectangle, a process that would be slower and more difficult to do accurately with the Pen tool.
Drawing a Shape Visually
If you want to work visually, you simply click the Rounded Rectangle tool (Ai changes the cursor to a cross hair) and instead of clicking on the artboard, you click and drag diagonally with the mouse. As you drag, Ai uses your mouse coordinates to deduce the defining properties and then sends them to the shape tool's program, which will place the control points and render the shape.
While drawing a Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, or an Ellipse (i.e., when the crosshair cursor is active), the following modifier keys are helpful:
Shift + drag to constrain the shape to be symmetrical (e.g. square or circular).
Alt + drag to draw from the center.
Spacebar + drag to move the shape while drawing.
Adjusting a Shape
In a typical workflow, you want to make some adjustments to a newly created shape before considering it final. For example, if you have just created a rounded rectangle, you might decide that the corners are too big, or that two of the corners should be chamfered or that its center should be aligned with the edge of another element. You can make any of these common adjustments either quantitatively or visually.
Quantitatively Adjusting a Shape
You can quickly adjust Live Shapes quantitatively via the Transform Panel (Window > Transform), which provides a form that includes fields showing the current values of all the properties that are applicable to the currently selected Live Shape. When you change a property value, the shape will change immediately to reflect the new setting.
The accompaning example illustrates using the Transformation dialog, to anter the corner radius.
Adjusting a Live Shape Quantitatively with Transformation Tool
Visually Adjusting a Shape
Provided that you have enabled Bounding Boxes (View > Show Bounding Box) and Corner Widgets (View > Show Corner Widget), you can use these features (see below) to visually adjust the shape's width, height, and corner radius.
In addition, as of Illustrator CC 2015, Live Shapes provide on-art, Live Control Widgets. You can select a tool for a particular shape and use the tool's on-art widgets to adjust special features. Furthermore, you can use the Bounding Box, Corner Widgets and on art control widgets without leaving the tool that you used to create the shape.
Difference between Live Shapes and Closed Paths
Live Shape vs. Closed Path
Live shapes differ from a closed path created with the Pen tool in the following ways:
Live Shapes have corner widgets that are displayed by default. With generic paths (open or closed) corner widgets are not available until you select the corner with the Direct Selection tool.
Live Shapes may have distinctive on-art, Live Control Widgets, while generic paths do not:
Rectangles and Rounded Rectangles, in addition to corner widgets, have a center point with which you can move the shape.
Polygons, in addition to corner widgets, have a widget that allows you to adjust the number-of-sides.
Ellipses have a pie widget, which allows you to remove a pie shaped slice from the ellipse or reduce the ellipse to a single slice.
Lines have end widgets that allow you to change the orientation by dragging one end while the other remains fixed, and they have a center point and a rotation widget, that allows you to rotate the line about its center point.
In the layers panel, when you create a Live shape, it will have the name of the shape tool that you used to create it. For example, if you create a rectangle with the Rectangle tool, the Layers panel will give it the default label <rectangle>; whereas, if you create a generic path with the Pen tool, the Layers panel will give it the default label <path>.
The Transformation panel nicely exhibits the properties that distinguish a Live Shape (e.g., created with the Rectangle tool) from a shape with the same structure created with the Pen tool.
Converting Shapes to Paths and Paths to Shapes
To convert a Live Shape to a path and vice versa:
Object > Shape > Expand Shape turns a Live Shape into a regular shape.
Object > Shape > Convert to Shape turns a regular shape into a Live Shape.
Bounding Box Transformations
Bounding Box Transformations
By default, whenever you select one or more objects Ai displays a Bounding Box surrounding the selection. Since when you create a shape it is selected, unless you have Bounding Boxes disabled, you will see a newly created shape surrounded by a Bounding Box. Bounding Boxes allow you to quickly transform an object visually by dragging handles.
To transform objects with a Bounding Box in Adobe Illustrator:
Ensure that View > Show Bounding Box (Ctrl + Shift + b) is toggled on.
Select the objects.
Do one of the following to transform the selection:
Scale selected objects proportionately, by either: (A) dragging a corner anchor point, or (B) Shift + dragging any anchor point.
Rotate selected objects by moving the cursor to a corner until Ai displays a curved double arrow cursor and drag to rotate the selection.
Stretch selected objects in one dimension by dragging a side anchor point.
To use the Corner Widgets or the on-art Live Controls (such as the Polygons widget for increasing the number of sides), you must have Bounding Boxes enabled (View > Show Bounding Box, Ctrl + Shift + b).
Corners
Rectangles, stars, and polygons have Live Corner Widgets. You can change the style or the radius of a corner; and you may do so quantitatively or visually.
Modify a Corner Quantitatively
Use the Transformation Panel to Change a Corner's Style or Radius
To change the style or radius of a corner quantitatively in Adobe Illustrator:
Select the shape.
Get the Window > Transform panel.
In the panel's Rectangle Properties section, update the Corner Type and/or Corner Radius values of the corners that you want to change.
Visually Modify a Corner-Widget
Change Curvature of All Corners
To visually change the style or radius of one or more corners in Adobe Illustrator, you must be aware of two things:
Ensure that the View > Show/Hide Bounding Box toggle is set to Show Bounding Boxes and that the View > Show/Hide Corner Widgets toggle is set to Show Corner Widgets.
With Live Shapes, you can use either Selection tool, but with arbitrary paths, you must use the Direct Selection tool. For paths that you draw with the Pen tool the corner widgets may not show up until you select the path with the Direct Selection tool. For that reason, the following instructions specify using the Direct Selection tool.
To simultaneously change the radius of curvature of all the shape's corners,
With the Direct Selection (white arrow) tool click, on the shape, but do not click on any individual corners. Ai will display the corner widgets.
With the shape selected, click + drag any one of the corners. As you drag the widget away from the corner, toward the interior of the shape, Ai will increase the corners' radius of curvature.
To visually change the radius of one or more corners:
Change Curvature of One or More Corners
Direct Select (white arrow) the corner that you want to modify.
Drag the selected Corner Widget.
To visually change the corner style:
For each corner that you want to modify, Direct Select (white arrow) the entire corner, including the anchor points and the widget.
Alt + Click the repeatedly to rotate through the styles.
Setting the Corner Style Visually
Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, and Ellipse Tools
How Rectangles, Rounded Rectangles, and Ellipses are Related
These three tools are related in the following ways:
They are defined by width and height parameters (whereas polygons and stars are defined by radius parameters).
By default, they are drawn from the top left corner (whereas polygons and stars are drawn from the center). And, since all three are defined by width and height, they can be easily nested in one another.
They have a center point, by which you can drag them with the Shape or Selection tools to reposition them.
Rectangle Tool
You can create a rectangle either quantitatively via a dialog box or visually by mouse gestures.
Generate a Rectangle Quantitatively
Generate a Rectangle
To precisely generate a Live Rectangle using quantitative fields in a dialog box: in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Rectangle tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Click once on the artboard. Ai will display the dialog box.
Update the fields and click OK.
Window Transformation Panel with Corner Type Highlighted
Note that you can enter arithmetic expressions in the dialog box fields. For example, to make a rectangle that is half the size of the one in the accompanying figure, you could enter 225/2 and 175/2.
To adjust the type of corner, click the icon next to the corner radius field in the Properties > Transformation panel.
Note that rectangles that you create with the Rectangle Tool are basically the same as rounded rectangles that you create with the Rounded Rectangle tool. Both have bounding boxes and corner widgets, but in Live Rectangles, the corner radius is set to 0.
Drawing a Rectangle Visually
To draw a rectangle visually with the Rectangle tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Rectangle tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Drag the cross hair diagonally to begin drawing a rectangle of the desired size.
Use any of the following modifier-keys to adjust the creation process:
Shift + drag the crosshair cursor to constrain the rectangle to a square.
Alt + drag the crosshair cursor to draw the rectangle from the center.
Spacebar + drag the crosshair cursor to move the rectangle while drawing.
Release the mouse button. Ai will switch to the (black arrow) Selection tool.
Optionally, adjust the rectangle. Ensure that you have enabled Bounding Boxes (View > Show Bounding Box) and Corner Widgets (View > Show Corner Widget) and do any of the following:
Adjust the dimensions or rotation with the bounding box features.
To round all the corners, drag any corner widget.
To round a single corner, select (with the black arrow) the corner. Ai will darken the selected widget. Then drag the control widget.
To round several corners, Shift + Select (with the black arrow) the corners. Ai will darken the selected widgets. Then drag a selected control widget.
To visually change the style of a rounded corner (among Round, Inverted Round, and Chamfer), repeatedly Alt + click any corner with the Selection tool. To change just selected corners, select them first, and then Alt + click.
Move the ellipse by positioning the cursor over the center point and dragging.
Rounded Rectangle Tool
You can create a Live Ellipse either quantitatively via a dialog box or visually by mouse gestures.
Generate a Rounded Rectangle
Generate a Rounded Rectangle
To precisely generate a Live Rounded Rectangle using quantitative fields in a dialog box: in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Rounded Rectangle tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Click once on the artboard. Ai will display the dialog box.
Update the fields and click OK.
Note that you can enter arithmetic expressions in the dialog box fields. For example, to make a rounded rectangle that is half the size of the one in the accompanying figure, you could enter 225/2 and 175/2.
To adjust the type of corner, click the arrow next to the corner icon in the Window > Transformation panel
Draw a Rounded Rectangle
To draw a Live Rounded Rectangle visually with the Rounded Rectangle tool: in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Rounded Rectangle tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Drag the cross hair diagonally to start drawing an ellipse of the desired size.
Use any of the following modifier-keys to adjust the creation process:
Shift + drag the crosshair cursor to constrain the rounded rectangle to a square.
Alt + drag the crosshair cursor to draw the rectangle from the center.
Spacebar + drag the crosshair cursor to move the rectangle while drawing.
Release the mouse button. Ai will switch to the Selection tool.
Optionally, adjust the rectangle:
Ensure that you have enabled Bounding Boxes (View > Show Bounding Box) and Corner Widgets (View > Show Corner Widget).
Adjust the dimensions or rotation with the bounding box features.
To change the radius of all 4 of the corners, drag any corner widget.
To change the radius of a single corner, select (with the black arrow) the corner. Ai will darken the selected widget. Then drag the control widget.
To change the radius of several corners, Shift + Select (with the black arrow) the corners. Ai will darken the selected widgets. Then drag any selected widget.
To visually change the style of a rounded corner (among Round, Inverted Round, and Chamfer), repeatedly Alt + click any corner with the Selection tool. To change just selected corners, select them first, and then Alt + click.
Move the rounded rectangle by positioning the cursor over the center point and dragging.
Ellipse Tool
You can create a Live Ellipse either quantitatively via a dialog box or visually by mouse gestures.
Generating an Ellipse
Generate an Ellipse Quantitatively
To precisely generate an Ellipse quantitatively with the Ellipse tool dialog in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Ellipse tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Click once on the artboard. Ai will display the dialog box.
Update the fields and click OK.
Note that you can enter arithmetic expressions in the dialog box fields. For example, to make an ellipse that is half the size of the one in the accompanying figure, you could enter 225/2 and 175/2.
Draw an Ellipse
Draw an Ellipse
To draw an Ellipse visually with the Ellipse tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Ellipse tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Drag the cross hair diagonally to start drawing an ellipse of the desired size.
Use any of the following modifier-keys to adjust the creation process:
Shift + drag the crosshair cursor to constrain the ellipse to a circle.
Alt + drag the crosshair cursor to draw the ellipse from the center.
Spacebar + drag the crosshair cursor to move the ellipse while drawing.
Release the mouse button. Ai will switch to the Selection tool.
Optionally, adjust the ellipse:
Ensure that you have enabled Bounding Boxes (View > Show Bounding Box) and Corner Widgets (View > Show Corner Widget).
Adjust the dimensions or rotation with the bounding box features.
Move the ellipse by positioning the cursor over the center point and dragging.
Use the Pie Control to create an ellipse with a missing slice or with a wedge as shown in the accompanying figure above.
Polygon and Star Tools
Box-oriented Ellipse vs Radius-oriented Polygon
Unlike Rectangles, Rounded Rectangles, and Ellipses, which are box-oriented (i.e., their size is defined quantitatively by the width and height of a box that contains the shape), the Polygon or Star are radius-oriented. That is, the Polygon is defined by the radius of the circle that contains the shape and the Star is defined by the radius that contains the interior points and the radius that contains the exterior points. Furthermore, when drawing with these radius-oriented tools, you draw not from corner-to-corner of a containing box, but from the center of the shape to the circumference of a circle that contains the entire shape.
The accompanying figure graphic shows the relationships among the radii that define the polygon and star in their respective dialogs and the width and height parameters that define circles generated with the Ellipse dialog.
Polygon Tool
Generate a Polygon
You can create a Polygon either quantitatively, via a dialog box, or visually by using mouse gestures.
Generate a Polygon
To generate a Polygon quantitatively by updating the tool's dialog box fields in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Polygon tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Click once on the artboard. Ai will display the dialog box.
Update the fields and click OK.
Note that you can enter arithmetic expressions in the dialog box fields. For example, to make a polygon that is half as wide as an ellipse like the one in the accompanying figure that is 225 pixels wide, you would have to have a polygon that has a radius that is half that size. Instead of entering 112.5, you could just enter 225/2 and get the result shown in the accompanying figure.
Draw a Polygon
To draw a polygon visually with the Polygon tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Polygon tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Drag the cross hair and start dragging diagonally to draw a polygon of the correct size:
While dragging, use any of the following modifier-keys to modify the creation process:
Shift + drag constrains the polygon to rest on a side (not a corner).
Spacebar moves the polygon
Up and down arrow keys increase or decrease the number of sides.
Release the mouse button.
You can adjust a finished polygon in any of the following ways:
Polygon Tool's Live Control for changing the number of sides.
To move the polygon, position the cursor over the center point, click and drag.
To increase or decrease the number of sides, drag the Live Control.
To round all the corners:
Click the polygon with the Direct Selection tool.
Drag the Corner Widget. Ai will round all the corners.
To change the style or rounding of individual corners, first select the individual corner Anchor Points (not the Corner Widgets) that you want to change with the Direct Selection tool. To select all the corners at once, click the Star once with the Direct Selection tool. Ai will highlight the Anchor Points and show the Corner Widgets. Then:
To round a selected corner and control the radius of curvature, simply drag the Corner Widget of one of the selected corners.
To visually change the style of all the selected corners, Alt + click the Corner Widget of any one of the selected corners. With each click, Ai will rotate among the options (Round, Inverted Round, and Chamfer).
Star Tool
You can create a Star either quantitatively, via a dialog box, or visually by using mouse gestures.
Generate a Star
Generate a Star
To precisely generate a Star quantitatively by updating fields in the tool's dialog box in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Star tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Click once on the artboard. Ai will display the dialog box.
Update both radius fields and the number of Points field and click OK.
Note that you can enter arithmetic expressions in the dialog box fields. For example, to make a star that is half as wide as an ellipse that is 225 pixels wide, you would have to have a polygon that has a radius that is half that size. Instead of entering 112.5, you could just enter 225/2 and get the result shown in the accompanying figure.
Draw a Star
To draw a Star visually with the Star tool in Adobe Illustrator:
Click the Star tool. The cursor will change to a crosshair.
Drag the cross hair diagonally to draw a Star of the correct size:
Use any of the following modifier-keys to adjust the Star during the creation process:
Shift + drag constrains the star to be upright.
Spacebar moves the star
Up and down arrow keys increase or decrease the number of points.
Ctrl + drag inward or outward to decrease or increase the acuteness of the points.
Alt + drag constrains the sides on either side of each point to be aligned.
To modify the corners, first with the Direct Selection tool, select the corners that you want to change. To select all the corners at once, click the Star once (but not on a corner) with the Direct Selection tool:
To round a selected corner and control the radius of curvature, simply drag the Corner Widget of one of the selected corners.
To change the style of all the selected corners, Alt + click the Corner Widget of one of the selected corners. With each click, Ai will rotate among the options (Round, Inverted Round, and Chamfer).
The Blob Brush "Paints" a Closed Path with a Fill
Blob Brush Tool
Overview
Clicking and dragging with the Blob Brush tool creates, not a line, but a closed path that is filled with the stroke color that was in effect when you started drawing. For example, suppose that in the Appearance panel you set no fill but a red stroke, and then you click and drag freehand horizontally with the mouse. Ai will draw an automatically smoothed, closed path with a red fill that is as high as the default width of the tool's brush and as long as the length that you dragged the cursor. Illustrator calls this object a "Blob."
When you are drawing with the Blob Brush tool and have both a stroke and a fill defined, you will draw with the stroke color, i.e., the stroke color takes precedence over the fill color. However, if you deselect and reselect the object, the Appearance panel will show that you have created a closed path with a fill.
Three Blobs Merged into a One
You can also enhance a blob by creating another overlapping blob. Ai will automatically merge the blobs (provided that you draw with the same color). Furthermore, the tool's default behavior is that you do not even need to select the old paths before you merge blobs. The result is a more complex closed path. But, if you switch colors or create a blob, that does not overlay another blob of the same color, Ai will assume that you want to start creating an entirely new blob.
However, note that if you create a shape with a hole in it (or fail to completely fill the interior of a shape, Ai will create a compound path, as illustrated in the accompanying figure "Three Blobs Merged into One." The path on the right part of the figure is a clone of the one on the left, except that it has been painted in, thus eliminating the hole, and thereby creating a simple closed path.
Blob Brush Tool Options
You can adjust the degree of smoothing as well as the shape, size, and orientation of the tool's brush via the Blob Brush Tool Options dialog box. To open it,double-click the Blob Brush tool (which is grouped with the Brush tool; or alternatively, if the tool is already selected, press the Enter key.
Ai's default, behavior is that when you draw a new shape with the Blob Brush tool that overlaps an existing blob of the same color, Ai merges the new blob with the original blob, even if the original blob was not selected. You can change this default behavior by checking the Merge Only with Selection option checkbox, which tells Ai that if you erase or add new strokes, they should only affect the selected object. If you choose this option, you will probably want to also check the Keep Selected checkbox (in the upper left of the dialog box), which tells Ai that after creating or extending a blob, it should remain selected.
Note that any calligraphic brush works like a Blob Brush.
Using the Blob Brush Tool
To use the Blob Brush in Adobe Illustrator:
Get the Blob Brush tool, which is grouped with the Brush tool.
"Paint" a Blob by clicking and dragging with the mouse or stylus. Ai will create a closed path with a fill.
Draw slowly, so that the tool's automatic smoothing feature has maximum effect.
Use the eraser tool and the smooth tool to clean up the drawing.
Use the square brackets keys to dynamically decrease ("[") or increase ("]") the size of the brush.
Shift + drag to constrain the drawing direction to 0, 45, or 90 degrees.
Use the Eraser tool to remove unwanted parts of a shape. However, the Eraser tool does not have a Fidelity (Smoothness) setting; so, you have to use the Smooth tool to clean up after using the Eraser tool.
To erase part of a blob:
Select the part that you want to erase.
"Paint" with the Eraser tool over the part that you want to erase.
