Create Basic Shapes in Adobe Illustrator

Hello and welcome to VisiHow. In this video, we are going to look at how to create basic shapes in Adobe Illustrator. This is our second article in the series on Adobe Illustrator.

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   The toolbar is located on the left-hand corner of the Illustrator screen

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2. 2
   Today, we're going to focus on the shape tool, which is the second tool from the top on the right side

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   It looks a bit like a rectangle. Clicking and holding on the tool will bring up a short menu of options. You can create various types of shapes using this tool by clicking on the desired shape in the menu.

   

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   Just to the right side of the menu of shape tools there is a bar called the "Tear-off"

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   Clicking on that will cause the menu to turn into another toolbar.

   

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4. 4
   First, we're going to create an ellipse, which is an oval shape

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   Tap on the ellipse tool in the shapes toolbar.

   

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5. 5
   Click anywhere on the blank screen, then hold and drag to create the shape

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   The width and height of the ellipse are shown in a small gray square as the shape is being created. Let go of the mouse key to finish.

   

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6. 6
   Another way to use the ellipse tool is to just click wherever you want the shape to appear

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   Click anywhere on the screen, and a box will appear where you can set the desired width and height of the ellipse. This is especially important in creating a circle. A circle is an ellipse that has the same width and height.

   

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7. 7
   Type in the same number for width and height in the custom box and click "OK"

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   A circle will appear.

   

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8. 8
   Another useful tool for creating shapes is the color selection tool

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   It is located a bit further down on the main toolbar. It consists of one solid square on the upper left with another square slightly behind it and to the right. The square in the background only shows color on the outside of the shape. The solid square in front is called the fill, and the square in the back is called the stroke. This is just another name for the border around the shape.

   

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9. 9
   The border color can be changed by double-clicking on the background, or stroke, square

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   This will bring up the Color Picker window, where you can choose a color.

   

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10. 10
    Another way to change the color of the stroke is the drop down menu at the top of the screen, located just below the program's main menu bar

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    A shape's stroke or border can be changed by clicking on the arrow next to the outlined shape. The fill color of a shape can be changed by clicking on the arrow next to the solid color

    

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11. 11
    As you are changing colors, a color toolbar appears at the top right of the screen

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    Colors can be changed directly on the toolbar as well. For example, selecting the stroke, then clicking on a green portion will make the outline of the shape that color green.

    

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12. 12
    As previously mentioned, the solid colored square represents the fill, which is the color inside the shape

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    Double-clicking on the fill will bring up the Color Picker again, where the desired color can be chosen. The fill color can also be changed using all the previously discussed methods of changing the stroke color.

    

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13. 13
    We will continue learning how to make more basic shapes in our next video

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    You've been watching how to create basic shapes in Adobe Illustrator. Thank you for watching VisiHow. Have a great day!

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Hi, and welcome to VisiHow. In this video, we're going to continue looking at how to make basic shapes in Adobe Illustrator. In the previous video, we learned how to use the ellipse tool, and now we will learn how to use the other shape tools. Right beside the ellipse tool, there is the polygon tool. This tool can be used to make any shape that has more or less than three sides. The polygon tool can be used to create a triangle.

1. 1
   Click on the polygon tool

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2. 2
   There are two ways to do this

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   Click anywhere on the art board and choose three sides, and then click "OK".

   

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3. 3
   To change the color, click the color picker and adjust the color

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   Click "OK".

   

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4. 4
   Another way to use the polygon tool is to click and drag on the art board

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   Press the "up" arrow key to increase the number of sides.

   

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5. 5
   Click the star tool to the right of the polygon tool

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6. 6
   Click anywhere on the art board, and the star options box will pop up

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   Change the number of points, if desired. Click "OK".

   

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7. 7
   To create a gradient inside the star, find and click the gradient tool underneath the fill and stroke boxes

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   A gradient will take two or more colors and transition from one color to another color. When you click the gradient tool, it will automatically fill the star with a linear gradient.

   

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8. 8
   Change the drop-down option from "linear" to "radial" in the gradient menu

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   It will start in the center and radiate out.

   

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9. 9
   To change the gradient color from orange to yellow, double-click on the slider at the bottom-left of the gradient box, and choose yellow

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   Change the opacity from 0% which is completely transparent, to 100%, which is completely opaque.

   

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10. 10
    Click the gradient slider at the bottom-right of the gradient box, and choose yellow

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    Change the opacity to 100%.

    

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11. 11
    Click the gradient slider in the middle-bottom of the gradient box, and choose orange

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    now, you'll have a radial gradient going from yellow, to orange, to yellow. To change the color of the gradient, click any of the gradient sliders below, and click on different colors.

    

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12. 12
    Click on the rectangle tool on the toolbar

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13. 13
    Click somewhere on the art board and drag

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    A radial gradient will appear inside of the rectangle.

    

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14. 14
    Change the gradient pattern to linear in the drop-down menu

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    Click the box next to "Type" in the gradient menu to choose one of the gradient presets

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16. 16
    Click "Water" to change it to a water gradient

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17. 17
    Now that you've watched this video, you should be able to work with the tools in Adobe Illustrator

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    You should be able to fill it with any color or gradient that you'd like, and set the border and stroke to any color that you'd like, as well. If you have any questions or comments, please post them in the section below. Thank you very much for watching VisiHow. Have a great day.

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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