Illustrator is capable of creating stunning effects, all waiting at your finger tips in the Tools palette. Illustrator Tools can transform a single path into a work of art. In this post we present a collection of excellent Adobe Illustrator tutorials that shows you exactly what needs to be done in. Dec 19, 2016  The Complete Guide to Adobe Illustrator Tools Pt. Alright, y’all – today begins the first of our two-part series where I give you an overview of EVERY SINGLE Adobe Illustrator tool.Whether you’re a total newbie to Illustrator or you’ve used it millions of times, you’ll find this guide to be super helpful! You will definitely need to know how to use the following tools on the tool bar. The rest pertain to graphic design and are beyond the scope of these instructions. Selection tool: Lets you select entire objects, resize, delete, move them, etc. Text tool: Allows you to create and edit text. Pen tool: Lets you draw straight or curved lines.

Illustrator provides many tools for creating and manipulatingyour artwork. These galleries provide a quick visual overview foreach tool.

Illustrator providesthe following selection tools:


The Selection tool (V) selects entire objects. See Selectobjects with the Selection tool.


The Direct Selection tool (A) selects points or path segmentswithin objects. See Selectpaths, segments, and anchor points.


The Group Selection tool selects objects and groups withingroups. See Select objectsand groups with the Group Selection tool.


The Magic Wand tool (Y) selects objects with similar attributes.See Selectobjects with the Magic Wand tool.


The Lasso tool (Q) selects points or path segments withinobjects. See Select objectswith the Lasso tool.


The Artboard tool creates separate artboards for printingor export. See Createan artboard.


The Pen tool (P) draws straight and curved lines to createobjects. See Drawingwith the Pen tool.


The Add Anchor Point tool (+) adds anchor points to paths.See Addingand deleting anchor points.


The Delete Anchor Point tool (-) deletes anchor points frompaths. See Addingand deleting anchor points.


The Convert Anchor Point tool (Shift+C) changes smooth pointsto corner points and vice versa. See Convertbetween smooth points and corner points.


The Line Segment tool () draws individual straight line segments.See Draw straightlines with the Line Segment tool.


The Arc tool draws individual concave or convex curve segments.See Draw arcs.


The Spiral tool draws clockwise and counterclockwise spirals.See Draw spirals.


The Rectangular Grid tool draws rectangular grids. See Drawrectangular grids.


The Polar Grid tool draws circular chart grids. See Drawcircular (polar) grids.


The Rectangle tool (M) draws squares and rectangles.See Drawrectangles and squares.


The Rounded Rectangle tool draws squares and rectangles withrounded corners. See Drawrectangles and squares.


The Ellipse tool (L) draws circles and ovals. See Draw ellipses.


The Polygon tool draws regular, multi-sided shapes. See Drawpolygons.


The Star tool draws stars. See Drawstars.


The Flare tool creates lens-flare or solar-flare-like effects.See Drawingflares.


The Pencil tool (N) draws and edits freehand lines. See Drawingwith the Pencil tool.


The Smooth tool smooths Bezier paths. See Smooth paths.


The Path Eraser tool erases paths and anchor points from theobject. See Erase artwork.


The Perspective Grid allows creating and rendering artworkin perspective. See About Perspective Grid.


The Perspective Selection tool allows you to bring objects,text, and symbols in perspective, move objects in perspective, moveobjects in perpendicular to its current direction. See About Perspective Grid.

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The Type tool (T) creates individual type and type containersand lets you enter and edit type. See Enter textin an area.


The Area Type tool changes closed paths to type containersand lets you enter and edit type within them. See Entertext in an area.


The Type On A Path tool changes paths to type paths, and letsyou enter and edit type on them. See Creatingtype on a path.


The Vertical Type tool creates vertical type and verticaltype containers and lets you enter and edit vertical type. See Entertext in an area.

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The Vertical Area Type tool changes closed paths to verticaltype containers and lets you enter and edit type within them. See Enter textin an area.


The Vertical Type On A Path tool changes paths to verticaltype paths and lets you enter and edit type on them. See Creatingtype on a path.


The Paintbrush tool (B) draws freehand and calligraphiclines, as well as art, patterns, and bristle brush strokes on paths.See Draw pathsand apply brush strokes simultaneously .


The Mesh tool (U) creates and edits meshes and mesh envelopes.See Createmesh objects.


The Gradient tool (G) adjusts the beginning and endingpoints and angle of gradients within objects, or applies a gradientto objects. See Apply a gradient to an object.


The Eyedropper tool (I) samples and applies color, type, andappearance attributes, including effects, from objects. See Copyappearance attributes using the Eyedropper tool.


The Live Paint Bucket tool (K) paints faces and edges of LivePaint groups with the current paint attributes. See Paintwith the Live Paint Bucket tool.


The Live Paint Selection (Shift-L)tool selects faces and edgeswithin Live Paint groups. See Select itemsin Live Paint groups.


The Measure tool measures the distance between two points.See Measure thedistance between objects.


The Blob Brush tool (Shift-B)draws paths that automaticallyexpand and merge calligraphic brush paths that share the same colorand are adjacent in stacking order. See Draw andmerge paths with the Blob Brush tool.

Illustratorprovides the following tools for reshaping objects:

Adobe Illustrator Tool Definitions


The Rotate tool (R) rotates objects around a fixed point. See Rotate objects.


The Reflect tool (O) flips objects over a fixed axis. See Reflect or flip objects.


The Scale tool (S) resizes objects around a fixed point. See Scale objects.


The Shear tool skews objects around a fixed point. See Shear objects with the Shear tool .


The Reshape tool adjusts selected anchor points while keeping the overall detail of the path intact. See Stretch parts of a path without distorting its overall shape.


The Free Transform tool (E) scales, rotates, or skews a selection.


The Blend tool (W) creates a series of objects blended between the color and shape of multiple objects. See Create blends.


The Width tool (Shift+W) allows you to create a stroke with variable width. See Using the Width tool.


The Warp tool (Shift+R) molds objects with the movement of the cursor (like molding clay, for example). See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Twirl tool creates swirling distortions within an object. See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Pucker tool deflates an object by moving control points towards the cursor. See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Bloat tool inflates an object by moving control points away from the cursor. See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Scallop tool adds random curved details to the outline of an object. See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Crystallize tool adds random spiked details to the outline of an object. See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Wrinkle tool adds wrinkle-like details to the outline of an object. See Distort objects using a liquify tool.


The Shape Builder tool merges simple shapes to create custom, complex shapes. See Building new shapes using the Shape Builder tool.

The Puppet Warp tool lets you add, move, and rotate pins to seamlessly transform your artwork into different positions and stances. See Puppet Warp tool.

Illustrator provides the following tools for slicing and cutting objects:


The Slice tool divides artwork into separate web images.Createslices


The Slice Selection tool (Shift-K) selects web slices. See Selectslices


The Eraser tool (Shift-E) erases any area of the object overwhich you drag. See Eraseobjects using the Eraser tool


The Scissors tool (C) cuts paths at specified points. See Splita path


The Knife tool cuts objects and paths. See Cutobjects with the Knife tool.

The symbolism tools let you create and modify sets ofsymbol instances. You create a symbol set using the Symbol Sprayertool. You can then use the other symbolism tools to change the density,color, location, size, rotation, transparency, and style of theinstances in the set.


The Symbol Sprayer tool (Shift+S) places multiple symbol instancesas a set on the artboard. See Createsymbol sets.


The Symbol Shifter tool moves symbol instances and changestacking order. See Changestacking order of symbol instances in a set.


The Symbol Scruncher tool moves symbol instances closer togetheror farther apart. See Gatheror scatter symbol instances.


The Symbol Sizer tool resizes symbol instances. See Resizesymbol instances.


The Symbol Spinner tool rotates symbol instances. See Rotatesymbol instances.


The Symbol Stainer tool colorizes symbol instances. See Stainsymbol instances.


The Symbol Screener tool applies opacity to symbol instances.See Adjusttransparency of symbol instances.


The Symbol Styler tool applies the selected style to symbolinstances. See Applya graphic style to symbol instances.

Adobe Illustrator Tools And Uses

Illustrator provides nine graph tools,each one for creating a different type of graph. The type of graphyou choose depends on the information you want to communicate. See Createa graph.


The Column Graph tool (J) creates graphs that compare valuesusing vertical columns.


The Stacked Column Graph tool creates graphs that are similarto column graphs, but stacks the columns on top of one another,instead of side by side. This graph type is useful for showing therelationship of parts to the total.


The Bar Graph tool creates graphs that are similar to columngraphs, but positions the bars horizontally instead of vertically.


The Stacked Bar Graph tool creates graphs that are similarto stacked column graphs, but stacks the bars horizontally insteadof vertically.


The Line Graph tool creates graphs that use points to representone or more sets of values, with a different line joining the pointsin each set. This type of graph is often used to show the trendof one or more subjects over a period of time.


The Area Graph tool creates graphs that are similar to linegraphs, but emphasizes totals as well as changes in values.


The Scatter Graph tool creates graphs that plot data pointsas paired sets of coordinates along the x and y axes. Scatter graphsare useful for identifying patterns or trends in data. They alsocan indicate whether variables affect one another.


The Pie Graph tool creates circular graphs whose wedges representthe relative percentages of the values compared.


The Radar Graph tool creates graphs that compare sets of valuesat given points in time or in particular categories, and is displayedin a circular format. This type of graph is also called a web graph.

Illustratorprovides the following tools for moving around in and controllingthe view of the artboard:


The Hand tool (H) moves the Illustrator artboard within theillustration window.


The Print Tiling tool adjusts the page grid to control whereartwork appears on the printed page.


The Zoom tool (Z) increases and decreases the view magnificationin the illustration window.

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Adobe Illustrator Tool Definitions For Kids

Learn about the Basic and Advanced toolbars, and how to customize a toolbar, create a new toolbar, and manage multiple toolbars.

When you start Illustrator, a toolbar appears at the left of the screen that includes various tools you need to use while working on your document. The tools in the toolbar let you perform various tasks, such as create, select, and manipulate objects and select, type, paint, draw, sample, edit, and move images.

Illustrator provides the following types of toolbar:

  • Basic: This toolbar is displayed by default when Illustrator is launched. It includes a selective set of tools that you frequently need while working on Illustrator. To view the complete list of tools, click the Edit Toolbar (..) icon displayed at the bottom of the Basic toolbar. The All Tools drawer appears listing all the tools available in Illustrator.
  • Advanced: This toolbar includes all the tools available in Illustrator. To switch from the Basic toolbar to Advanced, do one of the following:
    • Choose Windows > Toolbars > Advanced.
    • Select Advanced in the flyout menu of the drawer.

The Basic toolbar is replaced with the Advanced toolbar.

Note:

(For MENA locales) If you are not able to view the MENA Type tools on the Basic toolbar, which is displayed by default, do one of the following to use these tools:

  • Open the All Tools drawer of the Basic toolbar by clicking the Edit Toolbar button and drag the MENA Type tools from the drawer to the toolbar.
  • Open the Advanced toolbar.
A. Basic toolbar B. Advanced toolbar C. All Tools drawer D. Flyout menu E. Tool category F. Tool available in the toolbar G. Tool available in the drawer

In Illustrator, the tools are broadly organized in the following categories:

  • Select
  • Draw
  • Type
  • Paint
  • Modify
  • Navigate

You can customize a toolbar by moving tools between the toolbar and the drawer. You can add more tools from the drawer to the toolbar or remove tools from the toolbar.

The tools can be added, removed, or rearranged in the toolbar only when the drawer is open. The toolbar is locked for editing when the drawer is closed.

You can add one tool or multiple tools together as a group from the All tools drawer to the toolbar.

  • To add a one tool at a time in the toolbar, drag the tool and drop at the divider line between the tools.

To remove a tool from the toolbar, drag the tool from the toolbar and drop anywhere in the drawer. The tool is automatically added to the category to which it belong.

To go back to the original settings, click Reset in the flyout menu of the drawer.

A. Adding a tool as a group on the toolbar B. Adding a tool separately on the toolbar

You can select multiple tools from the drawer, irrespective of the categories they belong to and add them as one tool group in the toolbar.

To select multiple tools together and add them as one custom group, do the following:

  1. Press the Shift key and click the tools you want to add to the toolbar. Alternatively, use Ctrl+click (Windows) or cmd+click (macOS) to select multiple tools.
  2. Drag the selection and drop at the divider line between tools in the toolbar.

The icon for the tool you select first is displayed in the toolbar.

Similarly, to remove multiple tools together, you can select them using the Shift key and drag them from the toolbar to the drawer.

A. Adding multiple tools as a group within a tool on the toolbar B. Adding multiple tools in a separate group on the toolbar

To view a list of all tools in a tool group, do one of the following:

  • Left-click the tool to view a list of all the tools in the tool group.

  • Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS), and then click a tool to cycle through and select tools in the group.

  • Press the keyboard shortcut of a tool. The keyboard shortcut is displayed in the tool tip and the All Tools drawer. For example, you can select the Move tool by pressing the V key.

Tip: To hide tool tips, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (macOS), and deselect Show Tool Tips.

Note:

If you install any third-party tools, by default they are shown on the toolbar. If you have added more custom toolbars, the third-party tools are available in their drawers.

You can show or hide the following controls on the toolbar by selecting their icons in the Show section displayed at the bottom of the drawer:

  • Control Visibility of Fill Stroke Control
  • Control Visibility of Coloring Control
  • Control Visibility of Drawing Mode Control
  • Control Visibility of Screen Mode Control

Change drawing modes and screen modes using the toolbar

Click the icons at the bottom of the toolbar to change the drawing mode from Draw Normal () to Draw Behind () or Draw Inside ().

Additionally, you can also change the screen mode by clicking the Change Screen Mode icon () at the bottom of the toolbar and choosing the desired screen mode.

To switch to the Advanced toolbar, which is a full-fledged toolbar including all the tools, do one of the following:

  • Choose Windows > Toolbars > Advanced.
  • Select Advanced in the flyout menu of the drawer.

The Basic toolbar is replaced with the advanced toolbar.

Do the following to create your own customized toolbars:

  • In the drawer of the toolbar, choose New Toolbar in the flyout menu.
  • Choose Windows > Tools > New Toolbar.
Definitions

After you provide a name and click OK, a blank toolbar is created. Click the Edit Toolbar button to open the drawer and add tools to the toolbar.

When you have multiple toolbars available, do the following to manage the toolbars:

  1. Do one of the following to open the Manage Toolbars dialog box:
    • Click Windows > Tools > Manage Toolbars.
    • Choose Manage Toolbars in the flyout menu of the drawer.

  2. In the Manage Toolbars dialog box, do one of the following:

    • Rename: Select a toolbar from the list, type a new name for the toolbar in the text box, and then click OK.
    • New/Copy: Select a toolbar from the list, click the copy button, rename the toolbar if required, and then click OK. If no toolbar is selected, a new toolbar is created.
    • Delete: Select a toolbar from the list, and then click the Delete button.

You can expand some tools to show tools hidden beneath them. A small triangle at the lower right of the tool icon signals the presence of hidden tools. Hold down the mouse button on the visible tool to view the tools hidden under it.

Some tools in the toolbar have options that appear in the Properties panel. Additionally, you can also double-click a tool in the toolbar to view and change the settings for that tool.

Adobe Illustrator Tools List

You can move the toolbar by dragging its title bar.

View the toolbar in double-stack or single-column

Click the double-arrow on the title bar to toggle between the single-column and double-stack view of the toolbar.

To show or hide the toolbar, do one of the following:

Adobe Illustrator Tools Guide

  • Choose Window > Tools.
  • Click the close button on the title bar.

  • Click a tool in the toolbar. If there is a small triangle at a tool’s lower-right corner, hold down the mouse button to view the hidden tools, and then click the tool you want to select.

  • Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS), and then click a tool to cycle through and select hidden tools.

  • Press the tool’s keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut is displayed in its tool tip. For example, you can select the Move tool by pressing the V key.

Tip: To hide tool tips, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (macOS), and deselect Show Tool Tips.

The pointer for most tools matches the tool’s icon. Each pointer has a different hotspot, where an effect or action begins. With most tools, you can switch to precise cursors, which appear as cross hairs centered on the hotspot, and provide for greater accuracy when working with detailed artwork. Do one of the following:

  • Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > General(macOS), and select Use Precise Cursors.
  • Press Caps Lock on the keyboard.

Note:

A toolbar is persistent in the workspace it is created in. If you change to another workspace and then return to the original workspace, any toolbars created are retained and reopened.

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Adobe Illustrator Tools Description

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Adobe Illustrator Tool Definitions For Beginners

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