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How to Create Basic Shapes in Illustrator CS

Contents

  1. Getting Started
  2. Setting Up the Document
  3. Using Basic Shape Tools
  4. Drawing the Pencil Shape
  5. Drawing the Piece of Stationery
  6. Drawing with the Rectangular Grid Tool
  7. Decorating the Stationery Border
  8. Tips for Drawing Polygons, Spirals, and Stars
  9. Painting the Logo
  10. Copying and Scaling Shapes
  11. Review Questions
  12. Review Answers

Chapter Description

Many objects in the Adobe Illustrator program can be created by starting with basic shapes and then editing them to create new shapes. In this lesson, you'll use some basic shapes to create a logo. Along the way, you'll learn how to use tools and commands to create basic shapes, copy and combine objects to create new shapes, paint objects, and more.

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Using Basic Shape Tools

In this lesson, you’ll create a simple logo using the basic shape tools. The shape tools are organized in two groups in the toolbox, under the ellipse and Rectangle tools. You can tear these groups off the toolbox to display in their own palettes.

  1. Hold down the mouse button on the Rectangle tool (rectagle.jpg) until a group of tools appears, and then drag to the tear-off triangle at the end and release the mouse button.
    w02_03.jpg

    Click to view larger image

  2. Move the Rectangle tool group away from the toolbox.
4. Drawing the Pencil Shape | Next Section Previous Section