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Draw and edit shapes

Learn how to create shapes using Shape tool and how to edit shapes using Combine shapes panel in Illustrator on the iPad.

You can create various primitive shapes using Shape tools and build complex shapes using the Combine shapes panel in Illustrator on the iPad. 

Draw and edit a shape

Try out the latest features and enhancements.

Create basic shapes

Rectangle

Tap Rectangle tool in the toolbar. Drag on the canvas to draw a rectangle.

Circle

Double-tap or long press the Shape tool group and then tap the Circle tool. Drag on the canvas to draw an ellipse.

Triangle 

Double-tap or long press the Rectangle tool and then tap the Triangle tool. Drag on the canvas to draw a live triangle. To create a polygon, drag to change the number of sides using on-canvas controls. 

Star

Double-tap or long press the Rectangle tool and then tap the Star tool. Drag on the canvas to draw a star object. 

Line

Double-tap or long press the Rectangle tool and then tap the Line tool. Drag on the canvas to draw a line. 

Note:

You can also use the primary touch shortcut or use Smart Guides to create a perfect circle from the Ellipse tool, a square from the Rectangle tool, and an equilateral triangle from the Triangle tool.

Edit shapes

When you select a rectangle or a triangle (polygon), a corner point is displayed on the selected shape. You can drag this corner point to create smooth and curved corners for the selected shape.

To edit the shape, select the shape with Direct Selection tool and then edit the paths.

edit shapes
Create round corners

Combine shapes

With the Combine Shapes panel, you can easily create complex shapes by merging and overlapping regions of paths. It works on simple and compound paths.

Illustrator intuitively highlights edges and regions of the selected art, which can be merged to form new shapes. An edge is the section of a path that does not intersect any other path of the selected objects. A region is a closed area bounded by edges. 

To open the Combine shapes panel, tap  in the taskbar and choose one of the following options:

  • Combine shape options to combine paths. You can change from one option to the other without affecting the paths involved. To convert the results to native paths, tap the Convert to path option.
  • Combine all: Tap to combine two or more shapes to form a single shape.
  • Minus front: Tap to remove the overlapped region of the front shape from the shape below.
  • Intersect: Tap to retain only the intersected part of the two or more overlapped shapes.
  • Exclude overlap: Tap to exclude the intersected region of two overlapped shapes and retain the other regions.
  • Divide all: Divide the shapes that you combined into individual shapes.
  • Convert to path: Convert the shape into a path object for further editing.
Shape Builder tools

If you want to modify similar curves or lines of complex shapes without having to edit each anchor point one at a time, use the Shape aware transform tool.

Transform shapes

With the Shape transform tool  ,  you can analyze and modify the geometric structure of complex shapes without manually adjusting each path and anchor point.

Transform shapes using Shape transform tool

  1. Select the object using the Selection tool   .

  2. Tap the Direct selection tool    to enable the Shape aware transform tool.

  3. Select the Shape aware transform tool    to view the geometric construct of the object.

  4. Tap the path you want to modify. 

  5. Press and hold the center of the touch shortcut icon and tap the path to select or deselect a path.

  6. Drag the path to modify the shape of the object. 


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