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Tools in Illustrator

Learn about the tools in Illustrator that will help you create stunning artwork.

Illustrator tools help you create and refine your artwork with speed, precision, and ease. Based on your expertise and requirements, pick your tools or a combination to draw, paint, reshape, and much more! 

Get to know your Illustrator toolbar

When you open a document in Illustrator, the default toolbar appears at the left of the screen. It includes a set of tools that you frequently need while working in Illustrator.

Hover over the tools to display a visual tool description.

Press and hold tool icons to view more hidden tools.

Click the Edit Toolbar icon         to view the complete list of tools.

Types of tools in Illustrator

Tools in Illustrator are divided into six categories. Select any of these categories to learn about the tools within them. 

Draw tools

Select tools

Navigate tools

Paint tools

Text tools

Modify tools


Draw tools

Draw tools help you to draw and edit objects and paths, and create perspective. You can also add symbols and graphs to your artwork.

Watch this animation to see some of the Draw tools in action.

Pen tool

Pen tool[P]lets you draw connected lines and curves with precision using anchor points and direction handles.

Pencil tool

Pencil tool[N]lets you draw freehand paths like drawing with a pencil.

Add Anchor Point tool

Add Anchor Point tool[+]lets you add anchor points on paths.

Delete Anchor Point tool

Delete Anchor Point tool[-]lets you remove anchor points from paths.

Anchor Point tool

Anchor Point tool[Shift+C]lets you convert from corner points to smooth anchor points, and adjust the direction handles if smooth.

Curvature tool

Curvature tool[Shift+~]lets you draw and edit connected lines and curves easily using anchor points.

Select tools

Before you work on your artwork, you need to select some or all of its elements. Select tools let you not just select, but move, rotate, scale, and transform your artwork, with varying degrees of precision.

Watch this animation to see some of the Select tools in action. Use the practice file to try them out.

Selection tool

Selection tool [V] lets you select an object or a group of objects to move and resize.

Direct Selection tool

Direct Selection tool [A] lets you select anchor points and path segments to reshape objects.

Group Selection tool

Group Selection tool lets you select an object within a group, or a group of objects within a parent group.

Magic Wand tool

Magic Wand tool [Y] lets you select objects that share an attribute, like color or opacity.

Lasso tool

Lasso tool [Q] lets you drag to draw a shape around the elements that you want to select.

Artboard tool

Artboard tool [Shift+O] lets you select, create, and adjust artboards on the canvas.

Navigate tools

Navigate tools let you set your focus on an area of the artwork. You can perform basic actions like zoom in or out, rotate the view, drag artwork, or add grids to work on the canvas.

Watch this animation to see some of the Navigate tools in action.

Hand tool

Hand tool[H]lets you move the canvas around to view parts of your artwork.

Print Tiling tool

Print Tiling tool lets you adjust the printable area of artboards.

Rotate View tool

Rotate View tool [Shift+H]lets you change the canvas orientation to a specific angle.

Zoom tool

Zoom tool[Z]lets you zoom in and out of the canvas.

Paint tools

Illustrator offers a fine collection of vector brushes with which you can apply fills and strokes to elements in your artwork. You can also add blends and build complex shapes to get the desired visual effect.

Watch this animation to see some of the Paint tools in action. Use the practice file to try them out.

Gradient tool

Gradient tool[G]lets you create a gradual blend between colors.

 Mesh tool

Mesh tool[U]lets you blend colors and create contours on the surfaces of objects.

Shape Builder tool

Shape Builder tool[Shift+M]lets you create complex shapes by merging and erasing simpler objects.

Live Paint Bucket tool

Live Paint Bucket tool[K]lets you create a Live Paint group and apply color, patterns, or gradients to different elements.

Live Paint Selection

Live Paint Selection tool[Shift+L]lets you select elements of the Live Paint group.

Text tools

Text tools help you to add and edit text (type) in your artwork. Apart from plain text, you can also add text on a path or in an area, and apply the desired text effects.

Watch this animation to see some of the Text tools in action.

Type tool

Type tool[T]lets you enter text at a point or in an area.

Area Type

Area Type tool lets you use the boundaries of objects to enter and control the flow of text.

Type on a Path tool

Type on a Path tool lets you enter text along the shape of a path.

Vertical Type tool

Vertical Type tool lets you enter text vertically at a point.

Vertical Area Type tool

Vertical Area Type tool lets you use the boundaries of objects to enter and control the flow of vertical text.

Vertical Type on a Path tool

Vertical Type On A Path tool lets you enter vertical text along the shape of a path.

Touch Type tool

Touch Type tool[Shift+T]lets you move, scale, and rotate individual characters in a word.

Modify tools

Use advanced Modify tools in Illustrator to manipulate objects and paths.

Watch this animation to see some of the Modify tools in action. Use the practice file to try them out.

Rotate tool

Rotate tool[R]lets you rotate an object around a reference point.

Reflect tool

Reflect tool[O]lets you flip an object over a reference point.

Scale tool

Scale tool[S]lets you resize an object relative to a reference point.

Shear tool

Shear tool lets you slant or skew an object relative to a reference point.

Reshape tool

Reshape tool lets you reshape a path relative to an anchor point on the path.

width tool

Width tool[Shift+W]lets you change the thickness of strokes.

Customize the Illustrator toolbar

As you get more familiar with Illustrator tools, you can customize the toolbar according to your preference. You can choose to group frequently used tools and place them at the top of the toolbar or hide those tools you don't use frequently.

Learn more

While these tools are powerful in themselves, experienced users often combine multiple tools to achieve more precise and complex results. Watch some tutorials and try out beginner projects to learn how to combine various tools.

If you'd like to be part of a lively creative community, share your artwork on Behance, Adobe's own platform.


Can't find the Illustrator toolbar?

The Illustrator toolbar should appear on the left of your canvas by default. If you're unable to locate it or closed it by mistake, learn how to bring back the toolbar.

Have a question or an idea?

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If you have a question to ask or an idea to share, come and participate in Adobe Illustrator Community. We'd love to hear from you.

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