Create and combine shapes

Last updated on 18 October 2023

Get started with shape tools and explore how to create, edit, and combine shapes to build innovative designs in Illustrator on the web (beta).

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As a designer, your creative journey begins with shapes that help you build your design. Illustrator on the web (beta) gives you fundamental shape tools to quickly create live shapes like rectangles, squares, stars, circles, and polygons. You can edit them and bring your creative imagination to life by merging multiple shapes to build unique and interesting artwork.

How does drawing live shapes help you?

The live shapes capability allows you to draw basic shapes, such as rectangles, ellipses, polygons, lines, and stars, and edit them more intuitively and interactively.

Is it easy to edit shapes in Illustrator on the web (beta)?

The user-friendly interface lets you modify your shape's attributes in the Properties panel. It makes editing the visual appearance of your shapes easier.

How does combining shapes enhance your design workflow?

You can merge, subtract, intersect, and exclude overlapping shapes. It allows you to create custom shapes and craft unique illustrations, logos, and posters.

Use the hands-on tutorial in the app

Play this video for an introduction to the tutorial about drawing and combining shapes.

Try it in the app
Now that you've watched the video, follow along with the tutorial to learn how to draw and combine shapes.

Open Illustrator on web (Beta)

Draw live shapes

Select and hold the Rectangle tool to use shape tools like Ellipse, Polygon, Star, Line Segment, and Arrow Line.

Shape tool	How to draw with it
	Select the Rectangle (M) tool, and then drag on the canvas to draw a rectangle.
	Select the Ellipse (L) tool, and then drag on the canvas to draw an ellipse.
	Select the Polygon tool, and then drag on the canvas to draw a live triangle. To change the number of sides, drag the on-canvas Sides option.
	Select the Star (S) tool, and then drag on the canvas to draw a star object.
	Select the Line Segment (\) tool, and then drag on the canvas to draw a line.
	Select the Arrow Line tool, and then drag on the canvas to draw an arrow.

Edit shapes

With the Properties panel, you can access and modify a range of shape attributes, such as Height, Width, Fill and Stroke colors, and Opacity.

When you select a live shape like a rectangle or polygon, live corners display on the object. You can use the live corners to edit the edges of your live shape.

Select the shape using the respective shape tool.
Drag the live corner point to create smooth and curved edges.

A rectangle is selected with the Direct Selection tool next to a rectangle with rounded edges that demonstrates how paths are edited to make rounded corners. — Drag the corner points using the shape tool or Direct Selection tool to create curved corners.

Combine and create new shapes

Whether you're a graphic designer or a creative enthusiast, combining shapes can open endless design possibilities.

You can create new designs by merging, subtracting, or intersecting overlapping shapes, allowing you to customize and craft unique artwork for illustrations, logos, icons, and more.

Select shapes with overlapping paths using the Selection tool.
Select the Combine shapes icon from the taskbar to open the Combine shapes panel, and then select one of the following options:

Multiple objects with overlapping paths are selected and the Combine Shapes panel is open with Shape builder, Combine all, Minus front, and more options.. — Create complex shapes using the Combine shapes option.

Option	What it does
Shape builder (Shift + M)	Provides a fast and intuitive way to combine, merge, and divide multiple shapes using scribble and drag. Familiarize yourself with the Shape builder tool in Illustrator on the desktop and use the same gestures in Illustrator on the web (beta) to construct new shapes.
Combine all	Combines two or more shapes to form a single shape.
Minus front	Removes the overlapped region of the front shape from the back shape.
Intersect	Retains only the intersected part of two or more overlapped shapes.
Exclude overlap	Excludes the intersected region of two overlapped shapes and retains the other regions.
Divide all	Divides the shapes that you combined into individual shapes.
Convert to path	Converts the shape into a path object for further editing.

Pro tips and tricks

Hover over a tool to view a short clip and tip on how it works.
Press Shift as you drag to create a perfect circle from the Ellipse tool, a square from the Rectangle tool, and an equilateral triangle from the Polygon tool.
Perform actions directly on the canvas using the Contextual Task Bar that's displayed when you select an object.

Finalize your artwork

You can also take your artwork to Illustrator on the desktop and refine it by selecting the Open in desktop app button. Once your artwork is complete, select Share > Publish and export to save it in other formats (PNG, JPEG, AiT, Ai, PDF, and SVG) and share it with anyone, anywhere.

Have a question or an idea?

If you have a question to ask or an idea to share, come and participate in the Adobe Illustrator on the web (beta) Community. We would love to hear from you and see your creations.

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