How to Flip and Rotate in Adobe Illustrator

Have you ever had an object or image that is not facing the way you would like it to? We have all had this issue where you need to flip or rotate in Adobe Illustrator, luckily this is a very simple fix and can be done quickly. 

There are different tools you can use to change an image orientation in Adobe Illustrator. Depending on the angles and effects you want, choose the tool accordingly. 

My name is Aly, I am a graphic designer with many years of experience in Adobe Illustrator. In this article, I will be explaining how you can easily flip or rotate an image or object in Illustrator. 

Method 1: Using the Reflect Tool

Follow the steps below to learn how you can quickly flip and rotate by using the Reflect Tool. 

Step 1: Select your image or object using the Selection Tool (keyboard shortcut V).

Step 2: Once your object or image is selected, choose the Reflect Tool from the toolbar (keyboard shortcut O). While the Reflect Tool is in use, an anchor point will be seen in the object’s center. 

This location designates where the reflection or flip will take place. You may click and drag to reposition the spot if necessary.

Step 3: While clicking the object, hold down the Alt key. The Reflect setting window will appear, where choices for changing the horizontal, vertical, and angle are shown. 

Choose an option or enter in a value if you want it to be rotated a certain way then click the ok button to turn the object or image.

Another way to rotate your image or object is to click on the Selection Tool and click on your image or object. Hover your cursor over an edge and you will see a curved arrow, click right outside of the arrow and move your mouse to turn the image or object. Click off of the selection once you are finished rotating it. 

Method 2: Transform Panel

By using the transform panel you can also rotate or flip your object or image.  

Step 1: Select your object or image by using the selection tool. 

Step 2: Go to the overhead menu Window > Transform if you don’t see your transform panel. From there, you can choose to flip your image or object by clicking on the Flip Vertically or Flip Horizontally option buttons. If you want to rotate you can click on the rotate dropdown, or enter a specific value. 

Method 3: Freehand Rotate

If you don’t have a specific angle, you can also rotate the object by dragging the bounding box. 

Simply select the object or image, click on one of the bounding box corners, and drag to rotate the object or image. 

If you want to rotate or flip multiple objects, select them all at the same time and use the transform panel to make the changes to all of your objects. 

Final Thoughts

And there you have it! Flipping and rotating in Adobe Illustrator is quite simple and quick. My favorite way to flip or rotate objects using the transform panel because it’s easily accessible in my properties panel. 

I hope this article helped you to better understand the very simple process of flipping or rotating in illustrator.

Any questions about how to flip or rotate in Adobe Illustrator? Leave a comment and let me know.

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