When working with shapes in Adobe Illustrator, usually it’s pretty simple to create any shape you may need as the shape tools provide various shapes. But when you need a triangle this may be tricky if you are not 100% familiar with the shape tools. Unlike other shapes, there is no triangle tool in Adobe Illustrator.
Not to worry though, we can easily build a triangle by utilizing the other shape tools since we can create a triangle with more than one shape.
My name is Aly, I have over five years of experience using Adobe Illustrator as a graphic designer, and in this article, I will show you four ways to create a triangle in Illustrator.
You can use different shape tools to draw a triangle in Adobe Illustrator such as the Star Tool, Polygon Tool, and Pen Tool.
Contents
Method 1: Star Tool
This is the easiest way I’ve found to create a perfect triangle.
Step 1: Create a new document by going to File > New.
Step 2: Select the Star Tool from the toolbox. You can find the star tool in the same box as the Rectangle tool.
Step 3: With the star tool selected, click anywhere on your empty artboard. This will make a window pop up with settings where you can change the radius, and how many points you want it to have. All you need to do is change the point option to 3 and click OK.
Then you will create a triangle.
Method 2: Rectangle Tool
Follow the steps below to create a triangle by using the rectangle tool.
Step 1: Go to your toolbar and select the Rectangle Tool. Once selected, click and drag on your artboard to create a rectangle.
Step 2: Reopen the Tools panel and choose the Pen Tool. The shape’s anchor points will be displayed for you if you click this. These are squares that are blue and serve as the object’s form.
Step 3: Place your cursor over a single anchor point. An icon with a (-) should display. To remove it, click the anchor point. Your rectangle will change into a triangle with a 90-degree angle if you remove one of the anchor points.
Method 3: Polygon Tool
Follow these few simple steps to create a triangle by using the Polygon Tool.
Step 1: In the shapes section where the rectangle tool is, select the Polygon Tool.
Step 2: When you choose the Polygon Tool, your cursor becomes a plus-shaped symbol with a dot in the center. Add it to your artboard and make one click. The dialog window for polygon settings appears.
And now you should have a perfect triangle on your artboard!
Method 4: Pen Tool
You can also use the Pen Tool to connect four anchor points and create a triangle.
Step 1: Go to your toolbar and select the Pen Tool.
Step 2: With the Pen Tool selected, click anywhere on your artboard to add your first point. You will see that it will be a blue box that says anchor.
Step 3: Click to create the second and third anchor points. If you want to make a perfect triangle, hold down the Shift key to limit the line to a 45-degree angle.
Step 4: Click on the first anchor point you created to close the Pen Tool path.
The Pen Tool is great for creating different types of triangles such as isosceles, equilateral, scalene, obtuse, acute, and right triangles.
Final Thoughts
Creating triangles in Illustrator is a fairly simple process that doesn’t require much time at all. With Illustrator not having a designated tool to create triangles, they do make it very easy to create one from the shapes and tools provided.
Any questions about making a triangle in Adobe Illustrator? Leave a comment and let me know.
