Draw objects

The center of the drawing area is a large rectangular area known as the artboard (or document frame). The artboard represents the intended output area of the document. In most cases, you'll want to create your artwork in the artboard.

Choosing a tool in the Toolbox

The Toolbox contains all the tools you'll use to create your artwork. A tool icon with an arrow in the lower-right corner indicates a tool group. Click and hold this icon to display a list of other tool options.

The Toolbox displaying tools in a tool group

The following exercise uses the Polygon tool, which is in the same tool group as the Rectangle tool.

To select the Polygon tool

1. Click and hold the Rectangle  tool (fifth tool down in the Toolbox) to open a list of available tools.

   

2. Select the Polygon  tool. After you click a tool, options for the chosen tool appear in the Properties panel.

   Note the options for the Polygon tool in the Properties panel

   

Drawing a shape

You can use the Polygon tool to draw a variety of shapes.

To draw a shape

1. If any objects are selected on the page, in the Select menu, click Deselect.

2. On the Properties panel, under Edit Polygon, change the Points slider to 5. (You can change the number by clicking the current value and typing a number.)

3. Set the Inner Depth slider to 50 percent.

4. Drag with the Polygon tool inside your document window.

5. Release the mouse when the star shape is the desired size and angle.

You should now have a star-shaped object that looks something like the following:

Now that you have created an object, learn how to Apply attributes to it.