There is no Triangle Tool in Adobe Illustrator. However, there are many ways to make a triangle in Adobe Illustrator. You can draw a triangle by hand with the Pen tool, Polygon, Star, and Shaper tools to make a triangle in Adobe Illustrator.
Hi, my name is Rita. I have been using Adobe Illustrator for over five years. I have incorporated triangles into many of my designs because they are great for different purposes, like backgrounds, patterns, icons, or even logos.
In this tutorial, I will show you four easy ways to make a triangle in Adobe Illustrator.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- You won’t find the Triangle tool on the toolbar.
- Triangle-making tools like the Pen and Star tools help you achieve more flexibility than the Rectangle and Shaper Tools.
- The Rectangle and Polygon tool is perfect for creating regular triangles.
Method 1: Polygon Tool
The Polygon tool allows you to make a triangle by inputting the number of sides you want. The number of sides depends on the shape you want to make.
Let’s make a triangle using the polygon tool in Adobe Illustrator.
Note: The screenshots in this tutorial were taken from Adobe Illustrator CC Windows Versions. Mac and other Versions may appear different.
Step 1: Select the Polygon tool in the toolbar. Click on the right corner of the Rectangle and you’ll see the Polygon Tool.
Step 2: Click on the artboard to see the polygon settings. You just need to click on the canvas once to bring up the polygon settings menu.
From the dialogue box below, you will notice that you can change the value of the Radius and Sides.
The Radius value determines the size of the triangle, and the Sides value will determine the number of sides the polygon will have.
You should input 3 sides since a triangle has three sides.
Click OK to generate an equilateral triangle.
That’s it!
You can change the color of the triangle, add strokes, etc.
Method 2: Star Tool
You will not see the Star Tool from the side menu bar but you can find it from the same menu as the Polygon Tool.
Let’s make a triangle with the star tool.
Step 1: Click on the lower left corner of the rectangle tool from the side menu bar. When you click on the rectangle tool, a drop-down menu of the shapes tool will be displayed. Select the Star Tool.
Step 2: Click once on your artboard to see the star tool settings.
Changing the values in the settings will affect how your triangle will appear. Let me explain.
Unlike the polygon tool that creates only equilateral triangles. You can create any type of triangle you want with the star tool.
The difference between using the star tool and the polygon to make a triangle is flexibility.
You have more flexibility to determine the triangles by changing the values in Radius 1&2. The trick is the higher the difference between the values in both fields (Radius 1 &2), the more distorted the triangle will look.
You can play around with the values for the two fields to see what you can create.
Tip: You can distort the triangle to any shape of your choice from the path using the Direct Selection Tool.
Simply click and drag on the anchor points to distort the shape.
Method 3: Pen Tool
Unlike simply inputting values in the polygon and star tool, you’ll be using anchor points to draw with the Pen Tool.
Step 1: Go to the toolbar at the left corner and select the Pen Tool (select the pen icon). Alternatively, you can hit the letter P on your keyboard to quickly select it.
Step 2: Click on your artboard four times in the shape of a triangle to make one.
Once you click on your artboard, you will notice a point. Click three more times to form your triangle.
Make sure your last point leads to the first path you created. You simply start and end at the same point.
Method 4: Shaper Tool
The Shaper Tool is more like a fun wand that helps with freehand drawing. You can scribble something that looks like the shape you want and use the tool to make it a perfect shape.
Now, let’s make a triangle with the shaper tool.
Step 1: Select the shaper tool from the toolbar. If you don’t find the shaper tool in the toolbar, click on the Edit Toolbar menu (three dots) on the toolbar.
This is what the Shaper Tool looks like.
Step 2: Click anywhere on the artboard to start drawing. You don’t need to be great at drawing. A scribble of what you want is enough.
Final Thought
The triangle is as versatile as the rectangle or ellipse shape in Adobe Illustrator. You can incorporate it into your logo, flyer designs, etc. Even though there isn’t a triangle tool, you can use other tools to quickly draw a triangle in Adobe Illustrator.
I hope you found this tutorial helpful. Which method do you like the most? Or got a new way to make a triangle? Let us know in the comment box below.
