{"id":236,"date":"2016-06-14T00:03:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T00:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/?p=236"},"modified":"2024-11-14T13:46:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T02:46:02","slug":"how-to-use-shape-builder-tool-in-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/how-to-use-shape-builder-tool-in-illustrator","title":{"rendered":"How to use Shape Builder Tool in Illustrator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A large part of working with Adobe Illustrator is being able to use shapes to create intricate designs for brochures, letterheads, logos etc. This is where the Shape Builder Tool comes in handy, with the help of this tool you will be able to merge, extract, and select shapes easily. Follow this blog to learn of its features!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Steps to Use Shape Builder Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">STEP 1<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Start off with having multiple shapes drawn on your<strong> Adobe Illustrator<\/strong> document. As shown by screenshot one, I have chosen to draw two squares overlapped with a circle on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"691\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-1-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg\" alt=\"ShapeBuilder-1-DynamicWebTraining\" class=\"wp-image-209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-1-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-1-DynamicWebTraining-1-260x300.jpg 260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click image to enlarge <i class=\"fa fa-external-link\"><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">STEP 2<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the <strong>Selection Tool<\/strong>, go ahead and select the shapes you would like to merge. Make sure to only have the shapes chosen that you want to alter, otherwise you will end up editing unwanted shapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-2-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg\" alt=\"ShapeBuilder-2-DynamicWebTraining\" class=\"wp-image-210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-2-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg 601w, https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-2-DynamicWebTraining-1-262x300.jpg 262w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click image to enlarge <i class=\"fa fa-external-link\"><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">STEP 3<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, there are two ways to combine these shapes together. Once way is to go into the Menu Bar and select <strong>Window<\/strong> then from the Drop Down click on <strong>Path Finder<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"649\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-3-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg\" alt=\"ShapeBuilder-3-DynamicWebTraining\" class=\"wp-image-211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-3-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-3-DynamicWebTraining-1-277x300.jpg 277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click image to enlarge <i class=\"fa fa-external-link\"><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As the <strong>Path Finder<\/strong> Box opens up there will be multiple options. Underneath the <strong>Pathfinders<\/strong> option press on <strong>Merge<\/strong>. The shapes will be merged together and you will be able to move them as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">STEP 3<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another way is to use the <strong>Shape Builder Tool<\/strong> from the tools box on the left, where you can now edit the shapes as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"592\" height=\"703\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-4-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg\" alt=\"ShapeBuilder-4-DynamicWebTraining\" class=\"wp-image-212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-4-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg 592w, https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-4-DynamicWebTraining-1-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click image to enlarge <i class=\"fa fa-external-link\"><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">STEP 4<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you hover your mouse over the shapes you will notice how each section either overlapped or not is treated separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"648\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-5-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg\" alt=\"ShapeBuilder-5-DynamicWebTraining\" class=\"wp-image-213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-5-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-5-DynamicWebTraining-1-278x300.jpg 278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click image to enlarge <i class=\"fa fa-external-link\"><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Merging Two Layers Together \u2013<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Shape Builder Tool<\/strong> provides you with the ability to combine two or more layers to create one joined shape. You are able to do this by selecting the first layer and dragging the line which will appear over to the final layer. Once you release the two images will be transformed into one shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"594\" height=\"702\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-6-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg\" alt=\"ShapeBuilder-6-DynamicWebTraining\" class=\"wp-image-214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-6-DynamicWebTraining-1.jpg 594w, https:\/\/www.dynamicwebtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ShapeBuilder-6-DynamicWebTraining-1-254x300.jpg 254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click image to enlarge <i class=\"fa fa-external-link\"><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Deleting a Layer \u2013<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Select the layer you would like to delete and press the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Delete<\/span> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Copying a Layer \u2013<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Select the layer and press <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ALT<\/span>, a copy of the layer will be made and as you move your mouse you will be able to move the copied layer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A large part of working with Adobe Illustrator is being able to use shapes to create intricate designs for brochures, letterheads, logos etc. This is where the Shape Builder Tool comes in handy, with the help of this tool you will be able to merge, extract, and select shapes easily. Follow this blog to learn&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adobe-illustrator"],"yoast_head":"<title>How to use Shape Builder Tool in Adobe Illustrator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"View and Share Dynamic Web Training Blog Archives. 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