Home > Tutorials > Illustrator > Basic

Illustrator Tutorial 0003 -Amazing Hidden Tricks in Illustrator! (and other cool tricks)

Okay! The truth comes out at last! Who knew that randomly holding down certain keys while using certain tools in Illustrator could produce some really great, not always documented effects!

While perusing the Adobe Illustrator forums for the answer to a couple of serious Illustrator questions, I stumbled upon a topic that dealt with fun undocumented tricks in Illustrator. This is the kind of stuff that makes wrestling with your Applications FUN! After confirming a couple, I decided to search for some of my own, and compile these into a list. Perhaps some of you can use this information artistically!

Hint: Set your stroke color to black, size 0.5, and your fill color to null (no fill).

Hidden Feature Number 1: Did you ever play with a Spirograph when you were a kid? There are many variations that you can create with this undocumented feature. Draw a star. While still holding down on the mouse button, hold down the ` key. (on the same key as the tilde ~). Moving the mouse faster or slower determines the space between the copies. Faster = further apart.

A variation : Creating "Superstars!": Hold down the ` and shift keys while drawing a star. This will create a star with consistant proportions radiating from the same centerpoint.

This works for most of the shape drawing tools in Illustrator. It took a little playing with in order to get somewhat good results.

Another variation : Use the circle tool. Hold down the option and ` keys to get a very complicated design. Impress your friends!

(Click for larger image)

You guessed it, another variation: If you can manage it, with the star tool selected, hold down the option, shift, and ` keys. The option key makes the angle between the start point more "traditional" while the shift constrains the proportions, and the ` makes the instant copies while drawing.

This is a fun way to experiment with Illustrator and see what types of modifier keys work with the tools.

Turn on Snap to Grid and hold down the shift key while drawing to get concentric shapes. Cool!

More Fun with the Spirograph Tool:

Curve tool	Polar Grid Tool - AI 10	Spiral Tool

Very Helpful Feature #2:

Ever needed to draw an object, then realized it was not quite in the right place? Fear not! Before you let go of that mouse button, press the space bar. Instantly, you can move that object to the correct spot. Let go of the space bar, and you can continue drawing! Very good trick! Want to paint with that object? Hold down the space bar and the ` at the same time!

Very helpful feature #3:

You all know about using the shift key to constrain the proportions of your object, but what about when you need to draw an object from a certain center point? Simply locate where you want the center to be, hold down the option key, and start drawing! I find this really useful if I want to create a poly shape or oval to fit a specific spot.

Quick Menu Options:

Need access to menu options fast? Hold down the control key and click. This brings up a contextual menu with quick access to toggle between preview and outline mode, including the Undo and Redo commands.

Guide Hidden Feature:

Hold down the option key when dragging a guide from the ruler. This will rotate the guide 90°, giving you instant access to horizontal and vertical guides from either ruler.

This is by no means the end of the hidden tricks waiting to be discovered. If you want to see a piece of history, hold down the option key and select About Illustrator from the Apple Menu. For fun, option click the current tool menu at the bottom left next to the zoom info. The eyes track mouse movements!

Other cool shortcuts:

Most of you probably already know about holding down the option key while dragging an object to make copies, and holding the shift key while dragging to darg along an axis. You can also do this with the rotate tool, with a custom angle, in order to create and array of objects around an axis.

1. Set the centerpoint of your rotation axis by clicking once. Then, while holding down the shift and option keys, drag your object. It will rotate in increments of 45°. After each copy is made, you will have to redefine the centerpoint. This is both good and bad. It is good if you want to vary the centerpoint, and bad if you just want it to stay in the same place.

2. Continue making copies until your array is complete.

I hope this has been fun! Enjoy!