How to Use the Shape Tools in Affinity Designer

Posted on 16th June 2023

Affinity Designer is a vector drawing and illustration software that comes with a wide variety of shape tools. In this tutorial, we’ll go over how to use some of the most common and useful shape tools in Affinity Designer.

The Rectangle Tool

The Rectangle tool is one of the most basic and commonly used shape tools in Affinity Designer. To use the Rectangle tool, simply select it from the toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen and then click and drag your mouse to draw a rectangle.

You can also use the Rectangle tool to draw squares by holding down the Shift key while you click and drag. To draw a perfect circle, hold down the Shift and Alt (Option on Mac) keys while you click and drag.

The Ellipse Tool

The Ellipse tool works just like the Rectangle tool, but as you might expect, it’s used for drawing circles and ovals instead of squares and rectangles.

To use the Ellipse tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to draw a circle or oval. As with the Rectangle tool, you can hold down the Shift key to draw a perfect circle, or the Shift and Alt (Option on Mac) keys to draw a perfect oval.

The Polygon Tool

The Polygon tool is used for drawing shapes with any number of sides. To use the Polygon tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to draw a shape.

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the number of sides of the shape. You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the shape to a perfect circle.

The Star Tool

The Star tool is used for drawing star shapes. To use the Star tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to draw a shape.

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the number of points on the star. You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the shape to a perfect circle.

The Line Tool

The Line tool is used for drawing straight lines. To use the Line tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to draw a line.

You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the line to a perfect horizontal, vertical, or 45-degree angle.

The Pen Tool

The Pen tool is used for drawing custom shapes. To use the Pen tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to draw a shape.

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the number of points on the shape. You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the shape to a perfect circle.

The Freeform Tool

The Freeform tool is used for drawing shapes with any number of sides. To use the Freeform tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to draw a shape.

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the number of points on the shape. You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the shape to a perfect circle.

The Knife Tool

The Knife tool is used for cutting shapes. To use the Knife tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to cut a shape.

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the number of cuts you make. You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the cuts to a perfect horizontal, vertical, or 45-degree angle.

The Text Tool

The Text tool is used for adding text to your design. To use the Text tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse to create a text box.

Then, simply type your text into the text box. You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the font size.

The Eraser Tool

The Eraser tool is used for erasing shapes. To use the Eraser tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse over the shapes you want to erase.

You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the eraser to a perfect horizontal, vertical, or 45-degree angle.

The Gradient Tool

The Gradient tool is used for adding gradient effects to shapes. To use the Gradient tool, select it from the toolbar and then click and drag your mouse over the shape you want to add a gradient to.

You can also hold down the Shift key to constrain the gradient to a perfect horizontal, vertical, or 45-degree angle.

That’s all there is to know about how to use the shape tools in Affinity Designer! With these tools, you’ll be able to create any kind of shape you can imagine.

The shape is the most basic of the shapes available in Affinity Designer. To draw a rectangle, simply click and drag on the artboard. The shape can also be used to draw squares. To do this, simply hold down the Shift key while drawing the rectangle.

The shape is used to draw circles and ovals. To draw an ellipse, click and drag on the artboard. To draw a perfect circle, simply hold down the Shift key while drawing the ellipse.

The shape is used to draw shapes with any number of sides. To draw a polygon, click and drag on the artboard. To draw a regular polygon, simply hold down the Shift key while drawing the polygon.

The shape is used to draw stars with any number of points. To draw a star, click and drag on the artboard. To draw a regular star, simply hold down the Shift key while drawing the star.

The shape is used to draw straight lines. To draw a line, click and drag on the artboard. To draw a perfect line, simply hold down the Shift key while drawing the line.

The shape is used to draw custom shapes. To draw a path, click and drag on the artboard. To draw a straight line, simply hold down the Shift key while drawing the path.