How to Make a Triangle in Adobe Illustrator

Are you looking for a triangle tool to make a triangle in Illustrator? We use an ellipse tool to make semicircles or circles and a rectangle tool to make a square or rectangle, but we don’t have a triangle tool to make a triangle in Illustrator.

Well, don’t worry because we don’t need a dedicated triangle tool to make a triangle. We can either use the Pen Tool or other shape tools for that.

The triangle shape is one of the basic and iconic shapes. It's essential for many design projects in Illustrator, so it's important to understand how to create one.

In this tutorial, we'll cover a few methods of making a triangle. An additional lesson on how to make different types of triangles using various techniques will be the cherry on top. 

Method 1: Using the Pen Tool

Step 1

Go to the left-side toolbar and select the Pen Tool or use the keyboard shortcut key (P).

Step 2

Now that you have the pen tool active, click on the artboard and connect three anchor points.

Step 3

When you connect all three anchor points, it will create a triangle shape.

Tip: Holding down the shift key while using and dragging the pen tool makes the line straight. 

Method 2: Using the Rectangle Tool

Step 1

For this method, you need to make a square. Select the Rectangle Tool. Now hold down the shift key and make a square shape using the rectangle tool.

Step 2

Select the Direct Selection Tool and select one of the anchor points. 

Step 3

Select Remove Selected Anchor Point. You can also use the Delete Anchor Point Tool. Press the keyboard shortcut (-) and click the anchor point you want to remove.

Step 4

Once the anchor point is removed, one of the four corners will be deleted, and you'll have a triangle.

Tip: This method is the quickest way to make a right triangle or 90° triangle.

Method 3: Using the Polygon Tool

Step 1

First, select the Polygon Tool from the toolbar, which you'll find inside the Rectangle Tool. 

Step 2

As you click on the artboard while the polygon tool is active, you'll have a window where you find settings for the polygon. 

Step 3

Here, in this window, set 3 for the sides input. You can change the radius as you want. The radius will change the size of your triangle shape but make sure you must choose three sides for the shape; otherwise, it won't create a triangle. 

Step 4

When you're done with the setting, click OK to save it. Once you click OK, you'll have a triangle.

Note: Since a polygon has equal sides, making a triangle with a polygon tool will give you an Equilateral Triangle. 

How to Make a Rounded Triangle in Illustrator

• After making a triangle select the Direct Selection Tool. 
• Now select the triangle
• You will see a tiny circle near each corner of the triangle.
• Click on one of the tiny circles and drag it toward the center of the triangle.
• The more you drag, the rounder edges you will get.

How to Make a 90° or a Right Triangle

• Select the Pen Tool
• Hold down the shift key while dragging the pen tool to give you more control and make the line straight. 
• In this way, you can make a 90° angle by connecting three anchor points.

Making a Scalene Triangle in Illustrator

• If you want to make a scalene triangle, you need to make sure all three sides of the triangle are different.
• You can make a scalene triangle from any type of triangle. Start with a triangle.
• Select the Direct Selection Tool.
• Now grab and drag the corners of the triangle one by one to change their size.

Making an Isosceles Triangle in Illustrator

• Make a triangle.
• Select the Selection Tool first.
• Now click and drag one of the edges of the triangle to make the other two sides equal longer than the selected one.
• Stop dragging the edge when you reach your desired triangle size.

That's it! Now you know the best ways to make a triangle in Illustrator. I hope you found this article helpful.