How to Resize an Image in Adobe Illustrator

There will be times when you may need to resize or crop the images you're working with. However, images can become distorted if you're not careful. Thankfully, this can be easily avoided using proper ways of resizing images in Adobe Illustrator.

In this article, we'll cover how to resize an image in Illustrator. Before we start with the tutorial, let's look at the tools that we're going to use for resizing images.

The following images from Vecteezy were used in this tutorial: tropical fruit set 1, tropical fruit set 2, and tropical fruit set 3.

Tools for Resizing Images in Illustrator

• Selection Tool: This tool is mainly used for moving objects around the artboard. You'll find Selection Tool in the left toolbar. When you select an object, a bounding box will appear around the object. With the Selection Tool activated, dragging the corners of the bounding box will resize the object.

• Scale Tool: This tool is designated to adjust the size of an object. With the help of the Scale Tool, you can reduce or enlarge the size and shape of the object. You'll find this tool in the left toolbar. If you cannot find it there, you can add it from the Edit toolbar menu.

• Transform Panel: The Transform Panel is located on the right side of the interface beside other panels. If you cannot find it, it's probably not enabled yet. To enable the Transform Panel, go to Window and select Transform.

Method 1: Using Illustrator's Selection Tool to Resize

Step 1

Select the Selection Tool from the left toolbar or use the shortcut key (V) to activate the Selection Tool.

Step 2

Using the Selection Tool, select the object you want to resize. Clicking on an object with the Selection Tool will select the object, as you would expect.

Step3

When you select an object, you'll see a bounding box around it. Click on one of the corners and drag while holding down the Shift key. You can resize without holding the shift key, but the image will not have the correct aspect ratio, which means the image will seem distorted. Holding down the Shift key helps you keep the image proportional.

Method 2: Using the Scale Tool to Resize

Step 1

Activate the Selection Tool (V).

Step 2

Using the Selection Tool, select the object you want to resize.

Step 3

Select the Scale Tool from the left toolbar. You can also select this tool using the shortcut key (S).

Step 4

Now click on an empty space and drag it around to resize the object. Don't forget to hold down the Shift key while resizing the object to prevent distortion.

Method 3: Using the Transform Panel to Resize

Step 1

Activate the Selection Tool (V). Select the object you want to resize using the Selection Tool.

Step 2

Go to the Transform Panel from the right side of your screen. Make sure you have enabled it so you can find it there quickly.

Note: You can also find Transform option inside the Properties Panel.

Step 3

In the Transform Panel, there are four value boxes; X, Y, W, and H. W (width) and H (height) tell you the size of the selected object. Change the value of the width and height according to your preference, and the dimensions of the selected object will be changed.

Note: The tiny chain-like symbol shows the link between the width and height of an object. The object will keep its original proportion if this is selected. However, you can deselect this option if you want to resize the image or object freely.

Method 4: Using the Free Transform Tool

This method comes with a few options. You can choose from perspective distort, free distort, free transform and constrain while resizing an object using Free Transform Tool. Each option will give you a completely different result.

Step 1

Select the object you want to resize using the Selection Tool (V).

Step 2

Select the Free Transform Tool. When you click on this tool, a submenu will appear where you will see four options. Choose which option you want to apply while resizing the object. Here I have chosen only Free Transform.

Step 3

Hover around the object until you see a four-way arrow. Now click and drag the corner to resize the object.

Final Thoughts on Resizing in Illustrator

Resizing is one of the basic functions we frequently use in Illustrator. Although there are many ways of resizing an image or object in Illustrator, each comes with something new to explore. As you work with Illustrator, you must know all these basic tools.