How to Round Corners in Adobe Illustrator

For design purposes, we sometimes want round corners instead of sharp corners. We can turn any sharp edges into rounded corners with a few simple steps. This article teaches how to round corners in Adobe Illustrator.

We can use various methods to round corners, but we'll discuss four methods here. We'll use the Rounded Rectangle Tool, the Direct Selection Tool, the Properties Panel, and the Transform Panel.

Method 1: Rounded Rectangle Tool

In this method, you only need to grab a tool and draw a rectangle.

Step 1

Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool from the left toolbar. You'll find it with other shape tools under the Rectangle Tool menu.

Step 2

With the Rounded Rectangle Tool activated, click on the artboard and drag it to make a rectangle. Since it's not a regular rectangle tool, the rectangle you draw will have rounded corners.

Method 2: Direct Selection Tool

In this method, you can click and drag any corner of a rectangle shape to turn it into rounded corners.

Step 1

Select the Direct Selection Tool from the left-side toolbar or use the shortcut key (A) to activate the tool.

Step 2

Using the direct selection tool, click on the object you want to transform into a rounded corner object.

Step 3

Clicking on an object with the Direct Selection Tool will provide anchor points and some live corners widgets around the corners.

Step 4

Now click and drag these widgets to round the sharp corners. The corners will get rounder as you keep dragging the widgets down.

Method 3: Properties Panel

This method will allow you to round the corners in just one click.

Step 1

Select the Direct Selection Tool (A).

Step 2

Select an object's anchor point that you want to turn into a rounded corner using the direct selection tool.

Step 3

Go to the Properties Panel. You'll find it on the right toolbar. If you cannot find it there, it's probably because you haven't enabled it yet. To enable the Properties Panel, go to Windows and select Properties. Windows > Properties.

Step 4

In the properties panel, there's a Convert section. This will show you two options for your corners; sharp and smooth. Choosing the sharp anchor points will convert the corner into sharp and spiky, and the smooth anchor points will convert the corner into rounded and smooth. You can control the level of roundedness by adjusting the number in the Corners field.

Method 4: Transform Panel

In this method, we'll round the corners by manually putting the values in the Transform Panel.

Step 1

Select the Direct Selection Tool (K) or the Selection Tool.

Step 2

Select the object.

Step 3

Now go to the Transform Panel. You'll find it with other panels like the Layer Panel, the Properties Panel, the Artboard Panel, etc. If you cannot find it there, enable it by selecting Transform from the Windows located in the overhead toolbar.

Step 4

When you select an object using a Direct Selection Tool, you'll see four corner radius options in the transform panel under the rectangle properties sector. Inputing values to change the radius will transform the sharp corners into rounded corners.

Note: The radius corners are linked together, which means when you input values to one corner, they will be applied to all the corners. However, deselect the Link Corner Radius Value (located in the middle of the four-corner radius) if you want to round only one corner of an object.

Designers often need to draw more than just a simple circle or rectangle. Sometimes we might need to create critical shapes by incorporating different methods with default shapes. I hope this article will help you to round corners in Adobe Illustrator.