Adobe Illustrator: How to Use the Shape Builder Tool

The Shape Builder tool can be a powerful one that allows for more complex shapes compared to using the Pathfinder options. Let’s take a brief look at how it works.

The Shape Builder tool allows you to combine and subtract shapes from each other. To begin, select all of the shapes you wish to edit.

You can access the Shape Builder tool using Shift+M, or find the icon that kind of looks like a cloud with a mouse cursor in it.

When you hover over a section of the shapes selected, you’ll notice the section becomes grey. You’ll also notice a little plus icon next to your cursor.

This means it’s going to add that shape.

If you hold down Alt, or Opt if you’re on a Mac, then that plus icon becomes a minus icon.

That means it’s going to minus from that shape.

You can click and draw across multiple shapes to add or subtract multiple items at once.

Here, I am subtracting these shapes. You’ll notice that the edges of the different shapes act like a barrier, which allows for a lot of complexity when building shapes.

You can both add and subtract as much as you need to make the shape you wish.