Shapes

Shapes in Inkscape are predefined vector objects, such as rectangles or ellipses, that you can easily draw, customize, and manipulate using built-in tools. Unlike freehand paths, shapes come with interactive handles and parameters that make them easier to customize.

See also

Arbitrarily shaped paths can be drawn using the pen, pencil and calligraphy tools. These will be discussed later.

Shape tools have certain features in common. To create a shape with one of the shape tools, hold your primary mouse button and Drag from one location on the canvas to another. You can press CtrlCmd, Shift, AltOption or a combination of these modifier keys to constrain the shape in different ways depending on the tool. These will be discussed in the chapter for each shape: Rectangles, Ellipses and Arcs, Stars and Polygons, Spirals, 3D Boxes.

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[image] example GIF of drawing a rectangle.

A number of objects, when first drawn, will inherit the Current Style. In Inkscape, the style includes fill and stroke colors, and stroke widths, and sometimes other data. The “current style” was created with the last changes made to these properties, and usually came from the last object that was drawn on the canvas.

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[screenshot] screenshot of the tool controls bar.

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[screenshot] decorative cursor screenshot to the right.

When drawing rectangles, ellipses and stars, the cursor turns into a special mouse pointer that displays the shape. These pointers are also colored to reflect the current style that will be applied when these shapes are drawn.

When you double-click a shape object with the Selection tool, Inkscape will switch to that shape tool. For example, if you double-click on a star, with the Selection tool, the Star tool will be enabled.

Inkscape provides several dedicated shape tools, each with unique features:

Shape Tool	Shortcuts	Description
Rectangle	R or F4	Draw squares and rectangles with adjustable corners.
Ellipse/Arc	E or F5	Create circles and ellipses.
Star/Polygon	* or ShiftF9	Draw stars and regular polygons with customizable points, angles and randomization.
Spiral	I or F8	Add dynamic spirals with control over turns and divergence.
3D Box	ShiftF4	Construct perspective boxes for isometric or architectural designs.