How to make a perfect star or polygon

The quickest route to a perfect star or polygon in Vectornation by Zaweba is the Multi-side tool for polygons and the Starburst tool for stars. Both draw live shapes. While you drag, the Up and Down arrow keys change the number of sides or points, so you can go from a triangle to a hexagon, or a five pointed star to a twelve pointed burst, without letting go.

Drawing these shapes by hand with the pen almost never gives equal sides and angles. These tools do the geometry for you.

Drawing a polygon

Choose the Multi-side tool and drag on the page. Polygons are drawn from the centre outwards, so start where you want the middle to be. As you drag, press Up to add sides and Down to take them away. Three sides gives a triangle, six a hexagon, eight an octagon. Release the mouse when the count and size are right.

The shape stays live. It has a live corner radius, so you can soften its points afterwards without redrawing it, which is how you get the gently rounded triangles and hexagons used for badges and icons.

Drawing a star

The Starburst tool works the same way. Drag to draw, and use the arrow keys to change the number of points. A star has two radii, the outer one at the tips and the inner one at the valleys between them. A handle on the shape sets the inner radius. Pull it in for thin, spiky points or push it out for a fat, blunt star. Push it far enough and a star with many points turns into a sunburst or a seal edge, the zig zag circle used on stickers and price flashes.

Getting exact results

Hold off on rotating until the shape is drawn, then rotate it as a whole if the points don't sit as you want. Keeping it live means you can still change points and radius later.

For a set of shapes that must match, draw one, set it up, and copy it, rather than drawing each by eye. The copies will be identical.

If you need two different radii at the corners, or a few points made longer than others, expand the shape to an ordinary path and edit the points directly. That is the moment it stops being live, so keep a copy of the original.

Building on the basic shapes

Stars and polygons are building blocks. Combine a hexagon and a star with the Pathfinder panel or the Shape builder to make a badge. Put a polygon behind text for a label. Use a many pointed star as the edge of a seal and a circle inside it for the centre.

They also work well with repeats. Object > Repeat > Radial arranges copies around a centre as a live repeat, which turns a single small star into a ring of them. Blends between two stars of different sizes and colours make concentric starbursts.

For something more decorative, Vectornation also has 17 extra shapes such as cogs, clouds and hearts. A cog is in many ways a specialised star, and if you need gear teeth it is quicker to start there.

Common mistakes

Drawing from a corner and expecting the shape to fill a box catches people out, because these tools draw from the centre. Start in the middle.

Another is setting the point count by eye and getting it wrong. Count the points before you let go of the mouse, because the arrow keys only change the count while you are still dragging. After that, it is quicker to draw the shape again than to add points by hand.

Exact geometry is what makes a star look crisp and a hexagon look right. With the Multi-side and Starburst tools, Vectornation by Zaweba gives you that in one drag.