How to Make an Isosceles Triangle in Illustrator

The isosceles triangle has two equal-length sides.

Adobe Illustrator provides many drafting tools to create shapes and designs. When creating a worksheet or a mathematical design, shapes with specific measurements such as isosceles triangles can be created with a few tools in Illustrator. Once you create your shape, use the "Fill Tool" to add color or the "Text Tool" to label the angles and sides with different symbols.

Instructions

1. Click on the "Polygon Tool" in the tool palette on the left. Click anywhere on your workspace to load the polygon options window. Set the sides to "3" and click "OK." An equilateral triangle will appear on your workspace.

2. Click on the "Direct Selection Tool" to select the anchor points of the triangle.

3. Click on the "Scale Tool" in the tools palette. Hold down the "Shift" key and click on two anchor points in the corners of the triangle.

4. Drag your mouse in a direction to change the position of the selected points but not the angle. To compare the length of your triangle's lines, click on "View" and select "Show Guides." In addition, turn on "Rulers" by clicking "View," "Rulers" and "Show Rulers." Use the grid and rulers to measure the side lengths.

References

• Wolfram MathWorld: Isosceles Triangle
• Fuzzimo: Illustrator – Triangles and Angles Tutorial
• Adobe: Use Guides
• Adobe: Use Rulers