How To Increase Canvas Size In Illustrator

As an Illustrator user yous may find yourself perplexed at how to change the size of the canvas yous're working with, otherwise known equally the artboard. Thankfully, Illustrator comes with a dedicated tool for this purpose, known as the Artboard Tool. The Artboard Tool allows you to alter the canvas size in Adobe Illustrator, either manually or past inputting a numerical value. In this tutorial I'll be walking you through the unabridged procedure.

When it comes to changing the canvas size in other applications, such as Inkscape or GIMP, this is something that is typically washed using a certificate backdrop or preferences dialog. However, Adobe approaches this differently by providing a dedicated tool for such tasks.

The benefit of using this tool is that information technology doesn't just allow you to modify the canvas size using a predetermined numerical value, but information technology too allows y'all to click and drag your canvas to calibration information technology with a freehand approach.

Alter The Canvas Size In Adobe Illustrator

To change the canvas size in Adobe Illustrator, grab the Artboard Tool by pressing Shift + O on your keyboard. You can then resize your canvass manually by clicking and dragging the edges of information technology, or you can input a numerical value into the Width and Height fields in the tool options carte.

The following tutorial will walk you through the entire process of resizing your sail in Illustrator.

Every bit previously mentioned, at that place are two means of budgeted this: manually and with numerical inputs. Use the tabular array of contents below to navigate to whichever method you prefer.

Method 1: Freehand calibration the sail

Step one: Open the Artboard Tool
Step 2: Click and drag on the edges of your canvas to change the size

Method two: Alter the sail size using numerical values

Step 1: Open up the Artboard Tool
Stride two: Input a numerical value into the width and tiptop fields

Method 1: Freehand scale the canvass

One way in which you can change the sheet size in Adobe Illustrator is by manually scaling like yous would with whatever other object or layer.

This is like to the method used in a previous tutorial where we went over how to fit artwork to the artboard.

Stride 1: Open the Artboard Tool

In social club to alter the canvas size nosotros must select the Artboard Tool, which tin be accessed by pressing Shift + O on your keyboard.

It can likewise be located in the toolbar on the left-paw side of your screen:

Artboard Tool location — The **Artboard Tool** tin can be accessed in the toolbar, outlined in cherry in a higher place.

The Artboard Tool allows you to create, edit, and delete the canvases on your screen, otherwise known equally artboards.

Step 2: Click and drag on the edges of your canvas to change the size

Once you've grabbed the Artboard Tool, you should notice the edges of your canvas change in appearance.

There will be a dotted outline around your canvas, and in that location will be four white nodes in the corners of your artboard:

Scaling handles — The scaling handles will be located on the edges and corners of your sail.

The Artboard Tool acts sort of like the Select Tool does in that it allows you to transform your canvass the same manner yous would tin object or path.

Clicking and dragging on either side of the canvas will modify its width or meridian, depending on which side you click.

Clicking and dragging on the left and correct edges will permit you to change the width of your sail:

Scaling the width — The left and right edges allow you to change the width of your canvass.

Clicking and dragging the top and bottom edges volition allow you to change the height of your canvas:

Scaling the height — Scaling the top and lesser edges will change the summit of your canvas.

Clicking and dragging on either of the iv nodes in the corners will permit yous to alter both the width and height simultaneously:

Scaling the width and height — The nodes in the corners let y'all to scale the width and height of your sail.

Holding the Shift key, regardless of which edge or corner yous select, while clicking and dragging volition lock the attribute ratio so that the width and height of your sail both calibration proportionately:

Aspect ratio lock — You tin can scale your canvass proportionately by holding **Shift**.

Once you are finished resizing your canvas you can simply deselect the Artboard Tool or grab some other tool so that it deselects.

Your changes are applied in real fourth dimension, so there's no need to formally utilise them.

Method 2: Change the canvas size using numerical values

Now that we've gone over how to change the canvas size in Adobe Illustrator past scaling it, let's get over how to alter information technology using a predetermined numerical value.

This can be really useful if you're designing something like a video thumbnail or poster design, where yous artwork needs to be a specific size.

Step 1: Open up the Artboard Tool

First, nosotros must select the Artboard Tool, which can exist accessed by pressing Shift + O on your keyboard or by selecting information technology in the toolbar to the left of your screen:

Artboard Tool location

Alternatively, you can admission this tool by opening the Document Setup menu by pressing Alt + Control + P and so clicking the Edit Artboards push button on the right-paw side of the card interface.

Stride 2: Input a numerical value into the width and height fields

In one case yous've selected Artboard Tool, you lot can change the sheet size past using the West and H fields in the tool settings menu towards the top of your screen:

Width and height inputs — The width and meridian inputs are located in the tool option menu towards the summit of the screen.

A few things to keep in mind:

The W represents the document'southward width.
The H represents the document'south top.
The lock icon between the ii fields will lock the aspect ratio of your canvas and then that it scales proportionately when enabled.

From hither, you tin can simply type in a numerical value of your choosing.

By default, the units of measurement will be in pixels (px) merely you can also use the following units of measurement by typing in their corresponding abbreviations after the number:

Pixels (px)
Inches (in)
Centimeters (cm)
Millimeters (mm)
Points (pt)
Percentage (%)

One time y'all've finished typing in the numbers of your choosing, all you accept to do is press Enter on your keyboard to apply the changes and your sail/artboard volition be resized accordingly.

If the attribute ratio is locked then the opposing dimension will besides change according to your input.

Conclusion

Illustrator'south Artboard Tool tin can exist very handy. It doesn't only let you change the size of the canvas in Adobe Illustrator; it as well lets you create boosted canvases likewise if yous'd like.

You can so give each canvas its own name, assign a numerical order, export them as private pages of a PDF document, or even batch export them as separate graphics.

Although the existence of this tool can confuse new users who may be used to resizing document boundaries in more traditional ways, the advantages this tool comes with certainly outweigh any minor downsides similar this.

If you have any questions or demand clarification for any of the steps in this lesson, just exit a comment beneath.

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