Ellipse Tool

The Ellipse Tool creates vector-based elliptical shapes. Like the Rectangle Tool, it produces fully editable shape layers that can be resized, recolored, and restyled without any loss of quality. It is essential for creating buttons, icons, badges, and circular design elements.

Whether you need a perfect circle for a logo, an oval for a badge, or a complex compound shape, the Ellipse Tool provides the precision and flexibility that pixel-based methods cannot match.

Where to Find It

The Ellipse Tool is nested under the Rectangle Tool in the toolbar. Click and hold the Rectangle icon to reveal the flyout, then select Ellipse Tool. Press Shift+U to cycle through the shape tools.

How to Use

• Draw an ellipse: Click and drag on the canvas to create an elliptical shape. The shape is defined by the bounding box you draw.
• Create a perfect circle: Hold Shift while dragging to constrain the shape to a perfect circle.
• Draw from center: Hold Alt (Option) to draw the ellipse from its center point outward.
• Edit properties: Use the Properties panel to change fill, stroke size, color, and opacity at any time.
• Combine shapes: Use the Add, Subtract, Intersect, Exclude path operations to combine ellipses with other shapes.

Pro Tips

• Hold Shift+Alt (Shift+Option) to draw a perfect circle from its center — ideal for creating concentric circles.
• Use the Ellipse Tool with the stroke-only option (no fill) to create outline rings for UI elements or diagrams.
• Duplicate a circle shape layer and scale it down (Ctrl+T) while keeping the center aligned for quick concentric ring designs.