Illustrator - Rotation of the Artboard
Like in Photoshop it would be great if an Artist could rotate the artboard/canvas in Illustrator. If you draw a line from left to right it's never the same stroke as from up to down.

Hello Everyone!
First up, let me apologize for not giving an update for such a long time. We will try to do a better job of providing frequent updates on our top requests going forward. This is not an excuse for lack of communication from our side, but we have been discussing this request for a long time internally. Without getting into too many technical details, let me share that there is a fair amount of complexity involved in making it work within Illustrator. The number of tools, effects, plugins, etc. makes it even more challenging. However, given the fact that it continues to be one of the top requests, the team has been exploring different approaches to implement it. I am happy to share that we have finally :) started to work on it. There would be some challenges in making everything work in the first release. I will continue to post specific questions on this thread and work with you to define the first release that is valuable and works for most of your workflows. I look forward to working closely with you all in bringing this functionality into Illustrator.
Let me provide a high-level summary of what I gathered from 255 comments in this thread so far.
- It is desirable to have both, but if we must pick, we would prefer rotation of canvas over the artboard.
- Rotating the view is not helpful, we should be able to edit as well :)
- Ideally, we should be able to rotate freely at any angle. But, if we have to prioritize, stepwise rotation at fixed angles may work.
- Ideally, all tools should work but if we have to prioritize we can start with few tools that are most useful in a rotated view e.g. brush, pencil, etc.
- A lot of folks want it to work as it works in photoshop.
- Shortcuts to do easy toggle/easy reset are highly desirable.
- It would be a great productivity enhancer for people working with packaging, editing text, or even freehand illustrations.
I look forward to sharing an update and seeking your feedback soon.
Avinash Singh Kotwal
Senior Product Manager,
Adobe illustrator
300 comments
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Anonymous commented
Hey Yogesh PAL!! Time to pick it up BUUUUDD!! Do some effing work
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Quentin Fevre commented
I'm waiting this feature since a long time! It would be great and help us all to do precise gestures using a brush.
I can't wait to press "R" like on photoshop. That's on my X-mas list anyway :) -
Anonymous commented
It's almost the end of 2018 and still this feature is not yet implemented. WE NEED THIS.
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Karen commented
It is crazy frustrating that Wacom rotation does not work in Illustrator. There are almost 2,000 requests for a fix. There has GOT TO BE a work around. HELP
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Anonymous commented
It's almost the end of 2018 and still this feature is not yet implemented. WE NEED THIS.
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Anonymous commented
When is the feature FINALLY being implemented???? When working with packaging and text being in different reading directions and having to update designs to new or updated packaging plans it leave SO much room for error, having to manually rotate the complete and layered artwork by hand. We pay VERY good money for your software and this feature has been requested even before the dinosaurs walked the earth. Come ON adobe, fix this... please!
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Anonymous commented
Wassup Yogi? You get around to picking it up shortly yet bud?? For anyone else tired of Adobe's lack of customer service check out this alternative software. https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/ It has some really nice features and much more cost effective than Adobe's monthly subscription gauge.
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Anonymous commented
This is one of the biggest roadblocks for me to use illustrator for hand drawn Illustration with a tablet. As others have said, when you draw on paper, you rotate the paper to draw certain things from more comfortable angles. It's just a more natural drawing experience
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Anonymous commented
Wassup YOGESH it's been a year you still picking it up shortly bud??
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Pookey commented
THIS IS NEEDED
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WELZ commented
See this post https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/116172/63979 on how it can be done for now (using a script). It'd be nice if they implemented it.
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WELZ commented
See this post https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/116172/63979 it shows a way to do it for now (using a script).
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I StM I commented
« Shortly »
Date of the post: November 2017 -
Anonymous commented
Haha okay Ben. You must be friends with Yogesh. 8 years for the 2nd highest requested feature is laughable. It's called abode "illustrator". When you illustrate on paper you rotate when necessary. Should have been implemented about 8 years ago IMO.
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Benjamin Weiler commented
I feel a little awkward saying this, but in all fairness, adding the rotation feature is not a trivial thing. Just think about all the things that need to follow suit with this. Smart guides, Rulers, Snapping, all the interface gajangles that need to keep their positions but not change their rotation...
Sure, 8 years is a long time, but it is a major undertaking. Cut the guys some slack, harder nagging does not make for faster development.
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Mark Hasselberger commented
I've seen requests for this dating back to at least 2010, how is this not a feature yet? Take a look at Clip Studio Pro, you can rotate the canvas in increments with the click of a button, clockwise or counter-clockwise.
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Anonymous commented
Hi Yogesh!
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Anonymous commented
Here's an idea... Hurry up!
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Davey Morgan commented
PS - This has the 2nd most votes for feature request. It seems like a big request from a lot of your customers.
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Davey Morgan commented
It's been a while now and there have been many updates. There was just an Adobe CC update today. I didn't see the feature. @ADOBE Is this still in the works? Thank you!