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.
Markus Steinschaden
shared this idea
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
301 comments
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Randy Devost
commented
Looking forward to seeing how this works out. I would need this for packaging design working mostly with text and vectors. Brushes and fancy raster effects are not done in Illustrator at our shop.
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Anonymous
commented
Great news
And please ensure this is a scriptable function -
Anonymous
commented
Thank you for the update. I need the rotation of the artboard for packaging.
To be specific, working on multi language packaging (12+) and placing translations in longer settings of text without being able to rotate the artboard is a nightmare. For my workflow, rotating the artboard just like in InDesign would be great. Thanks in advance!
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ktotheb
commented
Avinash- your summary sounds like a good start. Looking forward to it!
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DG
commented
I literally need this now :) Glad it's being worked on. Kinda funny that a program called "illustrator" wont allow you to turn the virtual paper as you draw is it would in real life.
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Zsolt Ercsei
commented
Opposed to dandid below, I am really looking forward to use it for drawing. Mostly (blob)brush and pencil tool. I would even accept if it would mean that AI doesn't render all the effects but while it rotates my canvas, it turns on a simplified rendering of the artwork.
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dandid
commented
You little beauty! this feature has been such gripe of mine for years, decades?
.
I personally don't need it for 'artistic' reasons so brush and pencil not a concern of mine, its always for packaging - needing to look at different panels of boxes. 90º rotations are most common but many packs have other angled panels on them. once rotated I need to be able to use arrow tools and text mainly, but the more the better.
angled artboards could come in handy for exporting panels from such layouts too, but that would be a rare requirement for me personally. -
Anonymous
commented
Just so we know guys, Yogesh doesn't actually work at Adobe anymore.
It might be a little tricky for him to pick this up shortly. Is there anyone else there that can help build this or was he our last hope?
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Jeff
commented
short-ly: adverb. in a short time; soon.
Hmmm.... Not sure Yogesh is using that word correctly.
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aldimenur
commented
Can we still hoping ?
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Anisa Prohić
commented
shortly.. almost 3 years ago
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Anonymous
commented
Good news everyone! Adobe haven't had time to look at this, but they have found time to create Liquid Mode for PDFs!
Thank god our subscription fee money is being spent so well.
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Anonymous
commented
Hey Adobe, I felt like wasting some time to comment on this thread you've ignored for almost 3 years. I'm working on an illustration. I cannot rotate the artboard.
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The Dazzler
commented
@yugbru yes this is an entertaining thread. Sad to see so much Adobe bashing going on here. The user frustration is loud and clear. In Australia we're paying $80 per month for the privilege of using CC.
I have purchased the Affinity Suite for not much more than that and so far it's looking good, and quick over a network. Let's hope Adobe rise to the challenge and don't just buy Affinity outright.
I've been onboard since Illustrator 88, even had lunch with John Warnock - seems a different company now.
(Howzat for a name drop). -
Randy Devost
commented
@yugbru You're right! This is the best thread on the interwebs and the only one I follow strictly!!! I've been an Adobe user since Illustrator 88. I'm still shocked we haven't seen this feature.
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yugbru
commented
I've been using Adobe products since Photoshop 2.5, so they have helped me to earn some bread everyday. Currently I have a subscription to their cloud offer paid for by my place of work. However I think Affinity Designer with a one-off fee of under $60 dollars is motive enough for individuals and freelancers to leave the clutches of Adobe who don't even care about this issue, it's sad :-(. Even though this is the best thread on the internet and has been keeping me entertained for the last three years!! boomshanka!
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Randy Devost
commented
I've owned Affinity Designer & Photo for a couple years now but my 2010 MacBook Air really hasn't been good enough to play much with the software. I have the apps installed on my workstation at work but have never had the opportunity to really used it other than once when a client supplied their logo in that format. But... lately I've been thinking more and more if I buy a new iMac for at home use and get laid off again due to Covid19 restrictions I'm going to dive into these other programs hard to see what they can do! Getting tired of Adobe and also don't want to lease software.
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Anonymous
commented
At this point I'll try anything. Affinity Designer here I come. Adobe wants us to rent their software and act like slum lords as they neglect some of the most sought after and NECESSARY feature requests. Unacceptable.
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Jacob
commented
After using Adobe products consistently (but I sure loved Macromedia Freehand!) for 25 years, I just downloaded Affinity Designer. This thread is PRECISELY why.
I can't even imagine the nightmare of switching, but I'm going to at least have a look.
No artboard rotation in an illustration application? "Picking it up shortly" and silence for three years? Monthly fees and I don't own the software. Might be time to make the switch.
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Simon Bowland
commented
Philip King (below) has hit the nail on the head. I would recommend that users frustrated with the lack of artboard rotation (and other useful features) try the demo of Affinity Designer to see just how much faster and better it is. Then, if you're happy to stick with Affinity, contact Adobe and tell them so.
