In Adobe Illustrator, the primary drawing area is known as the Artboard. To increase the size of your drawing area, you need to modify the dimensions of your Artboard(s).
There are several ways to achieve this, depending on whether you are creating a new document or modifying an existing one.
Understanding the Illustrator Drawing Area (Artboard)
Think of the Artboard as the digital canvas where your artwork resides and which defines the printable area or the final output dimensions. An Illustrator document can contain multiple artboards, allowing you to manage different designs, pages, or assets within a single file.
Methods to Increase Artboard Size
Here are the main ways to adjust the size of your drawing area (Artboard) in Illustrator:
1. Using the Artboard Tool
The Artboard tool is specifically designed for manipulating artboards directly in your workspace.
- Select the Tool: Choose the Artboard Tool (Shift + O) from the Tools panel.
- Modify Size:
- Drag Handles: Click on an artboard to activate it, then drag the handles (corners or edges) to visually resize the artboard.
- Input Specific Dimensions: With the Artboard tool active, you can enter precise Width and Height values in the Control panel or the Properties panel at the top or right of your screen.
- Change Units: As referenced, while using the Artboard tool or setting up documents, you can easily change the units of measurement (like pixels, inches, millimeters, etc.) to work with your preferred system.
2. Using the Artboard Options
Accessing Artboard options provides more detailed control.
- Access Options: Double-click the Artboard Tool in the Tools panel, or click Artboard Options in the Control panel when the Artboard tool is active.
- Adjust Settings: In the Artboard Options dialog box, you can modify the artboard's preset, dimensions, name, and other settings.
3. Editing Artboards via Document Setup
You can enter Artboard editing mode through the main menu.
- Go to Document Setup: Choose File > Document Setup.
- Edit Artboards: Click the Edit Artboards button in the Document Setup dialog box. This will switch you to the Artboard tool mode, allowing you to resize or rearrange artboards as described above.
4. When Creating a New Document
When starting a new project, you define the initial size of your drawing area.
- Create New: Go to File > New.
- Set Dimensions: In the New Document dialog box, specify the desired Width and Height for your initial artboard(s).
- Configure Options: In this dialog, as noted in the reference, you can also:
- Change the Units of measurement.
- Select the Orientation (Portrait or Landscape), which inherently affects the Width and Height.
- Specify the desired Number of Artboards.
- Set the Bleed area, which is extra space around the artboard for printing purposes (not part of the main drawing area size, but related to document output).
5. Adding New Artboards
If your design requires more space or separate canvases, you can add new artboards of varying sizes.
- Using Artboard Tool: With the Artboard tool active, click the New Artboard icon in the Control panel or click and drag on the canvas to draw a new artboard. You can then resize it.
- Using Artboards Panel: Open the Artboards panel (Window > Artboards). Click the New Artboard button (+) at the bottom of the panel. Double-click the new artboard's name in the panel to access its options and set its size.
By utilizing these methods, you can effectively increase or adjust the size of your drawing area (Artboard) in Adobe Illustrator to suit the needs of your project.
