Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts you need to be using

In 2009, I sat in a college classroom and was being introduced to Adobe Illustrator. The professor said that working on Illustrator was like driving a car; you need both hands “at the wheel”. Meaning, one hand on the keyboard and the other on the mouse. Why the keyboard though?

Shortcuts

As your right hand is on the mouse, your left hand will be at the keyboard to utilize the ever amazing shortcuts. Get to a specific tool or setting quickly by using a keyboard shortcut! Adobe has set up their programs to be used efficiently and quickly. Follow the advice of my professor and start using Illustrator like you’re driving a car; with both hands!

Adobe’s Illustrator shortcuts are easy to memorize – especially if you use the same tools over and over. For example, “V” is the Selection Tool. “T” gets you to the Type Tool. Spacebar + Command enables you to zoom in and out with your mouse. Pretty much you feel like you’re playing a video game – but being way more productive and making designs which make actual money.

Illustrator Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet

It can be annoying to look up the shortcuts as you learn them. I’ve put together a graphic to save you the hassle of googling shortcuts while you learn your favorites. Save this PDF Adobe Illustrator CC keyboard shortcut graphic. Or print it out to quickly reference. I’ve included both Mac and Windows versions.

The above graphic doesn’t include every shortcut – just the more common ones that I find most useful in my designs. This link will take you to Adobe’s full keyboard shortcut list.

Did you know you can customize your own shortcuts? That’s another post for another day.

What are your favorite shortcuts? Do you use any particularly hard ones? I ‘Save for Web’ frequently and that one is a 4 step shortcut (command, option, shift, S). It’s super long but super helpful! I hope my graphic helps you as you learn and navigate Adobe Illustrator.