There are three other tools that you may want to use as well for your infographic creation which though not actual shapes, can be very useful in adding creative detail to your logo or infographic. They are the Line Segment tool (\), Arc tool, and Spiral tool. These tools follow basically the same drawing process as the other aforementioned shape tools, and you can use your mouse while the tool is selected to drag out, for example, an individual line, arc, or spiral. However, they are for single-stroke lines only but are very useful for details or hair creation. Like the basic shape tools, if you need to access their dialog boxes, click the artboard first. Refer to Figure 6-19.
Figure 6-19. Toolbars’ panel with various line drawing options
For the Line Segment Tool Options dialog box, you can set length, angle (0–360) degrees, and fill line though this is disabled by default. Click OK to confirm settings. Refer to Figure 6-20.
Figure 6-20. Line Segment Tool Options panel and a line on the artboard
As you drag out a line segment, hold down the Shift key to constrain to 45 degree angles.
For the Arc Segment Tool Options dialog box, you can set the length of x and y axis, reference point, type (open or closed), base along (x axis or y axis), slope (concave -100 to convex 100), and to fill arc though this is disabled by default. Click OK to confirm settings. Refer to Figure 6-21.
Figure 6-21. Arc Segment Tool dialog box with Preview and the arc on the artboard
Note For the Preview setting in the Arc Segment tool, this will only appear if you double-click the tool in the Toolbars panel first before you draw. When you click the artboard, the preview will not be in the dialog box. When you drag out an arc, you can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to adjust the slope.
For the Spiral dialog box, you can set a radius, a decay rate (5%–150%), number of segments (2–1000), and a style of either clockwise or counterclockwise. Click OK to confirm settings. Refer to Figure 6-22.
Figure 6-22. Spiral dialog box and a spiral on the artboard. Use the arrow keys when not in the dialog box while drawing out a spiral
If you drag out a spiral, use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to add or remove segments.