How to Create Perfect Stars in Adobe InDesign: 4 Easy Methods
As a designer, you‘ll inevitably need to incorporate stars into your projects at some point. Whether it‘s a simple five-pointed shape, a complex starburst pattern, or a unique astral character for a logo, stars are a staple of graphic design. In fact, a recent survey of over 500 designers found that 78% had used star shapes in their work within the past year.
While Adobe Illustrator may be the go-to tool for building complex vector graphics, you don‘t always need to switch apps to create stars. Adobe InDesign has a robust set of drawing tools that can handle custom shapes, including stars. Knowing how to draw stars directly in InDesign will streamline your layout process and help you work more efficiently.
In this expert guide, we‘ll walk through four professional techniques for making stars in InDesign: using the Polygon Tool, drawing with the Pen Tool, converting shapes with Pathfinder operations, and utilizing font glyphs. By the end, you‘ll be equipped to create any kind of star for any InDesign project. Let‘s dive in!
The Polygon Tool: Instant Stars with Custom Settings
The easiest way to create a symmetrical star in InDesign is with the Polygon Tool. This tool is nested under the Rectangle Tool in the Tools panel. To access it, click and hold the Rectangle Tool, then select the Polygon Tool from the dropdown menu.
With the Polygon Tool active, double-click the tool icon in the Tools panel to open the Polygon Settings dialog box. Here you can enter the desired Number of Sides for your star. A classic five-pointed star would use 5 sides. You can create stars with any number of points by adjusting this value.
The Star Inset Percentage field controls the depth of the inset angles that form the star‘s points. A value of 0% results in a regular polygon, while 100% creates a line segment. Values between 50-75% are typical for star shapes.
Mathematically, the Star Inset Percentage represents how far the inset points move inward from the outer points as a percentage of the polygon‘s radius. A 50% inset will result in points that are halfway between the center and the outer points.
Once you‘ve dialed in your settings, click OK to apply them. Then simply click and drag on the page to draw your star. Hold the Shift key while dragging to constrain the star to equal width and height.
Pro Tip: Double-click the Polygon Tool again at any time to change the settings, and your next stars will use the updated values. You can even draw multiple stars with different point and inset combinations in the same layout!
Drawing Freeform Stars with the Pen Tool
For stars with uneven or asymmetrical shapes, the Pen Tool offers complete control. Creating a star with the Pen Tool follows the same process as drawing any custom path in InDesign:
- Choose the Pen Tool (keyboard shortcut P) from the Tools panel.
- Click on the page to set the first anchor point.
- Click to place a second point. InDesign will draw a line between the two.
- To make a straight-sided star, continue clicking to place new points at the desired angle.
- To create curved points, click and drag to extend direction handles, then release.
- Complete the star by clicking again on the first anchor point or pressing Enter/Return.
The Pen Tool has a higher learning curve than the Polygon Tool but allows for ultimate customization. You can create stars with wonky angles, uneven sides, and more naturalistic forms.
When drawing with the Pen Tool, think ahead about where you want the star‘s points to be. It often helps to start at one of the outer points and work your way around, alternating between inner and outer points as you go.
To adjust curves and refine the shape, use the Direct Selection Tool (keyboard shortcut A) to tweak individual anchor points and direction handles. Hold down Alt/Option while manipulating a handle to move it independently of its neighbor.
Transforming Objects into Stars with Pathfinder
The Pathfinder panel in InDesign houses several powerful tools for combining and manipulating vector paths. One of these is the ability to instantly convert any path-based object into a star using the same settings as the Polygon Tool.
First, set up your desired star configuration in the Polygon Settings dialog as described in the first section. Then select the object you want to convert with the Selection Tool (keyboard shortcut V).
With the object selected, open the Pathfinder panel by going to Window > Object & Layout > Pathfinder or clicking the Pathfinder icon in the right sidebar. Click the "Convert Shape" button in the panel and choose "Polygon" from the dropdown menu.
InDesign will immediately reshape the object into a star polygon using the current Polygon Tool settings. This technique works on practically any InDesign object, including basic shapes, text frames, and even groups.
Some other useful Pathfinder functions for star building include:
- Unite: Merge multiple objects into one combined shape
- Minus Front: Subtract the frontmost object from those behind it
- Intersect: Create a shape from the area where objects overlap
- Exclude Overlap: Delete areas of overlap, leaving the rest intact
Keep in mind that Pathfinder operations are destructive, meaning they permanently alter the original objects. If you want to preserve the component shapes, copy them beforehand or use the "Add to shape area" options instead of the default "Intersect shape areas" mode.
Using Font Glyphs for Decorative Stars
One final method for making stars in InDesign doesn‘t rely on drawing tools at all. Many fonts, especially decorative display faces, include special characters like stars, fleurons, and ornaments. By converting these glyphs to outlines, you can turn them into scalable, editable vector shapes.
To find star glyphs, create a text frame with the Type Tool (T) and open the Glyphs panel by going to Window > Type & Tables > Glyphs. Choose the font you want to search from the dropdown menu at the bottom of the panel. You can browse through the character set manually or type keywords like "star" or "asterisk" into the Search field.
Some fonts known for their high-quality star glyphs include:
- Adobe Wood Type Ornaments
- Minion Pro
- Warnock Pro
- Ozymandias Asterisk by CastleType
- Stars by Fonthead Design
When you find a star you like, double-click it to insert the character into your text frame. With the star glyph selected, go to Type > Create Outlines or press Shift+Command+O (Shift+Control+O on Windows).
InDesign will convert the character to a vector outline, which you can then resize, recolor, and stylize. The resulting shape will still be anchored inside the text frame, so cut and paste it to make it independent.
Font glyphs provide a quick way to add consistent, decorative stars that match the style of your text. However, they are limited to the ready-made shapes included with each typeface. You‘ll have more flexibility drawing custom stars with the Polygon, Pen, and Pathfinder tools.
Best Practices for Drawing Stars in InDesign
To get the best results when making stars in InDesign, keep these tips and tricks in mind:
- Use keyboard shortcuts to work faster. V for Selection Tool, P for Pen Tool, A for Direct Selection Tool, T for Type Tool, and Shift+Command+O or Shift+Control+O for Create Outlines.
- Double-click a drawing tool in the Tools panel to access its Options dialog and configure settings on the fly.
- Work at an appropriate zoom level to see anchor points and curves clearly. Use Command++ or Control++ to zoom in, Command+- or Control+- to zoom out.
- Hold down the Shift key to constrain proportions while drawing shapes or resizing objects.
- For more organic curves on your stars, place anchor points at the star‘s outer points, then click and drag to make smooth inner points.
- Customize your stars after drawing them by applying colors, gradients, effects, and more from the Properties and Effects panels.
- Mix and match star-building techniques for even more variety, such as drawing a star with the Polygon Tool and then editing it with the Pen Tool.
While InDesign can handle all kinds of star creation, there are some cases where it makes more sense to draw your stars in Illustrator and place them into your InDesign layout. For highly complex stars with dozens or even hundreds of points, Illustrator‘s more advanced vector tools will be more efficient. Artwork for logos and icons will also benefit from being kept in the infinitely scalable AI or EPS formats.
Still, with the techniques explained here, you‘ll be able to generate a huge variety of stars without leaving InDesign. Streamline your workflow and maintain consistency by building your stars directly in your layout whenever possible.
Conclusion
Stars are an essential graphic element for many design projects, and Adobe InDesign offers several powerful methods for creating them. With the Polygon Tool, you can make customizable multi-pointed stars in seconds. The Pen Tool allows freeform drawing for stars of any shape. Pathfinder operations can transform existing objects into stars. And font glyphs offer quick decorative star options.
As you‘ve seen in this expert guide, there‘s no one "right" way to make a star in InDesign. Each technique has its own strengths and ideal use cases. By mastering all four methods, you‘ll be prepared to handle any star-making challenge that comes up in your design work.
The key is to experiment with the different tools and settings to find what works best for you. Mix up the number of points and inset percentages on polygon stars for new variations. Practice drawing stars stroke by stroke with the Pen Tool to understand how anchor points and curves behave. Get to know lesser-used features like Pathfinder and Glyphs to expand your star repertoire even further.
Above all, remember that the creative potential is virtually limitless. Stars are a classic shape, but there‘s always room to reinterpret them in fresh and exciting ways. Push the boundaries, put your own twist on star-making techniques, and see where your imagination can take these foundational forms. The design galaxy awaits!