How to Make a Semicircle in Illustrator

In the following tutorial, you'll learn how to make a semicircle in Illustrator.

First, you'll learn how to create a perfect circle, and then I'll show you how to make a half circle in Illustrator.

What You'll Learn in This Illustrator Half Circle Design Tutorial

How to make a circle with the Ellipse Tool in Illustrator
How to make a semicircle in Illustrator

How to Make a Circle in Illustrator

In order to create a half circle design in Illustrator, you will first need a circle.

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) in Illustrator and either click on your artboard to open the Ellipse window and enter the size of your circle, or hold down the Shift key as you click and drag to manually draw the perfect circle.

Now that you've got your perfect circle, let's see how you can use it to create a half circle shape in Illustrator.

How to make a half circle in Illustrator: first, create a perfect circle.

How to Make a Semicircle in Illustrator

Make sure that your circle is selected and pick the Direct Selection Tool (A). Use it to select one of the anchor points that make up your circle and press the Delete key to easily create a half circle in Illustrator. Now we have a half circle outline.

Now that you've learned how to make a semicircle in Illustrator, you might want to close it. You can do this easily by going to Object > Path > Join or using the Control-J keyboard shortcut.

How to make a half circle in Illustrator: closed half circle outline.

Congratulations! You Did a Half Circle Design!

Now that you know how to make a semicircle in Illustrator, feel free to use the technique in your future projects.

You can find some great sources of inspiration at Envato, with premium Illustrator add-ons and creative assets to improve your design portfolio.

Want to Learn More?

Your half circle design is only the start. We have loads of Illustrator tutorials on Envato Tuts+, from beginner to intermediate level. Take a look!