Shape Tools

Novaboard includes a variety of shape tools for drawing geometric primitives. Most of them support fill and outline modes, and they all work with symmetry settings. Line and Curve are the exceptions: they draw strokes rather than filled shapes, so the fill mode button does not appear for them. All shape tools support ink modes (Simple, Lock Alpha, and Shading for Line and Curve; Simple and Lock Alpha for the rest).

Shape tools in the toolbar
Access all shape tools from the shapes group in the toolbar

Available Shapes

Line

L

Draw straight lines between two points. Hold Shift to snap to pixel-perfect angles: horizontal, vertical, 45° diagonals, and the isometric 26.565°/63.435° slopes.

Rectangle

U

Draw rectangles by clicking and dragging. Hold Shift to create perfect squares. Toggle between fill and outline modes in the tool options row.

Circle (Ellipse)

Shift+Cor Shift+U

Draw ellipses by clicking and dragging. Hold Shift to create perfect circles. Toggle between fill and outline modes in the tool options row.

Triangle

Drag to draw a triangle that fits the drag box: apex at the top centre, base along the bottom. Supports fill and outline modes. For a triangle with three vertices of your own, use the Polygon tool and click three points.

Hexagon

Draw regular hexagons. Click and drag to set the size. The hexagon is oriented with a flat top by default.

Star

Draw five-pointed stars. Click and drag to set the size. Supports fill and outline modes.

Fill Modes

All shape tools (except Line and Curve) support two drawing modes:

  • Outline — Draws only the shape outline; the stroke width follows the shared shape-size control
  • Filled — Draws a solid filled shape

Toggle between modes using the fill mode button in the tool options row when a shape tool is selected.

Fill mode options in the tool options row
Fill mode buttons appear in the tool options row when a shape tool is active

A committed shape follows the current selection: with several cels picked in the timeline, or several layers in the Layers panel, it lands on all of them as one undo step, and a badge on the canvas names the reach before you commit.

Ink Modes

All shape tools support ink modes, which control how color is applied:

  • Simple — Standard color application. The shape replaces the pixels beneath it.
  • Lock Alpha — Only applies color where paint already exists. Transparent pixels stay transparent, so you can tint or shade inside a shape without spilling outside.
  • Shading — Available for Line and Curve only. Steps through the active color ramp with each pixel, useful for creating gradients or shading effects.

Symmetry Support

All shape tools respect the current symmetry settings. When symmetry is enabled, shapes are mirrored automatically across any combination of the four axes:

  • Vertical axis — Shapes are mirrored left/right
  • Horizontal axis — Shapes are mirrored top/bottom
  • Diagonal axes — Shapes are mirrored across either canvas diagonal

This is especially useful for creating symmetrical designs like mandalas, icons, or centered UI elements.

Tips

  • Hold Shift while drawing rectangles or circles to constrain proportions (squares and circles), Ctrl to draw from the center, and Alt mid-drag to rotate the shape.
  • Use the Line tool with Shift for perfectly horizontal, vertical, 45° diagonal, or isometric (26.565°/63.435°) lines.
  • For complex polygons beyond triangles, consider using the Lasso tool to draw a selection, then fill it.
  • The Isometric tool provides 3D-looking shapes like cubes and pyramids.
  • The shape tools share one toolbar button. Click it to pick up the shape it is showing; right-click it or hold the click to open the flyout with the rest, and Alt+click it to step to the next shape.
  • Hexagon, Star, Polygon and Contour are hidden in Simple mode. Switch to Window → Layouts → Advanced Mode to get them back.