Rectangle and ellipse tools in Figma - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

The rectangle and ellipse tools let you draw basic shapes in your design. These shapes help you create buttons, icons, or highlight areas in your dashboard or report visuals.

When you want to add a button shape to your dashboard mockup

When you need to highlight a key number with a circle background

When creating icons or simple graphics for your report

When you want to frame a chart or image with a rectangle

When designing layout placeholders for images or text

Steps

Step 1: Click

- Toolbar on the left, Rectangle tool icon

Cursor changes to crosshair for drawing rectangles

💡 Hold Shift while dragging to create a perfect square

Step 2: Drag

- Canvas area

A rectangle shape appears where you drag

💡 Release mouse button to finish drawing

Step 3: Click

- Toolbar on the left, Ellipse tool icon

Cursor changes to crosshair for drawing ellipses

💡 Hold Shift while dragging to create a perfect circle

Step 4: Drag

- Canvas area

An ellipse shape appears where you drag

💡 Release mouse button to finish drawing

Step 5: Select

- Shape on canvas

Shape is selected and shows resize handles

💡 Use handles to resize shape or move it by dragging

Before vs After

Before

Canvas is empty with no shapes

After

Canvas shows a blue rectangle and a red ellipse drawn side by side

Settings Reference

Corner radius

📍 Right sidebar, Design panel

Rounds the corners of rectangles to create softer edges

Default: 0 px

Fill color

📍 Right sidebar, Fill section

Sets the inside color or pattern of the shape

Default: Solid color (usually white or transparent)

Stroke

📍 Right sidebar, Stroke section

Adds an outline to the shape with customizable style

Default: No stroke

Common Mistakes

Not holding Shift while drawing shapes

Shapes may not be perfect squares or circles, causing uneven design

Hold Shift key while dragging to keep proportions equal

Drawing shapes outside the visible canvas area

Shapes may be hidden and hard to find or edit later

Start drawing shapes within the visible canvas area

Summary

Rectangle and ellipse tools create basic shapes for your design

Hold Shift while dragging to make perfect squares or circles

Use the right sidebar to customize fill, stroke, and corner radius