Tilt in 3D, and warp with Distort.
You can tilt any object except audio and connectors into 3D space. Turn on Perspective in the Object panel and change Rotation X and Y, or drag the four corners yourself with Distort.
Tilt an object in 3D
Select the object you want to tilt. Rectangles, images, text, groups, and frames all work. You change the values under Transform in the Object panel on the right.
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Turn on perspective
Scroll down the Object panel to find Perspective under Transform. Turn on Enable. A distance field appears next to it, starting at twice the object’s longer side. The smaller the number, the more exaggerated the tilt; the larger, the flatter it looks.
Turning on Enable under Perspective shows a distance field next to it. Video: With the card selected, scrolling down the Object panel and turning on Enable under Perspective shows a distance field set to 720. -
Turn it left or right
In Rotation, type 30 in the Y field. Press ↩. The object turns around its vertical axis: the right side moves away and gets smaller, and the left side comes closer.
Setting Rotation Y to 30 sends the right side of the card away and makes it smaller. Video: In the Object panel of a card with perspective on, typing 30 in the Rotation Y field turns the card around its vertical axis, and its right side moves away and gets smaller. -
Tip it forward or back
In Rotation, type -20 in the X field. Press ↩. The top comes closer and gets wider, and the bottom moves away and gets narrower. Rotation Z is the ordinary rotation within the screen.
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Pull it forward
In Position, type 200 in the Z field. Press ↩. The object comes toward the viewer and looks larger. A negative number moves it back and makes it smaller.
Setting Position Z to 200 brings the tilted card forward and makes it larger. Video: Typing 200 in the Position Z field of the tilted card and pressing Enter brings the card toward the viewer and makes it larger. -
Rotate it on the canvas
Choose the 3D Gizmo tool in the toolbar. Its tooltip reads “3D Gizmo” in every interface language. Rings and a sphere in the middle appear over the object. Drag the outer ring to rotate the object within the screen, or drag the center sphere to tilt it in space. If the cursor is in a value field, G doesn’t switch tools. Press ↩ or esc to leave the field first.
After the 3D Gizmo is chosen in the toolbar, the outer ring turns the card, and then the center sphere tilts it in perspective. Video: With a perspective-enabled card selected, the 3D Gizmo is chosen in the toolbar and the outer ring turns the card, and then dragging the center sphere tilts it in perspective.
Without perspective, tilting only flattens the object
New objects start with Perspective off. In that state, Rotation X and Y only shrink the width or height, and the near side doesn’t grow larger as it would in perspective. Position Z has no effect either. Turn on Enable under Perspective.
Distort with four corners
Choose Select in the toolbar, or press V. Then select the one object you want to distort. Everything except audio and connectors works.
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Turn on Distort
In the sub-toolbar, click Distort: the icon of three dots joined by lines, to the right of Flip Vertical. Round handles appear on the object’s four corners.
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Drag the corners
Drag the corner handles one at a time to where you want them. The object warps in perspective to fit the four points. A corner won’t follow into a spot that would make the shape concave or twisted. Corners snap to the edges and center lines of other objects. Hold ⌘ while you drag to keep a corner from snapping.
Dragging the poster photo’s four corners onto the corners of the frame on the wall warps the photo along the wall. Video: With Distort on, dragging the poster photo’s four corners one by one onto the corners of an empty frame on a slanted wall warps the photo in perspective along the wall. -
Turn it off or reset it
Click Distort again to flatten the object. Click it once more to bring back the shape you dragged. To reset the shape, click Reset under Distort near the bottom of the Object panel.
Open like a door, and 3D that moves
To make it open like a door. Choose Edit Anchor Points in the toolbar or press A. Drag the cross-shaped anchor point at the object’s center to the middle of its left edge. The anchor point snaps to corners, edge midpoints, and the exact center. Then change Rotation Y, and the object swings open on that edge.
To animate the tilt. In Animation mode, a diamond appears at the end of the Rotation X and Y, Position Z, and Perspective fields, so you can animate them as in Work with keyframes. Between two scenes with a transition turned on, tilt and distortion also change smoothly. Duplicate the scene as in Your first transition and set Rotation Y to 180 in the second scene: the card flips over as it moves on. It has no separate back, so you see the front mirrored left to right.
To turn a ring in 15° steps. Hold ⇧ while you drag a ring of the 3D Gizmo. It turns in steps of 15°. Hold ⇧ while you drag the center sphere, and it tilts in one direction only, horizontally or vertically.
Shortcuts on this page
| 3D Gizmo tool · next control (Position → Scale → Rotation) | G |
|---|---|
| Previous 3D Gizmo control | ⇧G |
| Edit Anchor Points tool | A |
| Turn a ring in 15° steps | ⇧+drag a ring |
| Drag a distort corner without snapping | ⌘+drag a corner |
Updated 10/13/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.