one of the best ways to add more
interest to your documents is to create
your own graphics using the drawing tool
there are lots of options to choose from
and you can customize them to suit your
needs in this example I'm going to show
you how to create a graphic like this
using only shapes and text boxes your
first step is to open the drawing tool
by going to insert drawing the tool will
open in its own dialogue box this large
blank area is your canvas and here we
have the different tools you can use to
create your graphics including lines
shapes text boxes and even images to
insert a shape just click the command
then make your choice from the menu as
you can see here there are several
different styles to choose from in this
example we're going to start with the 32
point star now to draw your shape click
and drag your mouse on the canvas then
let go the shape will appear with the
default color scheme blue with a black
outline we're going to talk about how to
change that in a minute for now I'd like
to finish this part of my graphic by
adding a few more shapes the great thing
about shapes is the fact that they can
be customized and layered to create
something that's actually fairly complex
mastering this element of the drawing
tool takes time but with a little
practice and a little creativity you can
create almost anything right now I'm
using the control handles to adjust the
shapes proportions now to add the ribbon
that's going to go behind our first set
of shapes
if one shape is overlapping another you
may need to change the order so that the
correct shape appears in front this is
something that comes up a lot so it's a
good technique to know just right click
your shape then go down to order if you
have several overlapping objects you
might need to experiment with bring
forward or send backward to arrange them
exactly the way you want in this example
we're going to use the last option send
to back next I'm going to show you how
to format your shapes all you have to do
is select the shape you want to select
more than one hold ctrl on your keyboard
while you click
notice the commands that appear on the
toolbar you can use these to change
things like the fill color line color
line style and more now for the
finishing touch
remember this graphic is for a training
certificate it's being issued by a
company called Ohio health solutions so
I'd like to add their initials to the
seal OHS to insert a text box click the
text box command on the toolbar
then type your text there are many uses
for text boxes in Google Docs you can
even format them using options like font
color and size just make sure you have
the text box selected then look to the
commands on the toolbar when you're done
click the button in the upper right
corner that says save and close and your
drawing will appear in your document
there are lots of things you can do with
the drawing tool though this graphic is
just one example why not practice on
your own and see what you can come up
with GCF global creating opportunities
for a better life