by The Illustrator perspective grid tool is powerful and famously easy to summon by accident. This guide covers both halves: how to use the perspective grid in Illustrator deliberately, and how to turn off the perspective grid in Illustrator when it appears uninvited. Adobe's reference is the Perspective Grid page in the Illustrator user guide; what follows is the practical version.
How to turn off the perspective grid in Illustrator
Press Shift + Ctrl + I (Windows) or Shift + Cmd + I (Mac). That toggles the grid. The menu route is View → Perspective Grid → Hide Grid.
The grid appears because Shift + P selects the Perspective Grid tool, and the tool shows the grid whenever it is active. Switching to the Selection tool does not hide it; only the toggle above does. If it happens often, open Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts, find Perspective Grid Tool under Tools, and remove or change the shortcut.
To delete a custom grid you defined, use View → Perspective Grid → Define Grid and delete the preset, or simply hide the grid; documents do not need it.
Where the perspective grid tool is in Illustrator
The Perspective Grid tool sits in the toolbar with the Perspective Selection tool nested under it (long-press the icon). In the basic toolbar it may be hidden; open Window → Toolbars → Advanced, or drag it in from the Edit Toolbar drawer.
Setting up a grid
View → Perspective Grid offers One Point, Two Point and Three Point presets. Each has a widget on the artboard for the horizon height, the vanishing points, the ground level and the grid cell size. Drag the horizon diamond up or down for eye level, the vanishing-point diamonds sideways to change how wide the "lens" is, and the ground-plane handle to move the whole grid.
The plane switching widget (top-left of the artboard) selects which plane you are drawing on: left, right, or horizontal. The number keys 1, 2, 3 switch planes, and 4 turns plane snapping off.
Drawing on the grid
With a plane active, shapes you draw with the rectangle, ellipse and line tools land in perspective on that plane. To put existing artwork onto the grid, use the Perspective Selection tool: drag the object while the plane you want is active and it will be transformed to match. Hold Alt/Option while dragging to duplicate, and use the arrow keys to move an object perpendicular to its plane.
Text and symbols can be placed with the Perspective Selection tool as well, and remain editable: double-click to edit the text in isolation mode.
Limits
Illustrator's grid is a construction aid rather than a camera model. It does not report a lens, does not export the grid as a separate image, and its three-point preset is built from fixed presets rather than a rotatable view. For a shot-planning grid with a lens readout, use the 3-point grid here, export it as SVG, and drop it into Illustrator as a locked layer. The lines are real vector paths you can snap to.
Related
Photoshop's perspective tools (warp, crop, vanishing point) · Affinity Designer and Photo · the perspective tools guide
Questions
How do I turn off the perspective grid in Illustrator?
Press Shift + Ctrl + I on Windows or Shift + Cmd + I on Mac, or go to View → Perspective Grid → Hide Grid. Selecting any tool other than the Perspective Grid tool does not hide it.
Why does the perspective grid keep appearing?
Pressing Shift + P selects the Perspective Grid tool and shows the grid. It is easy to hit by accident. Hide it with Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + I, and consider reassigning the shortcut in Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts.
Can Illustrator make a 3-point perspective grid?
Yes. View → Perspective Grid → Three Point Perspective, then choose a preset. You can also define your own grids with Define Grid.