The shear tool in Adobe Illustrator is used to distort objects by skewing them along one axis, creating a shearing effect. While the concept of shear involves mathematical operations that may involve vectors, the shear tool in Illustrator does not specifically require the use of 3D vectors.
In Adobe Illustrator, transformations such as scaling, rotating, and shearing are typically performed in 2D space. The shear tool manipulates objects by applying a shear transformation along either the horizontal or vertical axis, effectively changing their shapes without altering their dimensions in the third dimension.
Creating a shear tool similar to the one in Adobe Illustrator in a 3D modeling or graphics software could potentially involve the use of 3D vectors, especially if the shear operation is performed in a 3D space. However, the specific implementation would depend on the software's design and the desired functionality.
Whether such a feature would be useful depends on the specific needs of the users and the context in which they work. In some cases, the ability to apply shear transformations to objects in a 3D space could be beneficial for tasks such as architectural modeling, product design, or animation. However, in other contexts, such functionality may not be as commonly needed or may be accomplished using different techniques.
Overall, the usefulness of a shear tool in a 3D modeling or graphics software would depend on factors such as the software's target audience, the types of projects it is designed for, and the workflow preferences of its users.