Mastering Strokes In Illustrator: Creative Item Combinations

Adobe Illustrator offers a variety of methods to combine objects and strokes. One way is to use the Pathfinder panel, which allows you to merge objects into new shapes with different interaction modes such as add, subtract, intersect, and exclude. You can also create compound shapes and paths, giving you more flexibility in manipulating individual components. Additionally, the Blob Brush tool can be used to merge paths with existing artwork of the same fill color and no stroke. For more complex combinations, you can convert strokes to compound paths, allowing you to modify the outline and create varied widths or divide the stroke.

Convert strokes to shapes

To convert strokes to shapes in Adobe Illustrator, you can follow these steps:

• Draw your line and give it a stroke of your preferred thickness.
• Go to "Object" > "Path" > "Outline Stroke" to convert the stroke into an editable object.
• (Optional) To create a lozenge or pill shape, go to "Effect" > "Stylize" > "Round Corners" and adjust the radius to your desired size.
• (Optional) If you want to merge multiple paths into a single object, use the "Pathfinder" panel or the "Shape Builder Tool" to combine them.
• (Optional) To further simplify and merge any remaining construction areas, go to "Object" > "Pathfinder" and click "Merge" or use "Object" > "Flatten Transparency".

It is important to note that while these steps will convert strokes to shapes, they may also make future editing more challenging as you are essentially flattening the vector image.

Use the Pathfinder panel to merge objects

The Pathfinder panel in Adobe Illustrator is a useful tool for merging objects and creating new shapes. The panel is divided into two rows: the top row contains four "Shape Modes" buttons, and the bottom row contains "Pathfinder Effects" buttons.

Shape Modes

• Add/Unite: Combines all selected objects and merges them into a single shape. The merged shape takes on the colour and style attributes of the top-most object.
• Subtract/Minus Front: Uses the top object(s) as a "cookie-cutter" to cut out their shape(s) from the bottom object.
• Intersect: Deletes everything that does not overlap and combines the rest into a single shape.
• Exclude: The opposite of Intersect. Gets rid of everything that overlaps; the resulting shapes become a compound path.

Pathfinder Effects

• Divide: Cuts the artwork into separate pieces where shapes overlap. The original colour attributes are maintained.
• Trim: Removes parts of objects that are overlapping or hidden, including any strokes. Does not merge objects with the same colour attributes.
• Merge: Similar to Trim, but merges overlapping objects filled with the same colour, regardless of the stacking order.
• Crop: Uses the topmost object to crop away everything else. Also removes strokes.
• Outline: Similar to Divide, but instead of individual shapes, the result is individual line segments.
• Minus Back: Does the opposite of Minus Front/Subtract. Removes anything overlapping that is behind the frontmost object.

To access the Pathfinder panel, go to Window > Pathfinder. To make compound shapes, use the buttons in the top row while pressing the Alt or Option key.

Other Ways to Merge Objects

You can also use the following methods to merge objects:

• Object > Expand Appearance: Converts all strokes to shapes and expands all Appearance Panel settings to objects.
• Object > Flatten Transparency: Expands and merges all objects.
• Object > Rasterize: Converts all strokes and outlines into one path/shape.
• Object > Compound Path > Make: Deletes all interior shapes and leaves the main shape.
• Object > Expand: Expands the results of the Shape Mode functions.

Use the Pathfinder panel to apply shape modes

The Pathfinder panel in Adobe Illustrator is a powerful tool for creating custom shapes and paths. It is especially useful when you need to create, manipulate, or adjust complex shapes. The panel is divided into two sections: Shape Modes and Pathfinders.

Shape Modes

Shape Modes allow you to create new and unique polygons of a single colour by uniting, excluding, intersecting, or eliminating separate layers. Here is a detailed description of each Shape Mode:

• Unite— Combines two or more shapes into one cohesive polygon while retaining the colour of the topmost shape.
• Minus Front— Eliminates the top shape layers and any overlaps, leaving only the bottom shape and its colour.
• Intersect— Creates a new shape by revealing the overlapped area and removing the top and bottom shape layers. The new shape retains the colour of the topmost shape.
• Exclude— Eliminates the overlapping area and retains the non-overlapping shapes, creating a complex shape. The final shape takes on the colour of the topmost shape.

Applying Shape Modes

To apply Shape Modes in the Pathfinder panel, select the desired mode from the top row of buttons. You can also create compound shapes by pressing the Alt or Option key while selecting a Shape Mode button.

When using Shape Modes, it is important to consider the stacking order of the selected objects. The stacking order determines which shape will be on top and, therefore, which colour will be retained in the final shape. Additionally, you can use the Expand button to commit to the Shape Mode action and remove unnecessary paths.

Create a compound shape

A compound shape is an editable art form in Adobe Illustrator that consists of two or more objects, with each object assigned a shape mode. Compound shapes are useful for creating complex shapes as they allow you to precisely manipulate the shape mode, stacking order, shape, location, and appearance of each path included.

To create a compound shape, follow these steps:

Select the Objects:

Begin by selecting all the objects you want to be part of the compound shape. You can include paths, compound paths, groups, other compound shapes, blends, text, envelopes, and warps. Any open paths you select will be automatically closed.

Access the Pathfinder Panel:

Go to Window > Pathfinder to open the Pathfinder panel. This panel allows you to combine objects into new shapes.

Choose a Shape Mode:

In the Pathfinder panel, you will see two rows of buttons. The top row is for creating paths or compound paths, while the bottom row is for Pathfinder effects. To create a compound shape, use the buttons in the top row while pressing the Alt or Option key.

Select one of the following shape modes:

• Add: This adds the area of the component to the underlying geometry.
• Subtract: This cuts out the area of the component from the underlying geometry.
• Intersect: This uses the area of the component to clip the underlying geometry, similar to a mask.
• Exclude Overlapping: This inverts the underlying geometry, turning filled regions into holes and vice versa.

Make the Compound Shape:

After selecting the desired shape mode, you can create the compound shape in two ways:

• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) on the selected Shape Mode button. Each component of the compound shape will be assigned the chosen shape mode.
• Go to the Pathfinder panel menu and select "Make Compound Shape." Each component of the compound shape will be assigned the Add mode by default.

Modify and Edit:

You can modify individual components of the compound shape by using the Direct Selection tool or Layers panel. Select the component you want to edit, and then click on a different Shape Mode button in the Pathfinder panel.

To maintain maximum performance when working with complex compound shapes, it is recommended to nest other compound shapes (with up to about 10 components each) instead of using many individual components.

Create a compound path

A compound path is a single path that consists of more than one path. To create a compound path, you can select two or multiple objects and then go to Object > Compound Path > Make. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut keys Ctrl/Cmd+8.

Compound paths allow you to cut holes into overlapping objects and add effects like gradients onto separate objects. For example, you can create a doughnut shape from two nested circles. Once you create a compound path, the paths act as grouped objects. You can select and manipulate the objects separately using the Direct Selection Tool or Group Selection Tool, or you can select and edit the combined path.

You can change how a compound path looks by applying a fill rule. There are two types of fill rules: the non-zero winding path and the even-odd path. By default, Illustrator uses the non-zero winding path. You can change the fill rule by selecting the compound path and going to the Attributes panel.

You can also return a compound path to its original components by selecting it and going to Object > Compound Path > Release.

Frequently asked questions