Filling regions (not objects)

[0md21]

Hello,

I'm very new to this, but I'm basically looking for a function akin to the Paint Bucket feature in MS Paint - something that will fill a closed region. I made a closed triangle with the Line tool and drew a jagged line with the pencil through the triangle and I would like to put different fills on either side of the jagged line. Thanks very much for your help.

 

[eugenetyson]

Highlight both the objects, the triangle and the jagged line.

Open the pathfinder window, so scientific but it's not.

Windows>Pathfinder, from the top menu

Then find the DIVIDE function on the panel. You can hover each one to see what it does.

Use this to divide the one shape into two shapes, now you can fill it different colours, be sure to select it with the direct selection tool (the white arrow)

You cannot fill objects in regions, you have to divide them. Illustrator is a vector based application, it uses mathematics to draw each line, so DIVIDE is a good way to remember that, you can ADD, SUBTRACT etc. to an object. But all objects are independent until you do this. Which ever one you draw first will be on the bottom, draw over that and it's on top.

MS Paint, is a pixel editor. You are colouring in pixels. If you draw a line between two objects, they are inseparable and each time you draw through a shape you cutting off the image. You can't move these shapes, they are all part of the same shape.

Same with photoshop. Illustrator is for editing of Vectors, photoshop is for pixels.

 

[apepp]

...in illustrator cs2 you can use the live paint feature to fill in regions as opposed to objects...

...any version less and then it becomes a manual operation...

...select both objects, choose the live paint bucket (thrid from bottom, left hand on the tools palette...

...select a fill color and click inside an area...

...until you expand the live paint group you can still edit the paths and maintain the filled regions as the shape changes...

...once you expand it you lose this option...

Andrew

 

[0md21]

Thanks so much guys! I think I understand the fundamental way it works now so a lot of my future questions were just answered to.