help manipulating fonts turned into outlines

[pmscom]

I want to manipulate fonts that I have turned into outlines...like making a capital S bottom portion swirl down around an object. I can't find any tutorials online for it.

 

[carlow]

Draw a swirl the way you want it, or find a swirl on the internet.

See that it intersects with the outlined character.

Select both elements go to the Window menu > Pathfinderpanel and use from the upper row icons the left one.

Now they are one shape and you can even modify them with the direct selection tool (white arrow)

carlow

 

[pmscom]

Thanks. I will try that. But I have seen someone do this before by just pulling on the end of a letter. I'm hoping to track down the person who showed me that once to see if I can get an hour of private tutoring... THANKS!

 

[apepp]

...for other manipulations you can also look into the warp tool (shift + R), assuming your version of illustrator has this tool (and the associated tools)...

...the warp tool options (seven of them) allow for some nifty results for manipulating vector shapes...



andrew

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http://www.apepp.info

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[pmscom]

Yep, I am familiar with the warp tool...but I don't think it will allow me to do what I want. It has something to do with turning the letter S into outlines and then using the white arrow to select a certain part and then using your mouse to pull it but what I do doesn't turn out just right. There's something that I am not doing correctly. I have done this with block letters without problems. But this is a curved part of an S...

 

[apepp]

...you will also need to look into using the pen tool functions (anchor tool) for manipulating paths into curves...



andrew

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http://www.apepp.info

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[apepp]

...if your trying to grow a shape then you will most likely have to manually add to it, in some form using the path tools...

...this could also be achieved by stroking a path with a custom tapered brush to create the swirl...

...that way you are dealing with a single path, as opposed to a multi-sided shape...

andrew

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http://www.apepp.info

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[apepp]

...something like this:

http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/illustrator-how-to-make-custom-swooshes-swirls-and-curls

andrew

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http://www.apepp.info

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[pmscom]

Yes, I could use some private tutoring on that pen tool! I have yet to master it, for sure!

 

[apepp]

...for self exploration of pen tool I would recommend this:

http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/illustrators-pen-tool-the-comprehensive-guide/

...the site also has many other useful posts...

andrew

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http://www.apepp.info

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[askIllustrator]

Try just using the pencil tool to modify the shape of the S. You wont get exactly what you want at first but the Smooth Tool (found underneath the Pencil tool shelf) will take care of that.

Just select the shape, then with the pencil tool, start drawing the desired modification. It will modify the existing shape instead of adding new lines that later need to be connected. Feel free to draw little additions at a time or just rough out the basic shape and fine tune the details and smooth out dense spots with the Smooth Tool.

You can double click either tool to adjust their settings if they feel too loose or too tight.

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." -Einstein

 

[magiccat25]

@pmscom if you use the white arrow (direct select arrow tool) you can grab specific points on a letter, where you can manipulate the character as you wish. This sounds like what your friend had shown you.