Removing aspects of an image 'clipping' ?

[Sminky]

Hello

I'm attempting to widen my skillset with Adobe illustraitor, and i have very large holes in my understanding. I am attempting to remove a asspect of an image so it can sit neatly on top of another layer. I belive this is called clipping. However in Illustraitor i can't for the life of me get it too work, below are images of what i am trying to achive (done in photoshop).

Any help, or a point in the right direction would be hugely appricited, some of the technical terms i don't fully understand.

Many thanks

 

[apepp]

Hello!

In the provided example i gather you want to "clip" the grey shape to the bunnie brown shape...this is known as a "clipping mask".

...with that, in illustrator, you need to essentially duplicate the bunnie brown shape (command/control + C to copy, and then command/control + F to make a copy directly on top, view the layers palette to see that take effect)...the bunnie shape should be a completely join path/shape.

...with the duplicated bunnie brown shape directly on top of the original source shape, you need to have that bunnie brown shape above the grey shape that you want to "clip". Essentially you make a sandwich of three objects (all on one layer) in illustrator, so in the layers palette you will have one "layer" with:

1. top object (duplicated bunnie brown shape).
2. middle object (grey shape).
3. bottom object (the original bunnie brown shape).

...with the set up as above, you need to select both 1 and 2 shapes (press shift key and click the right hand circle "O" symbol in the layers palette).

...from there you simply choose "object > clipping mask > make" from the main menu in illustrator to create the clipped object.

...again, view the layers palette to see what happens, it will change the layer structure slightly. The process can always be reversed and edited afterwards, it is a none-destructive process.

...best advice i can give is to always think in "layers" when dealing with complex (or even simple) graphics in illustrator...the layers palette is your friend...

...as a side note, also experiment with the "pathfinder" palette (window > pathfinder) to see how those functions behave. They are very commonly used to create complex shapes easily from multiple selected shapes.

...i also recommend vectortuts to help develop your vector experience, on this link below:

http://vector.tutsplus.com/

...best of luck!

Andrew
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http://www.apepp.info

- Graphic Design and Web Design, Exeter, Devon, UK.
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[apepp]

...oh and the other thing to note is that illustrator deals with layers a bit differently to photoshop...

...unlike photoshop, a layer holds "sub-layers" of objects in illustrator...this is one of the main differences.

Andrew
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http://www.apepp.info

- Graphic Design and Web Design, Exeter, Devon, UK.
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