Illustrator Illustrator CS4. Can't fill a compound shape!

[Oh for Chrissake!]

Hi folks,

I'm reading this online tutorial. http://ndesign-studio.com/tutorials/tracing-photoAnd it says to trace over a photo. The first trace is called the base path. In this lesson it calls to trace a face, but I decided on a less complex approach and "traced" a simple circle with my pen tool.


Then the lesson says, copy the base path of the face (or my one circle) and Paste in Front. Select the copied base path and the new path, open your Pathfinder, Alt-click on Intersect shape areas.


I did that, and I got a compound shape with two layers. So far so good.


Then it says to fill in the base color with a skin tone color.


This is where it’s killing me. I have been trying all day just to fill in that one layer, now part of a compound shape, with color. Any color. And it just won’t take.



I've tried it in outline mode, and preview mode. I’ve looked in my reference materials, online. NO luck.



I just can't seem to fill a compound shape with color.



I’m sure this is just a newbie problem. Can you help?


Thanks!

 

[hawkeye]

If you copied the base layer and then pasted it in front, then you still have the original base layer in below. If you select it, then you can fill the base layer. It should be at the very bottom of the layer stack.

The compound path will show the copy of the base layer and the new path you created. You can edit each individually but you can only fill the intersection area.

 

[Oh for Chrissake!]

Hi Hawkeye,

Thanks, but that doesn't seem to work. Hopefully my little graphic presentation will make things clear. I didn't attempt this technique for the whole face. Just the reflection off the models forehead.





1. I start out like the above....



2... then I copy and paste in front...



3...select both layers...



4...I go to the Pathfinder pallete and alt+click on the Intersect option and I get the Compound Shape with the two layers. So far so good. Right?



5. I click on the target button for the top layer of the compound shape and select a color. Nothing.



6. I click on the target button of the bottom layer of the compound shape and select a color. Nothing.



7. I move them apart to see if something is hidden underneath something else. Nothing.



8. I change the View to Outline mode. Nothing.



9. I even change the view back to Preview mode, to see the intersection itself. Nothing.



I am completely stumped. If you can help me I would be overwhelmingly thankful and relieved.

Jesse (OFC!)

 

[hawkeye]

I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish but, when you paste in front exactly the same image one over another with no fill and then Alt Intersect...what you are telling Illustrator to do is reveal just the intersection area of the two shapes. Since there is no fill, there is nothing to reveal.

You can get around that sometimes, but again I don't understand the point of doing it to begin with: immediately after you Alt+Intersect, in the layer palette lock the top path of the compound shape. Then select the bottom layer and you should be able to fill it.

 

[Oh for Chrissake!]

Thank you, Hawkeye.

The tutorial I'm working from is: 50-illustrator-tutorials-every-designer-should-see. And I chose it because I want to learn some ILL design basics. But I'm going to give up on their tutorial (http://ndesign-studio.com/tutorials/tracing-photo) because I'm just going to assume it's not well written.

The reason why I chose it was because I liked the tracing aspect, plus how to get that nice skin tone and hair color of a human form. Can you recommend an alternative site?

 

[hawkeye]

There isn't anything wrong with the tutorial, but you need to understand what is being done. When you copy in front and make a compound shape, the copy acts like a mask and confines the new path area (the shadow) to the area below (the face) which you copied. Hope this makes sense to you.

 

[Oh for Chrissake!]

Hi Hawkeye,

I get it, but not sure how it applies to the tut I hyperlinked. Sorry if I am not getting the thrust of what you are trying to communicate.

This is my process:

I select the targets of two sub-layers inside a layer, and alt-click on Intersect.

The two sub-layers (let's now call them layer #3) become two sub layers of a new sub-layer called Compound Shape (let's call it layer #2), which is inside the main layer (let's call it layer #1).

The only way to color any of it is to click the target button of #1 or #2 and choose a color. This displays the color on the screen, but the final sub-layers (either part of layer #3) that make up the compound shape don't respond to any attempt to fill them with a color.

Even if I color the base layer before I copy in front and then alt-intersect, the color dissapears when the layers become a compound shape.

I assume the point of the tutorial is to blend two #3 layers to get a realistic skin tone. I am just completely at a loss as to what step I'm missing.

Of course if you know of an alternative approach, I would happily accept that. I appreciate your patience, and understand if you have none left. : )

Best,

 

[hawkeye]

You really need to understand how things work before you try to follow tutorials. You need to know why you are doing something rather than just doing it becasue they say to. Often the method they use will not even be the best one. Anyway:
Say I have a head shape like below and want to put hair on it. I can make a copy of the head paste in front then draw a very rough outline of the hair over it. Make it a compound intersected shape and the hair will only be inside the head shape. Like I said earlier it acts like a mask.