Illustrator :: Grunge Texture Won't Subtract With Pathfinder Tool
Aug 5, 2013
I made a design that consists of multiple shapes; the entire thing has been expanded and grouped. I image traced and expanded a grunge texture that I would like to "cut out" of my design. I placed the texture over the design, selected both Groups (texture and design), and tried Minus Front and Minus Back (among a few others just to test) and the two both leave nothing but a couple speckles from the texture.
I'm making variations of a logo and one of them is a single color reverse. The logo is basically the letters 'MCS' written on a block of color. When I try to use the Pathfinder's subtract feature to knock out the letters from the block I get some slight distortion on the letters.
I was running CS2 before and I did this many times but I never had any distortion.
I am trying to add some texture to some text by subtracting a grunge pattern from it. I've expanded the appearance of the text, so it is now shapes. However, when I place the texture shape over it and try to subtract it from the letter shapes, it only leaves me with the first letter.
Is there another way to do something like this? I would rather not have to keep subtracting the pattern from each letter individually. I've tried ungrouping the letters, then uniting them in the Paths panel, but it doesn't seem to be working either.
I've created a logo with a grunge texture over the font in Illustrator CS5. When I try and create a compound path with the grunge texture I lose the detail. Here's one of the letter to show what it looks like before and after creating the compound path using the minus front pathfinder option. On the left is how I'd like it to look.
Although it doesn't look like much of a difference when printed it flattens out even more. I've tried every grouping option I could think of, used the pathfinder options and used this thread: [URL].... to try creating it using a transparency. Nothing gets the detail I need.
I drew a line using the line tool and then used the smooth zig zag to create a wave.The wave starts with the "low wave" and I want it to start with the "high Wave" so I tried the mirror option but that does not seem to make any difference.
I then made my "wave" longer and treid to use the pathfinder tool to "cut" the part of the wave I wanted but that did not work either.Is the line tool and zig zag the wrong tool to use?
I have created an arc using the Brush tool and now need to clip one end of it. If you refer to the attached image you will see that 1 is the arc created as a brush and 2 is what I wish to achieve by making the right hand end 'horizontal'. If I place a rectangle in front as shown in 3 and try to use a tool such as Pathfinder, I get a strange result as shown in 4. Because it is a brush there are no handles to allow me to reshape the end of the arc. Is there a way to achieve this. I need the final image to remain a vector as it will need to be resized. I am using Illustrator CS6.
Having problems with the pathfinder tools after updating to the latest verstion of CC? I can't seem to unite, divide, or trim paths with the usually predictable results. s there a way to turn live corners off?
I am trying to make the olympic rings, but when I try to divide the rings using the pathfinder, nothing happens. It just ignores any klick on the pathfinder tool. Is this a new feature of CS6 or is it just a bug?
For combining shapes, isn't the Shape Builder tool essentially the same thing as using Unite in the Pathfinder? Is there some other advantage to using it?
I am a newbie in illustrator. I want to use pathfinder to unite two paths. One path has the effect of bulge. When I unite these, both of the paths get the effect bulge. Why is this happening and how can i avoid this?
I outlined a bit of text, and then applied Effect > Warp > Arch. What I'd like to do is cut apart parts of the now outlined letters. I tried to use the pathfinder palette, but it applies the pathfinder to old, non-arched shape.
I am in the 3d modeling view, and have extruded closed polylines. when i go to subtract the object inside the other it won't subtract the command says <Modeling Operation Error: failure in face-face intersection merging algorithm>
I have been using Illustrator for a couple of years now and from time to time I encounter very strange behavior when manipulating a vector shape.I have a current example here where I simply want to create a combined shape using the pathfinder tool:
As you can see, the generated shape (red) does not cover the original shape (green).When I use the path selection tool, I am able to reposition the first anchor but when I do the same for the lower anchor as well the entire shape is replaces a few pixel to the left. Even using the "align" tool afterwards is not useful. It seems impossible to make the red shape cover the green one.
So I keep seeing this method of design on sites like dribbble or behance but I don't know how to do it!
Here's an example: Basically a bunch of circles are used to create this awesome shape and design. I have a general idea on how to use the pathfinder tool and I have used it a lot in the past, but how do you snap circles together with smart guides? It seems that the smart guides only snap based on 90 or 45 angles and don't snap edges of objects together unless there are two anchors.
Here's an example: I want to use the curves from 2 circle shapes to make a complex path. But I can't get the two paths to snap together
Ultimately to create something like the raindrop image above. I want to use the perfect curves on circles to create more complex shapes but since the paths do not snap together, I'm just eyeballing it to be close enough to do something with the pathfinder tool.
So occasionally, when working on customers files, outlined text becomes warped when resizing or using Pathfinder. For instance, I have "III" written and outlined, but for some reason if I resize this, the middle line become thicker than the other lines. Other text changes as well making it very hard to make the necessary changes to my artwork without ruining the text.
In illustrator, I have placed an image that I created in photoshop. Once I trace and expand it, with the option to ignore white selected, there are still transparent shapes that I have to manually delete. For what I am doing now, it is way too tedious to have to do that. Why, if I'm 'ignoring white' so that I simply get a black/transparent vector image, are these transparent shapes showing up?
Win7 Enterprise 64 bit Illustrator CC 17.0.1 64 bit
After placing an image into a new document within Illustrator. I trace the image and expand it. from there I attempt to Alt-click on the unite shape mode to create a compound shape.
I'm currently having troubles from having too many anchor points after "image trace" or "offset path tool".
1. I would like to know if there's a way of deleting useless points AT ONCE. (ex. multiple anchor points on a stait line, or duplicated points at one anchor point) - I've tried "Simplify" but it changed the picture too much. - I've tried "Remove redundant points" when using "image trace" but it came out as below:
2. Sometimes pathfinder seems to make duplicated paths. Is there any way of knowing that there are duplicated paths OR eraseing duplicated paths at ONCE?
I'm setting up several squares in rows that left to right the value will change (i.e. +5 % Cyan), and up and down the channel will be defined for the the value changes (as in CMYK).
Underlying each of these squares will be a named global CMYK swatch to easily change the color.
Above each of these will be a static box that overlays with 0-0-0-15 (with blend mode multiply) which would add 15% black to any color below.
My question here is how to do the opposite accurately within Illustrator, to subtract 15% interactivley from the colored box below, the closest I've come is to use; lets say I want to pull 10% from Magenta; is to: 100-90-100-100 with a blend mode of the top object set to Screen. It always seems to result in a jump that is 2 to 3% off.
Multiply allays seems to work corectly, in PS, Illustrastor etc... But I have yet to find a subtractive method that is reliable.
I'm using this to create an simple pick a color and print similar swatches around it, as my workplace has a lot of materials and heat processes that change the final color, and color swatches are in a constant need.
Sometimes I have to subtract some outlined text from a larger shape. Usually I just select the shape, and the text group, and execute a compound path. Works fine.
Occasionally, this method is not so convenient If I need to knock out additional outlined text into an object that has already been compounded with some other elements. For this, I use the Shape Tool, minus-ing out the additional text,
What I've noticed is that as I do this, the process gets slower and slower as each path is minus'd out with the Shape Tool. Eventually it can take as long a minute or more to remove more areas. Then I discovered something. I uncompounded the final result to discover that the Shape Tool creates hundreds and hundreds of duplicate paths. And very specific duplicates at that. Here is what I discovered:
I can only draw the conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with this tool. Surely all those extra path copies hidden within the resulting compound path can't be right.
If you'd like to download the AI6 version go here: [URL]...
I know how to upload the 3D tool and put the texture on it but when I do the texture is too light. I don't know why it's not appearing the same color as the original file. I am not sure if I am not loading it right. I had CS5 and I am loading it the same way. Well...as similar as the software will allow. This one is so different.
I'm tyring to use the 2d Interactive Placment Tool without success. I can see the red box, I can see the arrow cursor and when I click I see the little arrow and box, but when I use the mmb nothing happens. I've seen a video demo and it works there, but when I try it no joy, very frustrating.
I drew a shape with the bezier tool and filled it in with the planar tool resulting in a shape that the Outliner calls a PlanarTrimmedSurfaceShape - I can see the texture, but it's wonky.
I am bringing into an old photo which is in fact a scan of a printed photo, an item selected from a recently taken photo and I need it to look as if it belongs to the old photo.
The immediate difference is in the texture, best shown with a photo here. try viewing it also by moving head laft and right ! I can even see a regular pattern of something within the cruder pixels. I could take days to try out various filters, it may be it requires a combination of filters and given the variables involved the chances of hitting upon the right settings and the right filters is remote and it would take days. Is there a way of sampling the recipient photo and then applying the effect it sees to the cleaner looking modern photo ?
I come across this situation all the time when one photo, even a modern digicamera one, taken by someone else, differs from another photo, unless the 'textures' can be made to match, the added in pics stick out like a sore thumb ! A photo with jpg artefacts receiving a cleaner photo is one common occurrence, try geting the cleaner one to look very jpegged, not easy.
I am sure that in the past Texture settings saved when I loaded a saved Art History Brush tool preset. But suddenly, the Texture setting - specifically Depth, is not being remembered. In other words - I have saved an Art History Brush as a Tool Preset. I have then used some other brushes and experimented with texture including the Depth setting. When I go back to the saved tool preset, the Texture Depth setting has changed to whatever it was when I last used it - not its saved value. I thought the point of Tool Presets is that they save all brush characteristics.
I'm using CS6. The tool presets and their Texture attributes work fine in CS5. Maybe I need to reinstall CS6.
Can some direct my to a good, possibly free, stock photo site for acquiring grungy textures to apply to images with blend modes and layer mask. Hoping for more organic results than what I get with the filters.
I've been noticing a bunch of grunge sigs lately and i think they are really cool. I would like to do one of my own but im not sure how. Can anyone explain how to do them or show me where i can get a tutorial to do one?
