Illustrator :: Offset Path Creates 2 Additional Paths Not 1
May 29, 2013
So I am preparing a document for printing on an Epilog Zing Laser 10000. I have an outline for a cut I need to make, but I need to accomodate for the kerf of the laser. I am trying to select the circles and use the Offset Path tool to make new circles in the same places slightly smaller. However when I apply the negative offset I get a new circle on the outside of the path and on the inside.
As you can see there is now a larger circle as well as a smaller circle, but the smaller circles don't even have a smaller circle only a larger one despite the fact I entered a negative offset.What can I do to only get the smaller circle in all the circle? Am I even on the right path as far as the path offset tool? Pun intended.
I've got two paths. They don't intersect, exactly, a straight path ends at a curved path, but I need the end of the straight path to be curved, to make it look like the two meet perfectly. The two gray paths (a single path, then path->offset for the second) are the outside of a shield shape. The two black lines (paths) just surround text, but currently they overlap the gray paths.
I have some negative space I created(black area, see first image) that I want to fill with type, not just a simple fill.
Basically I want to create the negative space from a bunch of small minus signs(-) that need to line up as they go across. If I type on each path one at a time as the text doesn't line up that way. This needs to be one continuous path. (see second image)
Unfortunately if I add them together, it creates a compound path, which you cannot type on, unless I am mistaken? So I need them to be a path, not a compound object.
Is there a way to make the offset path not close the gap(red arrow)/not disappear if the two paths collide? like if the paths gets x milimeter close, then they dont offset anymore?
I'm doing an offset path command on a random shape and I need to repeat that in 4mm increments. I noticed that this command is far from accurate. To be as precise as possible I copy the base shape, paste it in front, apply the offset path command +4mm, +8mm etc (since the shape has round edges I chose round and a miter of 5000), and expand appearance. However, at 8mm expansion the round curves become pointy curves and therefore not mimicking the original shape.
I made a path and filled it with black. When I zoom in to make anchor adjustments, the fill and the path outline are offset making it very difficult to adjust and align filled paths. This happens all the time.
The letter "A" on the left is filled with a radial gradient. The letter "A" on the right is the same except I used offset path to expand the shape of the letter "A" but the gradient doesn't keep it's original coordinates and the outside shape of the offset "A" does not match the gradient of the original inside "A". I need the gradient to expand out with the same center coordinates as the gradient inside the original "A". I can't just scale the "A". I need both shapes of the "A" but filled with the same gradient.
I'm really new to Illustrator, and I'm trying to print an image that will have a CutContour swatch around it, with a bleed outside of the CutContour line. You'll see that I set up the bleed by creating an offset path outside of the CutContour path. However, I would like to delete the rest of the image outside of that, but I'm not sure how to do this. I don't want to print the entire block of the photograph, just the image inside the tracing, leaving the outside white. I thought I could select the offset path and make a Clipping Mask from that but it says it's "too complex" or doesn't do anything at all. I've attached an example since it will probably make more sense to have something to look at in addition to my explanation...
I was trying to make a logo and for doing as I sketched it I thought Offset path will do. But unfortunately it didnt. By using this feature repeatedly the shape is losing its initial form. This is what I want (as concept) but as you can see the shapes don't have the same form as the original cloud:
I know is almost impossible to make this without any distortion, but I was wondering if there is any other methond with less shape deformation.
I have a path that turned out to be a litt ethicker than it needs to be.
I see that I can expand a path with Offset Path. I have read online that you can contract a path by entering a negative number, but when I try that, it ignores the minus sign and expends the path instead.
How do I offset the path of a random shape (for example the outline of a guitar) without having it automatically inset the path as well? Is there an easier way to delete the segments of path I don't want than double clicking continuously with the white arrow?
1. Adding Effects to a path applies the effect but the effect is not visible in the Appearance panel. 2. In conjunction with this, it appears that internal stroking of the object creates a weird offset. The stroking is visually incorrect. The stroke generally offset by -1 on each axis. If the object has had a rounding effect applied to it, some of the corners become mangled.
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?
What does it mean when Illustrator v.15.1.0 ceases to contract a shape using offset paths and will only expand a shape? Seems like only yesterday I could render both ways. Wait a minute, it was only yesterday! Why would it suddenly stop funtioning?
How do I give Lucida handwriting a 2pt outline stroke, give it an outline path, then unite it with another shape path without the text losing it's outline stroke?? I can't bold Lucida handwriting as it only has an italic option, so need to give it an outline stroke to achieve a bold letter. As soon as I give it an outline path and unite it to other shape paths the 'bold'ness disappears and it reverts to it's original size.
I want to create an illustration with black outlines. Within these outlines I want to have some spots without outlines that stay clean within the lines. I have tried 3 options so far and have found a solution but it's far from ideal.
1. Create clipping masks for each element that has a spot on it and assign a stroke to the clipping path again after. However by creating the clipping path, the path styles dissapear. In this case I want to keep the pointed ends to the open path outlines (see top image).
2. Draw in the lines where the spots are and create a live paint object of the entire illustration. Then paint in the spots and other areas. However when I create this live paint object the lines again lose their applied styles and even 'end' at each intersection, creating nasty edges where the lines should go 'underneath' smoothly (see bottom image).
3. The option Im using now. Duplicate the path outlines and create clipping masks for the spots without strokes. Then put the stroked outline with the desired styles on top. The problem with this is that I have almost twice as much elements in my illustration now than I actually 'need'. And the styled outlines are not connected with the color underneath, so its very easy to accidentally move something around...
Any easier way to create this effect without all the hassle?
I want to join two paths to create a shape that I can fill but at the same time retain one of the original paths (the red one in the image below). I can copy the path I want to retain but surely there is a more elegant solution. See below for for an illustration:
Has any body else noticed that if you create a work path, then create a shape layer (say a rectangle) and type some text on the rectangle (text on a path) that if you commit the type and switch to the Path Selection Tool to edit the path text (position of the starting or end points) photoshop cs6 replaces your previous workpath with a workpath of the shape layer you typed on?
Is photoshop cs6 supposed to work that way?
Windows 8 x64 and photoshop 13.01 new document a create a workpath create a rectangle shape layer and type on the rectangle shape layer path. The orginal workpath has been replaced by the rectangle shape layer path
I am working with CS6 windows. I am having a problem when I made a brush, and add additional strokes to the same line.
Here is a pic of what is happening. You can see at the beginning of the arrow, there is a blue and pink link showing around the beginning of the arrow head. I added the pink and blue lines to the same line as the brush using the appearance tab.
Now if I add a dash to the the pink and blue lines, this is what happens... There is a little pink and blue line at the very tip of the arrow head. My dash options use for both the pink and blue lines.
My question is how to I get rid of this little line? What I am trying to do is.. use the black arrowhead on line with a stoke of 1 point black, and then under that have a 3 point stroke of white. In the image what is blue would be white, and what is pink would be black, and the arrowhead is correct as it is now. I had this same setup in CS4, and did not have that little line at the beginning.
This is my deconstructed crest logo, all pieces taken apart. I tried to find the source of the problem but it doesn't seem to be anything that I can track.
This problem ocurrs (the white lines on the "body" and on the two "wings") only when I use Save for Web with the GIF, JPEG and PNG options. If I use the WBMP, SWF, or SVG options then the white lines do not appear. They also do not appear if I use the regular Save As, or if I export to PNG, JPEG, etc.
The black forms are just shapes with black fills (no strokes) on them - so there is no reason that I can find for this happening.
When importing an SVG file, I woould like the top level SVG groups to be imported as separate Illustrator layers. Instead, Illustrator creates a single default layer on importing teh SVG file, and adds the tree of groups under that layer.
I've tried every permutation of copy and paste; I renamed the path to path. It looks like a path when I add stroke, but it does not behave like one. I can't cut it or join it to any other path. It remembers it's text path status. I'm running OS X 10.7.5.
