1/2/2023 0 Comments Masking in illustrator![]() ![]() ![]() You will need some artwork and a shape to use as a mask. Here are some basics to get you started masking art in Illustrator with clipping masks and opacity masks. I use masks in Illustrator anytime I need to fill a shape with something other than a color, pattern, or gradient. You’ll be able to see what’s inside the mask’s boundary, while everything outside its edges is hidden. Applying a mask is like placing a frame with a matte over your artwork. For the time it can save the plug-in is a good buy.Masks are an essential tool in Illustrator because they enable you to conceal parts of your artwork, which opens up all kinds of creative possibilities. Other applications tend to save PDFs by applying clipping masks and even embedded alpha channel TIFF images to any objects with gradients and levels of transparency.Īstute Graphics has an Illustrator plug-in that can fix a lot of problems when importing PDFs into Illustrator, but it's not 100% perfect. ![]() Illustrator provides that option, but not everyone bothers clicking the little check box. The root issue of clipping mask pollution in artwork is users creating the PDFs without maintaining Illustrator editing capability. You have to get in there and police all the objects to get rid of duplicates and correct any errors with fills.īTW, Powerclip in CorelDRAW is the same thing as clipping masks in Illustrator. That's a disaster waiting to happen if that artwork is sent directly to a vinyl cutter. You'll have 2, 3 or more copies of the same clipping masked object sitting on top of each other (with at least one or more of those copies having no fill and no stroke). Aside from gradient fills gone all wonky the even bigger problem with bringing polluted PDFs into CorelDRAW is duplicate paths. Add in gradients, any steps of transparency or other effects the accuracy of the import goes straight into the toilet. It's one thing if you're importing objects with solid/flat colored fills. In fact CorelDRAW will often import the PDF artwork with all sorts of odd ball inaccuracies. More important: CorelDRAW and Illustrator don't play nicely with each other's files.Īnd CorelDRAW is no magic bullet for clipping mask pollution from certain types of PDF files. The two applications have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, so I prefer having access to the strengths of both. I've been using both CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator for over 20 years (currently use Corel X8 and Illustrator CC 2018). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |