Instead of getting rid of everything that isn't overlapped, it gets rid of everything that IS. This Pathfinder feature is the exact opposite of #3. You notice the paths from the original 2 shapes still there, so immediately click the “Expand” button in the Pathfinder to make a single path around your overlapped shape, while getting rid of the 2 original paths.Īnd you now have a single, clean path made out of the overlapping section of the original 2: Illustrator gets rid of everything except the parts of the 2 shapes that were overlapped: Now, with BOTH shapes selected, click the “Intersect Shape Areas” button in the Pathfinder.
So to start, overlap your 2 shapes similar to below. What this means is overlapping 2 shapes, and getting rid of anything that ISN”T overlapped. The next Pathfinder feature is the ability to intersect shapes. You'll probably notice that the path from the top shape is still there, so immediately click the “Expand” button in Pathfinder to get rid of the extra paths left behind from your cookie cutter.Īnd you should now have a single clean path to work with: The shape doing the subtracting must be on top. What this does is Illustrator subtracts the top shape from the bottom shape. Now, with BOTH shapes selected, click the “Subtract from Shape Area” button in the Pathfinder. This is a neat one because you can basically use any shape as an eraser or “cookie cutter” so to speak. (Note, if you don't hit the Expand button immediately after the Add to Shape Area button, it will get grayed out, so you have to do it right after)Īfter clicking Expand, you should see a single path: Now, If you immediately hit the “Expand” button, Pathfinder actually creates a single path to define the compound shape.
Notice that the pathfinder changes the fill color of both shapes to the color of the top shape.Įssentially, all pathfinder did was it made a compound path out of your 2 shapes and made them have the same fill color. Now, with BOTH shapes selected, click the “Add to Shape Area” button in the Pathfinder: First, overlap your 2 shapes similar to this: Here we will be combining the paths of 2 shapes, to create 1 single path out of the 2 with the click of a button. I will use the same 2 shapes in each example. To follow along: Open a new Illustrator document and create any 2 shapes you like. The bottom 6 buttons are a little more advanced, but I'll give you some pointers about those at the end of the tutorial. In this tutorial, I will be explaining the 5 buttons on the top row, and the differences between them. When you are working on a complex project, Pathfinder tool can be the perfect bet for you to achieve your desired results.Ībove is a screenshot of the Pathfinder palette. The best bet is to practice with these tools and different geometrical shapes so that you get a better idea of how it works. If you are aware of some of the basic functions of Pathfinder, then you can achieve a lot of results from this tool. Unlike conventional editing software, the Pathfinder tool in Photoshop is a shortcut to your complicated editing problems. The pathfinder tool makes it quite simple and easy to do away with different geometrical shapes. The pathfinder tool enables you to edit and customize a variety of shapes in a neat and clean way. It makes it easy to combine paths, divide objects, subtract shapes, etc. First, of all let me say that “Pathfinder” is a horrible name for this palette. If you aren't familiar with Illustrator's extremely handy “Pathfinder” palette, you might sit down for a few moments to play with it, because it is a true time saver and an excellent tool for manipulating paths.