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jloliver2
Known Participant
January 31, 2010
Answered

Fill shape drawn with pen tool

  • January 31, 2010
  • 6 replies
  • 129975 views

There are three posts dealing with this issue and each time the person who posted the problem said they figured it out but did not say what they did.  Here is the problem:

I draw a shape with the pen tool in Flash CS4.  I made sure the shape was closed.  But, I cannot fill the shape no matter what.  Paint bucket tool does not work.  Whatever I do, I get the red diagonal line on the fill color.  I can fill a shape with the rectangle or oval tools but not the pen tool.

Please help.  Thanks.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer PB&J

    I was having this same problem. And I figured it out.

    First Select your outlines that you made with your Direct Selection Tool. (A)

    Next (Hold) Shift and select the (drop down menu arrow) next to the Fill box above your artwork.

    Now simply select your color and it should automatically fill if everything is closed off.

    Or

    Select everything again and hover your mouse pointer over to the right-hand side and select your color of choice if the color window is showing.

    Hope this helps man!

    6 replies

    S
    Soozapalooza
    New Participant
    October 12, 2019

    Ok, so I am brand new to Illustrator as of the last two weeks, but here's my two cents. What I found to work for me and that made the most sense for what I was doing was to direct select (CTRL+A) the whole shape/stroke and make both the fill and stroke color boxes with /'s through them (clear) so it's basically invisible, then go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke, and that basically made it a shape, and then I was able to use the fill and stroke boxes like I would with a shape.

    R
    richardj35767768
    New Participant
    April 25, 2018

    Found this I think it is helpful: Draw and create objects with Animate CC

    Draw and create objects with Animate CC

    C
    cristiano_presentardoc
    New Participant
    March 11, 2017

    Hi,

    I stepped into this thread because I have the exact same problem.

    None of the suggested actions worked for me, manly because the "bucket" tool is disables or because there is no "fill" option on any dropdown menu at all.

    I figured out a circumvention, though, that I'd like to share, also to verify it.

    the only way I found to color fill with shape created with the pen toll is the following:

    1. Use ellipse tool to draw an ellipse with the fill color I need. With an ellipse the bucket tool is enabled and I can select the fill color easily.
    2. Keep the ellipse aside in a corner of the document.
    3. Draw the path you need with the pen tool. It allows me only to select the border color, no chance I can set a fill color at all.
    4. Select the path with the Direct Selection Tool (A).
    5. Click on the Eyedropper Icon (I) on the left (it's on the left usually). The cursor turns into an eyedropper.
    6. Click then inside the ellipse. The cursor turns into a bucket.
    7. Click inside the shape. Voilà.
    8. Remove the ellipse.

    It looks a bit cumbersome, but it works, and I found no other way.

    Am I missing anything?

    thanks a lot,.

    Colin Holgate
    Colin Holgate
    Inspiring
    March 11, 2017

    Would you be able to post an example somewhere, of a closed pen drawn line that doesn't fill by using the paint bucket? I'm not able to fail to fill in the shape, so something is different about your shape.

    Colin Holgate
    Colin Holgate
    Inspiring
    March 11, 2017

    Hi,

    Thanks for your reply.

    I have recorded what I do, in the attached video:

    Dropbox - animate.wmv

    Basically I draw a closed path and then struggle around to find a way to set the fill color.

    Hope this gives some idea.

    BR

    Cristiano.,


    Why did you try every tool except the paint bucket? The paint bucket is able to both fill empty areas as well as fill already filled areas. It does what you want in a single click.

    As an aside, many of the tools have been improved, you should update to CC 2017.

      P
      PB&JCorrect answer
      New Participant
      August 28, 2014

      I was having this same problem. And I figured it out.

      First Select your outlines that you made with your Direct Selection Tool. (A)

      Next (Hold) Shift and select the (drop down menu arrow) next to the Fill box above your artwork.

      Now simply select your color and it should automatically fill if everything is closed off.

      Or

      Select everything again and hover your mouse pointer over to the right-hand side and select your color of choice if the color window is showing.

      Hope this helps man!

        Preran
        Community Manager
        PreranCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        August 29, 2014

        Hi brony magic productions,

        Thank you for sharing your solution with us.

        Thanks,

        Preran

        dannyb13021977
        dannyb13021977
        New Participant
        August 14, 2016

        How to fill in Abode Flash (Fixed) - YouTube

        T
        tomsza
        New Participant
        February 4, 2010

        Try this:

        Select your drawn object with Selection Tool, then select Modify/Combine Objects/Union. Now you should be able to change/add a fill color.

          C
          ChrisGeorgenes
          Participating Frequently
          February 4, 2010

          That would make sense if:

          Object Drawing Mode was turned on and if the shape was made up of more than 1 stroke segment (right?). But that wasn't how the original poster explained it - but it does make sense. You could also break all the line segments apart as well.

          T
          tomsza
          New Participant
          February 4, 2010

          <But that wasn't how the original poster explained it>

          Sounds like my experience. I tried making a vector object with the Pen Tool (like I've done a billion times before in Illustrator) only to not be able to select a fill. Changing the outline color and stroke was fine. It's almost like even though it's a closed path, it/they (vector segments) needed to be closed (Union) again.

          C
          ChrisGeorgenes
          Participating Frequently
          February 3, 2010

          So you are unable to even select a fill color? So it is not a line or bucket problem - it is a problem with the ability to select a fill color in the first place? Can you upload the FLA? This just happens with shapes drawn with the pen tool? Weird.

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