Shape turns invisible when I draw inside

[Ryan33618440wq1l]

In illustrator, when I draw inside a shape, that shape is still visible. When I import it to Character Animator, the shape is invisible. How can I fix this? I've attached a screen recording showcasing my issue. I am using the latest version with MacOS Sonoma 14.6.1

[Ryan33618440wq1l]

Here's a link to another example of my issue since the last one was not good quality - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1odbmrXFm0_wL7M8Fghanib1fPxey5OSY/view?usp=sharing

[TheOriginalGC]

Have you tried using Pathfinder to merge the shapes?

[Ryan33618440wq1l · Accepted solution]

I explored all the parts of the pathfinder tool, but they do not allow shapes of different colors to combine. (They all turn the same color.) However, I have found a few solutions:

1. Making a clipping mask in Character Animator instead of illustrator
2. Making a copy of the shape and using the knife tool to split it, making tweaks with the anchor point and curvature tools as needed.