Creating a clipping mask on a complex image trace

[jadeaj58]

I’be image traced handwritten text and am trying to create a clipping mask to give it an effect. The effect is made up of the square and circle tool.

I got it to work once, but after clipping the mask, the gaps in letters like “p” and “g” were filled. Some I could select and delete; others I couldn’t.

Is there an order sequence that I’m getting wrong here? 

I also get mixed results when I try to compound the paths in the traced text: either the text disappears, or one letter has the effect from the clipping mask.

Can anyone shed some light on this? (I’ve also tried using a traced image to clip onto my traced text but that didn’t work either! What’s the deal with traced images?)

[tromboniator]

Could you please explain exactly what you did and what you hope to accomplish, preferably with some screenshots including the fully open Layers panel? It's okay if it gets long. I'm just having a hard time picturing your problem, and "that didn't work either!" doesn't give us much to go on.

Peter

[jadeaj58]

Thanks for your speedy response! This is what my artboard currently looks like:

The effect is just an ellipse with a white outer glow over a triangle, both with black to gray gradients. I'm trying to use these shapes as a clipping mask over the text, which is a traced image. I got the mask to work once, which looked like this:

It looks fine on a white background, but at a closer look, there's remnants of the rectangle's gradient in the g:

I can't seem to get the clipping mask to work, or the gradients to stop appearing in the letter gaps. Any ideas?

[Monika Gause]

Please show the ontents of the layers panel.

What's inside the layers is important for us.

If this wordmark is done properly then all you would need to do is make a compound path and apply it as a mask.

[jadeaj58]

Hi Monika,

Is this what you mean? I went back to square one so it's a mess of paths here.

[tromboniator]

The best I can do to even come close to what you have is to apply the rectangle and ellipse as an Opacity Mask with Invert Mask selected and Clip deselected.

When you made the tracing did you select Ignore White? Image Trace panel, found in Window menu > Image Trace. Click on Advanced to find Ignore White.

If you used the rectangle and ellipse as a clipping mask then the gradient and outer glow would have no effect on how the letters look, only how much is visible.

Please pay no attention to the words I wrote, they have nothing to do with your problem!

Peter

[jadeaj58]

It's all very strange. I used Ignore White when I traced it and tried an opacity mask as well - most things I've tried has resulted in invisible text of some kind. I was able to get the opacity mask to work by placing a copy of the text in front (which would probably work just as nicely as the clipping mask if I was more familiar with transparencies).

[Jacob Bugge]

Jade,

The Group in the Layers palette is funny among the single paths, but no Compound Path is made.

I believe the (only easy/simple) solution will be the one suggested by Peter, using an Opacity Mask.

All you need to get that to work is to have everything in the expanded Live Trace Grouped; you may select the ellipse and the rectangle, then find them in the Layers palette and Lock them, then Ctrl/Cmd+A to select everything else, then Ctrl/Cmd+G to Group, then in the Transparency palette (flyout) click (Make) Opacity Mask with both Clip and Invert Mask ticked.

Otherwise, or in any case, you may wish to start by getting the foreground parts into the simple recognizable coherent parts; you may select each separate part (T/T/S/P/ublishing, etc) and Pthfinder>Unite; after that you may make them into a Group or a Compound Path.

[Jacob Bugge]

Jade,

As I (mis)understand it, you may be doing things the wrong way round.

If the image trace part (are made to) form a Compound Path, what happens if you place that in front of the rectangle/ellipse (which you may Group), select everything, and Ctrl/Cmd+7 to form the Clipping Mask?

[jadeaj58]

Hi,

Thanks for your help!

I can make a compound path but when I add the clipping mask, either the traced image disappears or it disappears and the mask clips the shapes, leaving fragments of the ellipse behind. Removing the outer glow on the ellipse fixed the g in my initial file, which is great, but I copied the same image and shapes into another file which is where the clipping mask is failing.

Something must have gotten fudged along the way but I can't figure out what.

[Monika Gause]

jadeaj58  schrieb

Hi,

Thanks for your help!

I can make a compound path but when I add the clipping mask, either the traced image disappears or it disappears and the mask clips the shapes, leaving fragments of the ellipse behind. Removing the outer glow on the ellipse fixed the g in my initial file, which is great, but I copied the same image and shapes into another file which is where the clipping mask is failing.

Something must have gotten fudged along the way but I can't figure out what.

So before you apply the outer glow everything is OK?

You apply the outer glow to the mask?

That might not work anyway, because clipping masks don't accept any kind of effect you apply to them.

You might want to read the documentation about compound paths, clipping masks, opacity masks. It will help you understand what everyone says.

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

jadeaj58  wrote

I can make a compound path but when I add the clipping mask, either the traced image disappears or it disappears and the mask clips the shapes, leaving fragments of the ellipse behind.

Hi Jade,

The function of a clipping mask is that the top shape "clips" everything underneath it and you can only see the part that is inside that top shape.

• More specifically, if you select multiple shapes and choose: Object > Clipping Path > Make, the top shape hides everything outside its boundaries. Use Isolation mode and the Layers panel to make edits. Spin open your Layers panel so we can see the top shape. That is what it will clip to.

• If it's a Layer Clipping Mask, it goes to the top shape in the layer. Everything on the layer is clipped to that top shape. The top shape does not have to stay on top anymore — if you put other things on the layer, they will be clipped.

• Draw Inside is another way of an Object Clipping path.

An opacity mask has been suggested, and I agree. But check the stacking order in the Layers panel first.

~ Jane

[Bobby Henderson]

If you have letters that are disappearing or other odd things happening when you apply the "Make Compound" to your lettering it points to a couple possible problems.

First, it's possible you might have a stray duplicate object or multiple duplicate objects. Check your paths for that. The easiest way is deleting the path to see if another just like it is hiding underneath. Ctrl-Z to undo if the path disappears. Dupe objects can be a big problem with imported PDF artwork.

Next, if a certain object won't "knock out" and become a hole when combined with another path it's a good sign the path direction is reversed. That's another thing I sometimes see with imported artwork. Sometimes it happens with auto-traced art too. Last time I checked Illustrator doesn't have a stock "reverse path direction" command or tool. I have to use something like Astute Graphics' PathScribe plug-in for that function. CorelDRAW has it built-in. If you can't reverse the path direction you can still use it with the Pathfinder tools to cut a hole through the target object. That usually works.