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M
mikes82936200
Known Participant
March 22, 2021
Answered

Creating a relative shape/path around a group of irregular objects

  • March 22, 2021
  • 5 replies
  • 3429 views

Hi all,

 

I'm trying to find a method for automatically creating a single path around a group of objects.

 

Using Appearance > New Stroke > Convert to Shape I can get a basic path (see attachment 1), but I'm looking for something that stays a little more faithful to the shapes within the group (attachment 2).

 

Any tips or advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

    Correct answer pixxxelschubser

    … but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts 🙂 Which effects do you think might work in this instance..?


    By @mikes82936200

                                                                                                --> jump to quoted post

     

     

    Sure.

    You can use effects on paths - or groups - or even on layers. Effects then affect all objects in this layer.

     

    • "Target selection" the layer, then add in Appearancs Panel a new stroke with desired values

     

    • add effect: Offset Path

     

    • set the value for Offset Path

     

    • add new effect: Pathfinder --> Add

     

    • result

     

    • texts can still be fully edited - live effects automatically adapt to the new text

     

    If you need real paths, you can use menu: Object --> Expand Appearance on layers level.

    That's all.

     

    If that works for you

    Have fun

    😉

    5 replies

    pixxxelschubser
    pixxxelschubser
    Adobe Expert
    March 23, 2021

    Exactly. It always depends on what look you want to achieve in the end. And it is very important to pay attention to the order of the effects.

    😉

    pixxxelschubser
    pixxxelschubserCorrect answer
    Adobe Expert
    March 23, 2021

    … but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts 🙂 Which effects do you think might work in this instance..?


    By @mikes82936200

                                                                                                --> jump to quoted post

     

     

    Sure.

    You can use effects on paths - or groups - or even on layers. Effects then affect all objects in this layer.

     

    • "Target selection" the layer, then add in Appearancs Panel a new stroke with desired values

     

    • add effect: Offset Path

     

    • set the value for Offset Path

     

    • add new effect: Pathfinder --> Add

     

    • result

     

    • texts can still be fully edited - live effects automatically adapt to the new text

     

    If you need real paths, you can use menu: Object --> Expand Appearance on layers level.

    That's all.

     

    If that works for you

    Have fun

    😉

      S
      SJRiegel
      Adobe Expert
      March 23, 2021

      This is great, but it does still leave the inside lines, unless the offset is large enough to delete them.

      But playing with this, I found that adding two pathfinder effects: Merge and Add, the center strokes go away. 

      Either effect alone leaves them.

       

      S
      SJRiegel
      Adobe Expert
      March 23, 2021

      Here's what worked for me -

      Group the text  - then use Add New Stroke in the Appearance panel. Select just the stroke and use Offset Path to set it up. At this point, it will not yet look the way you want. 

      Then go to the Object menu and Expand Appearance. This will turn the offset stroke into a separate group. Chose the stroke group and use Object > Compound Path > Release. Once you have done that, use Pathfinder to join the parts and eliminate the inside strokes.

       

       

       

        M
        mikes82936200Author
        Known Participant
        March 23, 2021

        Thanks for your reply!

         

        This method works nicely, but ideally I'm looking for something which will join all objects, even if they are separated. I might be using your method incorrectly, but I'm still getting two paths. I'm hoping to get something like the bottom example in the attached image...

         

        Any suggestions...? 🙂

        S
        SJRiegel
        Adobe Expert
        March 23, 2021

        I think you would have to add the joining bit separately, and use pathfinder to merge it with your shapes.

          pixxxelschubser
          pixxxelschubser
          Adobe Expert
          March 22, 2021

          Hi @mikes82936200 

          Do you need real paths?

          Or only the appearance?

           

          In the second case you can work with live text and effects to get this result.

          Advantage: fully editable and the effects are live.

            M
            mikes82936200Author
            Known Participant
            March 23, 2021

            Thanks for your reply!

            Ultimately I'd need real paths, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts 🙂 Which effects do you think might work in this instance..?

            femkeblanco
            femkeblanco
            Brainiac
            March 22, 2021

            1. Select text and expand (object > expand), if not already expanded.
            2. Select path and offset (object > path > offset path).
            3. Select all paths and ungroup (Ctrl + Shift + G).
            4. Select and unite offset paths only (window > pathfinder > unite).
            5. Assign stroke color and no fill to united path.

              M
              mikes82936200Author
              Known Participant
              March 23, 2021

              Many thanks for your reply!

               

              The offset path method is suitable, but only for single words/objects (my fault, I should have specifed in the original post).

               

              Ideally I'm looking for something which will create a single box arounds all the elements as a convert to shape would, and without paths inside the objects (highlighted in red in the new attachment).

               

              Hope this makes sense. I'm not sure whether this is within the capabilities of Illustrator, but thought I'd reach out to see what you guys think.

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