How do I cut this out and retain the image in the cutouts?

@chrish43593626 

be careful. You have lost your "first" clipping mask.

You are welcome, Chris.

I forgot to mention the need for another set of the copies for the holes/Opacity Mask part, but luckily for me there was no need.

I still hope you are lucky too, with a script or something, maybe based upon positional calculated rather than visual selection: each set of paths (the bits and pieces) belonging together are contiguous, so one (un)thinkable way could be to Group those with contiguous or overlapping Bounding Boxes or something; or maybe there could even be a script for that already.

Chris,

As I (mis)understand it now, and presuming vector artwork throughout, one crude way could be to (always set a copy of the original artwork aside (you can hide/lock) before you start destroying it, skipping steps you have done already:

0) Hide eveything else;

1) Select the swirlies and whatever else you wish to have taken up by the rectangles, and Group them (Ctrl/Cmd+G);

2) Select all the rectangles, or whichever paths you use (the latest image when this is written seems to show some hook like addition), and turn them into a Compound Path (Ctrl/Cmd+8);

3) Select 1) and 2) and Pathfinder>Crop, you can follow the link below and search for Crop;

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/user-guide.html/illustrator/using/combining-objects.ug.html

This ought to give you a Group with all the individual bits and pieces in a messy stacking order, but visible within the shape of each rectangle/path from 1) and surrounded by empty space, which means that you can:

4) ClickDrag with the Direct Selection Tool over each rectangle/path shape and Ctrl/Cmd+G which will give an (orderly) Group for each shape;

5) Select the entire Group of Groups and Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+G to Ungroup.

Now you ought to have each rectangle/path shape holding the original parts of swirlies/whatever artwork appearance as an independent Group that can be selected with the normal Selection Tool and moved about freely.

If you are lucky, Hans-Jürgen or another friend can come up with a cunning way to ease the work, especially relevant for a large number of rectangle/path shapes.

Like I wrote before:

… Would you like to move a (one) "white" rectangle in relation to the base image?

--> Use the group selection tool to select and move …

 

By @pixxxelschubser

Have fun

😉

Getting closer, but I still am not able to move the rectangles independently. I have to move the grouped layers beneath them (he images showing through the clipping mask) which is not possible to keep up with since the rectangles cross various grouped layers. 

To create this version I did the following:

1. Created two copies of the background layers (the red and the circles).

2. Created two copies of the rectangles.

3. Converted one of the the rectangle groups to a compound path and created a clipping mask using that. 

4. With the other set of rectangles and the other background layer I created an opacity mask which created the white cutouts in the background. I locked this layer. 

5. Now I can move the clipping mask layer and I get the effect you see. 

6. This is very close to what I'm looking for, but I need to be able to move the little rectangles independently instead of as one big group. 

Sorry.

It's still not clear to me.

Two souls - one thought.

😉

Chris,

"Ok, this is really close to working, but when I create the mask it just removes the rectangle shapes (they become white). I need them to be a cutout of the image beneath them so that when I move them it looks like the rectangle is carrying part of the backround with it. Does that make sense?"

With the rectangles becoming white I believe you select too much to go into the Mask. Everything in it will be made invisible. So if you wish the solid colour background to remain visible in its own colour, have it below the mask.

It is completely different if you wish to have the rectangles keep showing the bits of the swirlies the cover and move those bits round, and at the same time have holes in the swirlies where they were originally.

Just invert the opacity mask.

But one question:

A simple clipping mask with your rectangles as a compound path doesn't work for you?

And another question:

Would you like to move a (one) "white" rectangle in relation to the base image?

--> Use the group selection tool to select and move.

Or

Would you like to move that (a) "white" rectangle with its "cut-out part" of the base image?

--> Each "white" rectangle must be a separate clipping mask. Every rectangle needs its own basic image.

Chris,

As I (mis)understand it, you wish to have the uniform background (colour) visible under the rectangles, and you wish to be able to move each rectangle about on its own while you can see what you are doing while you are doing it.

You can:

0) Lock the background path;

1) Select all the rectangles and Ctrl/Cmd+G to Group them;

2) Select everything and create a(n Opacity) Mask, see more below.

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/user-guide.html/illustrator/using/transparency-blending-modes.ug.html

To move  each rectangle about on its own, use Edit a masking object above, and simply ClickDrag the/each rectangle with the Direct Selection Tool.