painting within intersecting paths

[Mark5FBB]

So for the outline of an object, I prefer using the path maker feature of illustrator whether than try to paint strokes with a brush to make one.  Find the whole making perfect curves great.  But here's the thing, I just finished forming my first shape made of intersecting paths and I don't know how to paint ONLY within it.  

I learned to use the Draw Modes to Draw Behind.

At least this way I'm not erasing the strokes made from the paths when painting on the images.  But short of very carefully taking a tiny brush to the edges, I don't know how to keep the coloring on the inside of my intersected paths making up an object.

I tried just clicking on all the paths and use the fill feature to try to fill it with a color.  Well this isn't one path looped to connected.  It's different paths intersecting because sometimes I need the path strokes to be different in shape and thickness.

The fill color just filled the curve space of the different paths and sometimes it's causing coloring outside of the 'object' since I did both inward and outward curves.

I'm hoping there's some features where when you start a paint brush stroke, it won't cross over a path.  Is there such a feature with illustrator?  Or does anyone have a better idea of how I should handle this?  Feedback is welcomed.

[manal shanableh]

i would love to see a screenshot to understand perfectly.

[Mark5FBB]

Sure, here it is.  The black lines are just paths.  I even connected invisible paths to try get one single loop.  I had hoped by intersecting them all together, there was some really easy way to fill in the color only on the inside.

[manal shanableh]

Have you tried blob brush tool to paint, blob brush tool is converting the strock to fi directly, and you can increase and decrease the aria painting by using pencil tool.. it is professional to use.

[Mark5FBB]

Yeah I understand I can use the pencil tool for the edges so the coloring is within the path strokes.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a short-cut to just have the whole object I created filled with color.

[manal shanableh]

if the paths are not closed, you can hav a copy in the same place and connect the lines and make them with no strock, draw inside.

make sure that you have dots lines in the corner it means that you are drawing inside.

in the screenshot we have, it seems you are drawing behind not inside, also you can try select the paths (comound paths)

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

You could give Live Paint a try:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/user-guide.html/illustrator/using/live-paint-groups.ug.html

[Mark5FBB]

Thanks for the help!  I'll check this out tomorrow and see if it's what I'm looking for.