: Trying To Delete Inverse Shape Around An Object In Illustrator CS5 I am new to Illustrator and am still trying to wrap my mind around the concept of vector shapes. In Photoshop, I used to
I am new to Illustrator and am still trying to wrap my mind around the concept of vector shapes.
In Photoshop, I used to make a glare very easily. I would write text and then I would put a rectangular marquee shape over the text. I would then fill it with a gradient of white to transparency and turn the opacity down until it created the effect on the text. I would then take the magic wand and basically delete the entire marquee shape except for the part where it overlapped with the text thus just having the glare on the text and not on the background.
I'm trying to do the same for Illustrator. I've created a logo and then put a rectangular shape over top of the logo and filled it with a gradient and changed the opacity. I can't for the life of me figure out how to delete the negative space of the rectangular shape now so it just overlays on the logo and not all around the logo. Does my description make sense? And if so, does anybody have a solution? Thanks.
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The correct way is the same in Illustrator as in Photoshop though the mechanics are slightly different.
In illustrator type your text.
Create a shape with your gradient.
Move shape behind your text.
Select both
Object -> Make -> Create clipping mask
To save you time in Photoshop from now on you can do the exact same thing.
Type
Whatever fill you want on a different layer
Put the type UNDER (as opposed to above in Illustrator)
Right click on the fill layer in your layer pallette and choose Create Clipping Mask.
This works not only for gradients but also if you want a photo or other image to become the shape of the text. Enjoy.
I like live type. I try and keep text live as much as possible. This effect can be done while keeping text live and editable. You don't need the rectangle. You can accomplish this easily with an extra fill and the Appearance panel. Especially with Illustrator CS4+ and the ability to add transparency to gradient stops.
Here's a video showing the steps. (click here)
Add new fill
Set new fill to gradient
Adjust Gradient to your liking
Realize you can still change the text
Gasp at how easy that was
When complete, you can drag the text to the Graphic Styles Panel and in the future simply click the style to apply the effect to text.
The other thing you could do would be to create your text, duplicate it, and select "Type -> Create Outlines". You'd be left with a vector shape you can fill with a gradient.
Use the Pathfinder tool to intersect the shapes...
Make your text
Make your shape over the text
Intersect the shapes
Final result
You can expand the compound object if you wish, but beware that effects/gradients are calculated from shape edges, so expanding can change the visual effect:
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