kkeeble 64 Posted October 8, 2015 Im new to using AI.. I found a free legal copy of CS2 just to mess around with it..im trying to take a fire department maltese cross and add the american flag to the middle of the circle only. i have attached to AI file in a zip format merge.zip Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadHatterGraphix 1,258 Posted October 8, 2015 To bad this wasnt corel draw. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadHatterGraphix 1,258 Posted October 8, 2015 Is this what you were trying to do? merge.ai Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeeble 64 Posted October 8, 2015 yes it is.. how did you do it in corel draw.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadHatterGraphix 1,258 Posted October 8, 2015 yes it is.. how did you do it in corel draw.. Corel Draw opens AI files, and when I got it in I put the circle infront of the flag and told it to simplify it. which basically cuts the circle part out of the flag. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadHatterGraphix 1,258 Posted October 8, 2015 SHould take a look at it in wireframe make sure it will cut right or are you printing it then contour cutting? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeeble 64 Posted October 8, 2015 Thank you.. ill try that in AI Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeeble 64 Posted October 8, 2015 This will be a print job on reflective vinyl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted October 8, 2015 im curious as well since ive never attempted that before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted October 8, 2015 OK STOP IT WITH THE COREL INSTRUCTIONS you are perverting a good thread as they are totally different. LOL! The CS2 program is a little clunky compared to newer versions but still reasonably competent (WAY WAY better than SCALP for isntance and IMO better than Inkscape) If it's for print you just make a mask. Easiest way it to copy the inner circle ( I use the white selection arrow with the Alt key) and paste another instance on top (Edit>paste in front) If you just select it with the black tool it will select the whole circle and it is a compound path meaning it is the inner part of the circle (the hole essentially) You will also want to ungroup the Maltese because masking functions won't work between two separate groups so if you ungroup the maltese only the circle will be selected. Then just select the flag also and use the Ctrl>7 shortcut or Object>Clipping mask>make. When you paste the innre part of that circle it will be filled but just ignore that and carry on, the fill will go away once you use it as the mask shape. Basically you are cropping the pic and the circle just needs to be on top of the other. You can do this with any shape. If you were cutting this in vinyl the process would be different and more factors such as whether you will be using white or not would come into play. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadHatterGraphix 1,258 Posted October 8, 2015 OK STOP IT WITH THE COREL INSTRUCTIONS you are perverting a good thread as they are totally different. LOL! The CS2 program is a little clunky compared to newer versions but still reasonably competent (WAY WAY better than SCALP for isntance and IMO better than Inkscape) If it's for print you just make a mask. Easiest way it to copy the inner circle ( I use the white selection arrow with the Alt key) and paste another instance on top (Edit>paste in front) If you just select it with the black tool it will select the whole circle and it is a compound path meaning it is the inner part of the circle (the hole essentially) You will also want to ungroup the Maltese because masking functions won't work between two separate groups so if you ungroup the maltese only the circle will be selected. Then just select the flag also and use the Ctrl>7 shortcut or Object>Clipping mask>make. When you paste the innre part of that circle it will be filled but just ignore that and carry on, the fill will go away once you use it as the mask shape. Basically you are cropping the pic and the circle just needs to be on top of the other. You can do this with any shape. If you were cutting this in vinyl the process would be different and more factors such as whether you will be using white or not would come into play. Lot easier in corel draw. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skarekrow 1,842 Posted October 8, 2015 Lot easier in corel draw. I think most everything's easier than Illustrator. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted October 8, 2015 I think most everything's easier than Illustrator. I don't disagree. I think the same thing is true of Photoshop but it's still the tool of choice. The weird thing is once you finally master the program it all makes perfect sense and seems easy. If I try to get something done in Inkscape or the free trial of Corel I did...couldn't hardly do ANYTHING. It's just different and it must be about opposite for everything else to be so hard to learn for me since I started out on AI rather than any of the other vector programs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeeble 64 Posted October 9, 2015 Here is my finished design. Wildgoose can you tell me what i did wrong on the merging of the 2 images. It looks fine once i did it but when you select it you get blue outline of the flag that was omitted. this part is for everyone. do you think this file would be ok to submit for print? Is there anything that i could do to make it a better design .again this is my first time playing with CS2 NFD.zip Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted October 10, 2015 The outline of the flag is just the rest of the original object or group in this case. It's still a live object and you can go back in and edit it like if you needed to slide it one way or the other under the clipping shape or change colors etc... That's the nature of clipping masks and for print that is fine. I added a full circle back in around the flag area and re-stacked a couple things to clean it up a bit for you. Had to save it as and svg to get the file size back down. I use CS5 most of the time and it has a tendency to end up with files over the 1mb limit. NFD2.svg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeeble 64 Posted October 11, 2015 wildgoose.. Thank you for you help with this...looks like i will start working more with CS2 in the near future Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted October 11, 2015 The biggest thing that CS2 has that I consider a flaw is that when welding or most other operations from the pathfinder menu you have to also hold down the Alt key to get the fully expanded result you really want. If you forget to do that it does about half the operation and doesn't complete it until you finish it. They streamlined this in newer versions. so that default is welded and you hold other keys NOT to expand the result. AI definitely has a steep learning curve but for cut vinyl you really only have to learn about half of the program. Much of the advanced features are more for print and website type applications and aren't really utilized for basic vinyl work. There is generally a sort of oder of operations much like in mathematics that once learned helps to understand why AI does things the way tit does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted October 11, 2015 IF you forget to hold the alt key you just go to the Object>Expand appearance to get the final results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
