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dave304
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Merging text and making it transparent - how is it done please?

Aug 8, 2012 8:54 AM

Hello all,

 

     This is probably quite simple but the answer eludes me. What I want to do is to create a borderless coloured rectangle (which I can do!), then drag text over it and cut the text out so it leaves the original rectangle with transparent text if you know what I mean.

 

I can easily do this in PS with the magic lasso but obviously I lose the quality when re-importing it back into AI.

 

If someone can shed any light it would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

Dave

1003 Views   12 Replies   Latest reply: tromboniator, Aug 10, 2012 1:02 AM
 
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  • SRiegel
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    1. SRiegel,
    Aug 8, 2012 9:12 AM   in reply to dave304
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    Use the transparancy pallet as shown here:

    Screen shot 2012-08-08 at 12.06.34 PM.pngSelect block and text

    Screen shot 2012-08-08 at 12.08.58 PM.pngFrom menu of  transparancy pallet, choose Make Opacity Mask

    Screen shot 2012-08-08 at 12.09.51 PM.pngIf they are checked, uncheck Clip and Invert Mask.

     
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  • dave304
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    2. dave304,
    Aug 8, 2012 10:12 AM   in reply to dave304
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    Thank you for taking the time to show me this, thats exactly what i'm after!

     

     

    Many thanks

     

    Dave

     
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  • SRiegel
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    3. SRiegel,
    Aug 8, 2012 10:14 AM   in reply to dave304
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    You're welcome.

    I've learned a lot by reading these forums, so I like to give back when i can.

     
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  • tromboniator
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    4. tromboniator,
    Aug 9, 2012 2:47 AM   in reply to dave304
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    Another way is to set the text above (in front of) the rectangle, select and group both, then in the Transparency Panel click the Knockout Group box until the check/tick mark appears. You can then select the text with the Direct Selection Tool, apply any opacity you like to the text (0 opacity will make it fully transparent), and apply any color. A double click will allow you to edit the text.

     

    Transparent letters.png

     
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  • dave304
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    5. dave304,
    Aug 9, 2012 10:37 AM   in reply to dave304
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    Hi, thanks for that Tromboniator. Appreciated.

     

    One further question if I may,

     

    Say that I have a solid rectangle again  but this time the writing is actually an *.ai vector itself. eg the word "hello" which all 4 letters were individual vectors. How could I place them in front of the rectangle then make them transparent.

     

    Obviously the above two solutions apply to text but doesnt appear to work with a vector on top of a rectangle.

     

     

    I'm busy grasping the basics but would love to know how this is done.

     

     

    Thank you

     

    Dave

     
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  • Larry G. Schneider
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    6. Larry G. Schneider,
    Aug 9, 2012 10:46 AM   in reply to dave304
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    Select all the text outlines and the background rectangle and use Object>Compound Path>Make (Cmd(Ctrl)+8)

     
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  • SRiegel
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    7. SRiegel,
    Aug 9, 2012 10:59 AM   in reply to dave304
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    The solutions above will both work with vectors as well. Just group the vectors that you want to be cut out for the top one. For the second one, you can group the vectors and then make the larger group, or just group the whole thing, apply Knockout group then apply your transparancy separately to each element you want knocked out.

     
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  • mjarrott
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    8. mjarrott,
    Aug 9, 2012 11:27 AM   in reply to SRiegel
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    Alternately, using the Minus Front option in the Pathfinder panel will get you the desired result.

     

    Select both your text outlines and the rectangle.

    Screen Shot 2012-08-09 at 11.24.15 AM.png

     

    Select the Minus Front option in the Pathfinder panel.

    Screen Shot 2012-08-09 at 11.24.48 AM.png

     

    Bam! Here's your result.

    Screen Shot 2012-08-09 at 11.24.58 AM.png

     

    Everyone's solutions are all really good. Lots of help here!

     

    Cheers,

    Michael

     
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  • tromboniator
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    9. tromboniator,
    Aug 9, 2012 12:13 PM   in reply to dave304
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    Dave,

     

    This is what SRiegel described, grouping the letter shapes and the blue rectangle and creating a Knockout group. Each letter's opacity was set to a different value in the Transparency Panel. The exception is the "o" where I went to the Appearance Panel, selected and adjusted only the fill's opacity, so the fill is transparent but the stroke is opaque. I'm assuming you have one of the more recent versions of Illustrator, where all of the opacity control can be done in the Appearance Panel.

     

    Peter

    hello knockout-1.png

     
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  • dave304
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    10. dave304,
    Aug 9, 2012 12:27 PM   in reply to mjarrott
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    Brilliant. I've tried all the solutions and i'm now managing to produce my artwork yay

     

     

    Thank you all so much. I must say that this forum is excellent!

     

     

    Many thanks all

     

    Dave

     
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  • dave304
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    11. dave304,
    Aug 9, 2012 12:31 PM   in reply to tromboniator
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    Hi Peter,

     

    Yes i'm running CS5.

     

    Thats a really helpful example showing the finished effect. Thanks for taking the time out to do that!

     
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  • tromboniator
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    12. tromboniator,
    Aug 10, 2012 1:02 AM   in reply to dave304
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    You're welcome, Dave. Glad you found it useful.

     
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