How to Cut Out a Shape in Illustrator

How to Cut Out a Shape in Illustrator.

Adobe Illustrator is the leading application for creating and editing vector graphics such as logos that can be enlarged or reduced without losing detail. The great thing about Illustrator is that there are many ways to achieve the same goal. So, if you want to learn how to cut out a shape in Illustrator, there are several ways to do it.

In this article, we’ll look at several ways to cut out a shape in Illustrator. This tutorial was written using Adobe Illustrator CC 2020, but these instructions should work no matter what version of Illustrator you have, as long as you’re using vector elements rather than a bitmap.

How to Use a Shape as a Cookie Cutter

Imagine you have two shapes on your artboard in Illustrator – a rectangle and a circle. If you use the Split Object Below command, you can use one shape as a cookie-cutter by creating a cut-through of another shape and deleting the shape you used as a cookie-cutter. This is a great method for beginners because it’s very simple.

Use the Selection tool to move the circle over the rectangle. Note. To quickly activate the Selection tool, use the keyboard shortcut V.

With the circle still selected, choose Object > Path > Split Objects Below. The yellow circle will disappear and the circular path will remain on the rectangle.

In the Layers panel, select the circular path.

Then use the Selection tool to move the circle layer outside of the rectangle.

How to Cut Out a Shape Using the Knife Tool

Locate the Eraser tool in the toolbar and notice the tiny arrow in the corner indicating that the button has additional tools in a submenu when you hold down the button or right-click it. By holding the button, you will see the Scissors and Knife tools. Select the Knife tool.

If the Knife tool is missing, it might be because you are using the Essentials workspace. Switch to Essentials Classic or another workspace in the upper right corner of the Illustrator window and the knife tool will be restored.

Use the Knife tool to cut out the shape just as you would if you were using an Exacto knife on a physical piece of paper or cardboard.

In the Layers panel, select one of the layers you created by cutting the shape with a knife.

Use the Selection tool to move the newly selected layer away from the rest of the shape.

You can use the Knife tool to cut multiple shapes. The Knife tool will cut it if the layer or shape is not locked.

How to Cut Out a Shape With the Scissors Tool

We’ve already taught you how to find the Scissors tool (it’s hidden in a submenu under the Eraser tool in the Tools panel). You can also use the keyboard shortcut C to activate the Scissors tool.

With the Scissors tool selected, click the edge of the shape to create an anchor point. Create a second anchor point by clicking the edge of another area of â€‹â€‹the same shape.

At this point, you can use the Selection tool to drag one part of the shape away from the rest.

You can add a third anchor point with the Scissors tool and Illustrator will make two cuts.

How to Cut Out a Shape With the Crop Tool

In Illustrator, the Crop tool is missing from the regular toolbar. Instead, you can find it in the Pathfinder panel. Open the Pathfinder panel by choosing Windows > Pathfinder or using the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + F9 or Shift + Command + F9 on Mac.

Using the Pathfinder tool, you can place a shape on top of another object and tell Illustrator how much of the object you want to keep or remove.

Let’s place the circle on top of the rectangle and use the Crop Tool to create a new shape.

Place the shape on top of the other object you want to clip. Select both shapes.

In the Pathfinder panel, select the Crop tool.

The object will be cropped as soon as you select the Crop tool.

Try other options in the Pathfinder panel for different effects. For example, if you select Subtract Front, the object in front is subtracted from the object behind it.

You may find that instead of cutting out a shape, it may be easier to create a shape using the Shape Builder tool. We’ll cover this in the next tutorial.

How to Use a Clipping Mask to Cut Out a Shape

If you already know how to add a mask in Photoshop, this will be very familiar to you. For this example, let’s pretend we have a shape that is colored with a gradient. We can use another shape as a clipping mask so that only the areas inside the second shape are visible. In other words, you can use clipping masks to hide parts of the shapes.

Create an object that you will use as a mask. In our example above, we used the Ellipse Tool (shortcut L) to create an oval, which we will now use as a mask. The object you are using as a mask is called a clipping path. In order of placement in the Layers panel, move the clipping path over the object you want to mask.

Use the Direct Selection tool to move a clipping path over the object you want to mask.

In the Layers panel, select the clipping path and the object you want to mask.

From the menu, choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make.

Many Options With Adobe

All Adobe Creative Cloud applications offer multiple ways to achieve the same effect. So, check out our Illustrator tutorials and articles on Adobe Photoshop and InDesign. With practice, your graphic projects will be pixel-perfect!