Adobe Illustrator CS4 - Manual (Page 249)

242 USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Reshaping objects
Before masking (left) compared to after masking (right)
The following guidelines apply to creating clipping masks:
• The objects that you mask are moved into the clipping mask’s group in the Layers panel if they don’t already reside
there.
• Only vector objects can be clipping masks; however, any artwork can be masked.
• If you use a layer or group to create a clipping mask, the first object in the layer or group masks everything that is
a subset of the layer or group.
• Regardless of its previous attributes, a clipping mask changes to an object with no fill or stroke.
To create a semitransparent mask, use the Transparency panel to create an opacity mask.
For more information on using masks and transparency, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_ai_tutorials_mask .
See also
Using masks
“ Isolate artwork for editing ” on page 198
“ Methods for cutting, dividing, and trimming objects ” on page 240
“ Use opacity masks to create transparency ” on page 179
Hide parts of objects with a clipping mask
1 Create the object you want to use as the mask.
This object is called the clipping path. Only vector objects can be clipping paths.
2 Move the clipping path above the objects you want to mask in the stacking order.
3 Select the clipping path and the objects you want to mask.
4 Choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make.
To create a clipping path from the area where two or more objects overlap, group the objects first.
See also
“ Stacking objects ” on page 220