Create live paint groups, Expand or release a live paint group – Adobe Illustrator CS3 User Manual

Page 166

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ILLUSTRATOR CS3

User Guide

160

Other commands that don’t work on Live Paint groups

Pathfinder commands

File > Place

View

>

Guides > Make

Select > Same >Blending Mode, Fill & Stroke, Opacity, Style, Symbol Instance, or Link Block Series

Object > Text Wrap

>

Make

Create Live Paint groups

When you want to color objects using different colors for each edge, or intersection, convert the artwork into a Live
Paint Group.

Certain types of objects, such as type, bitmap images, and brushes, cannot be directly made into Live Paint groups.
You first need to convert these objects into paths. For example, if you try to convert an object that uses brushes or
effects, the complex visual appearance is lost in the conversion to Live Paint. However, you can retain much of the
appearance by first converting the objects to regular paths and then converting the resulting paths to Live Paint.

Note: When you convert artwork to a Live Paint group, you cannot return the artwork to its original state. You can
expand the group into its individual components, or release the group back to its original paths with no fill and a .5 black
stroke.

For a video on using Live Paint, see

www.adobe.com/go/vid0042

.

See also

“Keys for working with Live Paint groups” on page 465

Create a Live Paint group

1

Select one or more paths, compound paths, or both.

2

Do one of the following:

Choose Object > Live Paint > Make.

Select the Live Paint Bucket tool

and click the selected object.

Note: Certain properties may be lost in the conversion to a Live Paint group, such as transparency and effects, while
other objects cannot be converted (such as type, bitmap images, and brushes).

Convert objects to Live Paint groups

Do any of the following for objects that do not directly convert to Live Paint groups:

For type objects, choose Type > Create Outlines. Then make the resulting paths into a Live Paint group.

For bitmap images, choose Object > Live Trace > Make And Convert To Live Paint.

For other objects, choose Object > Expand. Then make the resulting paths into a Live Paint group.

Expand or release a Live Paint group

Releasing a Live Paint group changes it to one or more ordinary paths with no fill and a .5-point black stroke.
Expanding a Live Paint group changes it to one or more ordinary paths that are visually similar to the Live Paint
group, but are now separate filled and stroked paths. You can use the Group Selection tool to select and modify these
paths separately.

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