Outline Stroke Problem

[Joe Crupi]

Hey...

I've got a file with a whole bunch of strokes making up an image.

I wanna change all the strokes to fills/paths.

When I use the 'Object > Path > Outline Stroke' or the 'Object > Path > Offset Path' command, the result is not as expect because the stroke has a brush stroke applied to it (the stroke varies in thickness).

Is there any way to get an exact replica of the stroke whilst keeping the varying line thickness? I don't wanna have to trace with the pen tool coz there are waaay too many strokes to trace.

Cheers

[J***@adobeforums.com]

object>expand appearance first, then outline the strokes.

[J***@adobeforums.com]

It depends upon how you built the Brush, and to some degree what type of brush it is (Art Brushes stretch one instance of the Brush artwork along the path; Pattern Brushes step-and-repeat multiple instances). But with those in mind:

Expand the appearance of the brush strokes as John said. But don't follow that with Outline strokes. Since you said the strokes are of varying thickness, this implies the Brush artwork consists of closed paths, not just stroked paths. So Expand Appearance will already yield a closed path.

Experiment a little with the Merge Pathfinder. I use it continuously for what I think you are describing. Example for clarity:

1. Draw a few strokes with a Calligraphic Brush.

2. Select the strokes and Expand Appearance. The strokes are now unstroked, filled closed paths. However there is some "deadwood." The original spine paths are still there, but unfilled and unstroked. Overlaps and/or sharp bends may result in awkwardly shaped paths.

3. Click the Merge Pathfinder. (Sometimes you need to apply it twice). This removes most of the deadwood and often gives quite the results you desire.

JET

[D***@adobeforums.com]

JET, trying to understand the Merge pathfinder. It SEEMS to do (at least) 2 things:

1) "Consume" paths located within surrounding paths so we're left with only the surrounding paths, and

2) "Remove overlap" (to use FH terminology) wherever a closed path crosses itself so we're left with a single, "non-self-overlapping" path.

Is this right?

[J***@adobeforums.com]

Doug,

Yes. It (1) removes overlap (FH term). But it also:

2. Unions (FH term) adjacent areas of same colored fill.

3. Punches (FH term) areas of dissimilar colored fill.

4. Deletes the unstroked, unfilled spine paths (what I call "deadwood") of expanded Brush strokes.

Like all of AI's Pathfinders, it handles strokes very poorly. So you usually have to use it in conjunction with Outline Stroke to avoid wrecking artwork which uses strokes.

I use it all the time and consider it one of the most valuable Pathfinders. For example: You have drawn a sketch using your favorite basic ArtBrush so you can draw with tapered strokes. When done with the line work, you have a piece of artwork consisting of a bunch of crossing open paths. You need to create fills in the VISIBLY enclosed areas. I built an Action which:

Expands the Brush strokes.
Applies Merge.
Deselects.

Then, I DirectSelect one of the subpaths of the resulting Compound and apply my second Action, which:

Copies
Deselects
Pastes Behind
Applies SpotColor 1 to the Fill
Deselects

(Or something like that; I'm typing this from memory).

So with just a couple of clicks, I can quickly create fill objects for linework which was drawn using individual strokes rather than tediously drawing each fill object manually.

It comes in very handy for three kinds of work:

• Freehand drawings for cartoons, kids' art, etc., like in the above example.

• Imported PLT and DWG files from CAD exports. Thes drawings usually consist of a huge number of tiny open line segments instead of curves. For these, I have somewhat more elaborate Actions which first apply a uniform stroke weight with rouned endcaps before doing the Outline Stroke.

• Artwork which needs to be prepared for vinyl cutting. Each colored area needs to be contiguous, without unwanted cuts across areas of same fill color, and without a bunch of overlaps. The Merge Pathfinder is absolutely invaluable for this.

JET

[D***@adobeforums.com]

And there's one other difference: Merge does not "consume" the differently colored Punching path... Subtract does. And perhaps this is why it's so useful to your vinyl work?

Otherwise do I have it right?

[D***@adobeforums.com]

Fabulous. Understand perfectly. Quite the multi-talented pathfinder, that Merge!

Now:

Am I not correct that the newer Add and Subtract pathfinders (upper row, first and second from left), if clicked with the option key depressed, will Union and Punch respectively and with the same results achieved by Merge (except that Add and Subtract pay no nevermind to fill colors)?

[J***@adobeforums.com]

Sounds right.

And perhaps this is why it's so useful to your vinyl work?




Yes. FH does not have a single-tool equivalent to AI's Merge. It's a great tool.

Not that Merge couldn't be improved. I think most of the Pathfinders need to be completely revamped to sensibly handle strokes and open paths. And AI is in despirate need of a sensible cutting tool, which plays hand-in-hand with Pathfinders.

I also dislike very much AI's insistence on having its Punch ops result in groups instead of composite paths wherever the should-be subpaths don't intersect. This continually reqires me to perform additional tedious steps. I also encounter far more incorrect path direction problems in AI than in FH. And I get very weary of having to invoke Ungroup multiple times after various Pathfinder and Expand options. AI has a nasty habit of such operations resulting in redundant same-level Groups. (I'm not talking about properly nested Groups.)

Now, Doug. Maybe *you* can explain to *me* the confused differences between invoking the same-named Pathfinders via the Palette and the Effects menu. ;-)

JET

[D***@adobeforums.com]

I'm afraid I'm still struggling to find a use for the Effects>Pathfinders. Fairly confident there is one, but I'm not sure my kind of work produces many opportunities for that submenu.

[J***@adobeforums.com]

Effects pathfinder can be included in graphic styles.

Examine this style from the studio exchange <http://share.studio.adobe.com/axAssetDetailSubmit.asp?aID=9936&back=http%3A%2F%2Fshare%2Estudio%2Eadobe%2Ecom%2FaxBrowseSubmit%2Easp%3Ft%3D28> for an example of effects pathfinder being used in a style.

[D***@adobeforums.com]

Ah yes. Unfortunately I'm very unstylish.

[J***@adobeforums.com]

That's OK, I have enough style for both of us. :P

[Dee Holmes]

And I'm not going to say anything about that other program, because I haven't had to use it in about a month.:)