Minus Front will subtract the Path of a selected Shape that is in front of (above) the Path of another selected Shape that is below – making a hole in the Shape below – and also combining the two into one Shape – making it a Compound Shape. But this time, use Minus Front (see image below): Now, at this point you could just Shift-select the circle and hit Command-8 (⌘8) to make a Compound Path and cut a hole out of the flower (if you wanted a hole, that is). Go to Window - Pathfinder (⇧⌘F9) to open the Pathfinder Panel (see image below):Ĭlick Unite and all the oval Paths are united into one boundary Shape – leaving the circle as a separate Path above it (see images below): Shift-select to de-select the Path of the circle (see image below):

Use the Selection Tool ( V) to select all your Paths (see image below): If you find yourself building a multi-Pathed Shape – consider using the Pathfinder Shape Modes to combine your individual Paths into a single more manageable Compound Shape.Įxample: rotated ovals and a circle to make a flower (see image below): The Pathfinder Panel has four different Shape Modes

Understanding The Different Shape Modes Using Two Circles.

Option-clicking the Pathfinder Shape Modes.

Pathfinder panel illustrator