Day 9: Creating Compound Paths

By Tony Soh

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Almost all objects in over daily life can be built with basic shapes. By drawing shapes using our basic shape tool, we can use compound path to combine or subtract shapes to create what we need.

What is Compound Path?

Compound path is made out of at least two objects. You can add, subtract and intersect shapes to form a compound path.

Compound Path Cheat Sheet

I have compiled a cheat sheet to show how it looks like using different functions of compound path. You can see the final effect after we applied the compound path to three colored circles.

Creating an Ancient Key Using Compound Path

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create an ancient key using compound paths rather than using Pen Tool in our previous tutorial.

Turning on the Grids

Go to View>Show Grid to turn on the grids, then go and turn on Snap to Grid. With the grid and snapping turned on, you can easily snap objects to the grid.

First draw a Circle using your Shape Tools, hold Alt/Option as you click and drag a new copy beside it.

Duplicate a new circle and place it on top.

Next, select the Rectangle Tool and continue building up your key shape.

Swap the Fill and Stroke for the object, this will show you all the objects we have.

Using the Selection Tool, select the whole shape and go to Window>Pathfinder to bring up the Pathfinder. Select Add to shape to combine the objects.

You can still make changes to the compound path at this stage. Try moving the top circle below to see how it works. To do this, double click with the Selection Tool to go into isolation mode to move the individual shapes.

Next we will swap it back to black fill again, draw a circle in the middle which we will punch a new hole there. Select both shapes and select Subtract from shape area.

Here is the final illustration.

Next Lesson: Working with Color and Strokes »
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About The Author: Tony Soh

Hi. I'm the founder of Vector Diary. Illustrator is my passion and I have written numerous tutorials on illustrator helping people learn illustrator. My most popular tutorial on learn illustrator has been a hit. It makes learning illustrator so easy and has benefited more than 20,000 people worldwide. Also, I've revealed some of my secret techniques in the premium tutorials. So don't forget to check it out!

Read more by Tony Soh

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• Illustrator Tutorial: Circus Tent
• Illustrator Tutorial: Create a Stencil Text Effect
• Illustrator Tuorial: Vector Notebook
• Illustrator Tutorial: Disco Ball

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+Add Comment53 Comments

1. 
   LadyAngora July 23rd

   wow, i never knew you could still change the compound path after selecting ‘add to shape’… i’m always using the ‘merge’ tool!

2. 
   Sean O July 28th

   Mine didn’t work like that. Instead of removing the middle, it took the whole thing with it! What could be causing this?

3. 
   iStockdiary July 28th

   Hi Sean, Make sure the circle is on top of the key. Select both and click subtract from shape area.

4. 
   ivan August 5th

   to show grid it’s not “window>show” grid
   it’s “view>show grid”

5. 
   Sean August 5th

   Thank you! It worked this time. On to the next lesson =D

6. 
   Heidi August 5th

   I can’t seem to manipulate the individual circle after using Add to shape. The entire compound path is moving altogether. What did I miss?

7. 
   iStockdiary August 6th

   Hi Heidi, try to double click with the Selection Tool to go into isolation mode to move the individual shapes.

8. 
   Britt Malka August 16th

   Swap the Fill and Stroke … after I’ve found it, it only made some of my key black. Besides, why should I keep down Alt/Option to draw the second cirkle? Give up for now Too many things I do not understand.

9. 
   Leroy Simpson August 26th

   Another good lesson, Jah rasta

10. 
    emily August 30th

    i think i got it! thanks!

11. 
    Rodolfo November 17th

    That was a really good tutorial!! you make it so easy to learn!! thanks a lot!!

12. 
    Dwight December 11th

    Just wanted to drop you a note on Compound Path lesson: Creating an Ancient Key. I found it very enlightening, and as a matter of fact; since Iv’e been visiting your site (less than two weeks), working in Illustrator has become less of a chore. Thanks for all your instruction.
    Dwight

13. 
    Duke December 26th

    To those who have trouble -
    You must hold down the alt/option key while clicking the “add to shape / unite” button in the pathfinder window. This way, you’ll be able to move each circle independently in isolation mode.

    Try it this way. Draw 3 random circles with the ellipse tool, all overlapping eachother like the key. If you click the unite button in the pathfinder window, they’ll all now be one object and move together as one object, even in isolation mode. BUT, if you click the unite button while holding down alt/option, now they’ll be separate objects in isolation mode.

14. 
    Tissaka Senarath March 1st

    Again.. great tutorial.. thank you so much!!! very easy to understand

15. 
    Ethienne March 6th

    Love you guys!! you helped me a lot

16. 
    lj March 12th

    What a great site. Thank you

17. 
    hung vannguyen April 18th

    very good

18. 
    bill May 8th

    hi

19. 
    Adrian May 26th

    I dont understand the moving of the circles, it doesnt move for me, it moves the whole key not the circle.

    i’m using cs4, would that change how it at all?

20. 
    Vectordiary May 26th

    For CS4, it is different. Compound Paths get expanded on default. Hence, you will need to press Alt/Option before you click the Pathfinder effects to make it editable.

21. 
    Adrian May 28th

    oh, thanks!

22. 
    Devin June 9th

    I’m almost an expert at photoshop, but trying to go from Photoshop, to Illustrator, is a DAUNTING task. Thanks for this tutorial! Its insanely helpful, and I’m starting to get the hang of this!
    Thanks!

23. 
    Reginald Raju June 11th

    me neva used ol dose compound and pathfinder effects… its amazing.. me used to draw ol dose shape.. buh its easier to use pathfinder..

24. 
    Jennifer August 12th

    Another excellent lesson. This is enjoyable and so easy to understand. Thanks again for being so generous and sharing your knowledge!

25. 
    aurorasogna October 28th

    I’ve CS4 but also with Alt/Option it doesn’t work. Any idea??

26. 
    damian March 20th

    if i place a new circle on an existing circle an try to subtract, it subtracts the wrong circle, not the little one , but one of the three big circles. Can someone explain this to me?

27. 
    Tony Soh March 20th

    Subtract always take the top level object and subtract away the object that is directly below. In this case it will be the circle in the 2nd level instead of the bottom circle.

28. 
    Johnni June 13th

    # Duke December 26th, 2008
    READ HIS POST !

    It adds the extra, that the tut missing. Very usefull. Thx Duke

29. 
    Natrak June 17th

    I got CS4 and moving circles inside the compound doesn’t work for me as well.

30. 
    Mbala June 28th

    Perfect!! I got the flow. Illustrator is my thing!! Thanks alot for the lesson

31. 
    AziF July 11th

    Dear: I Try : “You can still make changes to the compound path at this stage. Try moving the top circle below to see how it works. To do this, double click with the Selection Tool to go into isolation mode to move the individual shapes.”
    Into Illustrator CS4 but don’t works? You can help me!
    Best Regards!

32. 
    abdullah August 16th

    thank.s great site

33. 
    j0hnb0y October 26th

    Hi,
    Thanks very much for the tuts….this lesson took me a bit of time to get my head around but I got there in the end !!!
    Cant wait for the next one

    Regards

    Johnboy

34. 
    Paopi November 27th

    Thank you for this series

    However, like the other CS4 users, I couldn’t move the objects, even after using alt/option key. Any other way that we can try, perhaps?

35. 
    MichaelV November 29th

    DAY9: The title of this lesson scared me a little – Compound Paths – but it wasn’t as bad as I first thought. Although, some of the finer points ARE a bit tricky – and not being totally au fait with many of the commands (yet) I find I have to go over it many times until it sort of works.
    Hopefully things will get easier as I become more proficient and more aware of all the common tasks.
    The terminology is one thing I AM having a bit of a struggle with. For example: ‘Swap the Fill and Stroke for the object’ and ‘go into isolation mode’ and ‘swap it back to black fill’ and ‘minus back’ (in the cheat sheet – which I got totally lost in BTW). Day10 beckons….

36. 
    nicxf January 16th

    using illustrator CS5 I found a couple of slight differences to the tutorial (which was excellent and I’m really enjoying them so far)
    1. As mentioned above, you need to hold down alt/option key to make the paths remain inidivually editable when you’re merging them;
    2. Before it’ll let you punch that final hole, you have to click the ‘expand’ button on the original set of paths to fully merge them before it’ll allow you to punch through. i tested this on a couple other shapes too and it seems to be the rule.

37. 
    jana January 26th

    to nicxt: I found another trick for CS4 (maybe it works for CS5 as well). You don´t have to click expand, before punching the hole. Just keep your shapes in stroke, instead of fill, add the hole, select all shapes and Alt click on Substract (Minus). Fill the shape and you have it. This way you can still move and change each separate shape.

38. 
    Lenore April 15th

    Tx so much nicxf,
    that’s exactly what I needed for my last punch!

39. 
    oldmantg April 25th

    hihi, tôi rất thích các bài viết của trang này.

40. 
    Katherine June 16th

    What am I doing wrong? When I try to use pathfinder on my circles, it tells me that Pathfinder effects should usually be applied to groups, layers, or type objects, and that it may not have any effect on the current selection. …?

41. 
    Haidang July 19th

    I really like this tutorial! thanks a lot !

42. 
    Nanda Scott August 19th

    Dude, there’s something you’re doing here that you’re not telling anyone else. I can’t replicate each image because something you did is missing here. I can’t get the same image because when I click Swap Fill and Stroke like you said it doesn’t show me the overlapping lines. I’m completely lost on this because I don’t know what you’re doing, please help me!

43. 
    kerry August 22nd

    Jana suggestion worked perfectly. I still don’t even know what expanding is, but sounds like if I can avoid it at this stage, it’s a good thing : )

44. 
    Z-Rabbit September 5th

    NICXF: 2. Before it’ll let you punch that final hole, you have to click the ‘expand’ button on the original set of paths to fully merge them before it’ll allow you to punch through. i tested this on a couple other shapes too and it seems to be the rule

    Hell yeah! I was messing with this for like 30 minutes before I got it to work. You’re a life saver!

45. 
    Andrzej November 6th

    Hello I just starting my own Illustrator project and I have filing that your blog will be very help full for me.
    I have some question about illustrator compound path and I can’t find answer anywhere. When I’m creating two overlapped path lets say two circles. Small and large. Than I try using pathfinder to cut hole in the bigger one. but I don’t wont them to create compound path. Can I do something like this.

46. 
    Tony Soh November 6th

    You can just go to Object > Expand the compound shape.

47. 
    marso December 11th

    thanks for this. btw, after selecting multiple shapes, you have to ‘Alt-click Pathfinder->Add’ to make the separate shapes editable after combinining them. Coz, if you just do ‘click Pathfinder->Add’, they cant be editable again. ijust figured this now.hehe.

    thank you for this whole series of AI tute i’m going to the next lesson now

48. 
    marso December 12th

    what i said was said by Duke and Vectordiary already. i’m just happy that i actually learn this time thanks guys…

49. 
    Mariane Meira January 17th

    Hey guys…thank you so much! This has been so helpfullll!!!!!

50. 
    Eric January 26th

    Double clicking the Selection Tool brings up a Move dialog box, and does not make the shapes editable. I am using CS5.

51. 
    Stuck In Time February 16th

    In CS5 you have to hold down ALT before & then click on the “Unite” or “Add”. It will then temporarily make it like that. After that you can go into isolation mode & edit it. Worked for me.

    Here’s the source: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/696133

    Thanks For the tutorials, I hope you’ll fix this soon ‘cos this is a major issue for most of the people going through your tuts.

    Cheers.

52. 
    RSCdev March 9th

    Hey @Duke, thanks for explaining it better! I got it. Cheers!

53. 
    hannah lake May 5th

    when i try to use compound path it doesnt even come up as an option its grey out so i cant click on it. does anyone have any idea why? i have CS5