Illustrator Trick #11: Transparency & Knockout Group


It often happens that, we have  couple or more shapes/objects overlapping each other with varying transparency & for some reasons we don’t want them to show through each other.



The solution for this is pretty simple. Just select the shapes, like in the above example both the rectangles & Group (Object>Group) them & from the Transparency palette click on the Knockout Group so that a checkmark is On & poof now the object don’t show through each other!

You can do this with the multiple objects as well.

It is worth noting that you either have to Group the objects or select the Layer for the Knockout group behavior to take effect.
Also, the Knockout Group has 3 states, as shown in the image below:

The on & off states are pretty explanatory, you may use the neutral state when you want to group objects without interfering with the knockout behavior determined by the enclosing group or layer.

Back to 101 Illustrator Tips & Tricks »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Design Float
  • Reddit
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon

Tags: Illustrator, knockout group, Transparency


About The Author: Sonali

Hi, I'm a designer and digital artist, I'm extremely fond of anything that is related to graphic design, creating arts & all the yumminess attached to it. I aim to reach my creative goals one step at a time and I believe in doing everything with a smile. You can also find me on Twitter, @dezignMusings.

Read all articles writen by this author

3 Trackbacks

Vectips Monthly Roundup: December | Vectips | Vectips Monthly Roundup: December | Vectips
January 1st, 2009 at 12:51 am

w3feeds » Blog Archive » February – 2009 PART – 6 All latest news for web design ,development, open sources, techonoly and favorites | w3feeds » Blog Archive » February - 2009 PART - 6 All latest news for web design ,development, open sources, techonoly and favorites
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:11 pm

Vectordiary » Blog Archive » 101 Illustrator Tips & Tricks | Vectordiary » Blog Archive » 101 Illustrator Tips & Tricks
September 9th, 2009 at 1:34 am

+Add Comment3 Comments

  1. Gravtar for Nicole
    Nicole December 27th, 2008

    This is a great tip! I could have used that a few weeks ago! :) Would have made life a lot easier! Thanks!

  2. Gravtar for Astrodesigner
    Astrodesigner December 30th, 2008

    Thanks for the Tip.

  3. Gravtar for Tatiana
    Tatiana June 24th, 2010

    This is Greaaaaaaat

Add a Comment

(required)

(will not be published)


About Vectordiary

Vector Diary is a popular blog offering great illustrator tutorials and tips. It was created by Tony Soh, a graphic designer, who has great passion in illustration. Tony has written one of the most popular tutorial for learning illustrator and has helped more than 20,000 people. On top of that, his tutorials and tips has helped designers improve their illustration skills and have received great feedback. So join Vector Diary and start learning today!

Write a Tutorial

Get paid $150 for each approved tutorials! Any writers who are passionate about sharing their illustrator techniques can contribute.

Learn how »

My Network


All Content & Theme Design © 2008 Vectordiary. Privacy Policy