Priya Kapoor
Adobe Illustrator CS6 offers two methods of painting: selecting a fill, stroke, or both for an object, or converting the object(s) to a Live Paint group and assigning fills and strokes to the separate edges and faces of paths within. Live Paint is a useful tool for painting illustrations with multiple faces that are not necessarily independent shapes that can be easily filled. To use the Live Paint Bucket tool, go to the Swatches Panel and define a Swatch Group to function as a palette for colouring. Select a colour and then select all the overlapping shapes that you want to colour. Create the Live Paint Group by executing the Object > Live Paint > Make command. Get the Live Paint Bucket tool and click once on an area of the selected overlapping shapes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Live Paint Group | All paths are treated as if they are on the same flat surface |
| Paths divide the drawing surface into areas that can be coloured | |
| Paths can be moved or adjusted, and colours are automatically reapplied to new regions | |
| Faces and edges are coloured using fills and strokes from the existing group | |
| Deleting edges causes the fill to flood across any newly expanded face | |
| Live Paint takes advantage of multiprocessors, allowing Illustrator to perform operations more quickly | |
| Fill and paint attributes are attached to faces and edges of a Live Paint group, not the paths that define them | |
| Live Paint Bucket tool allows you to colour the Object's fills or strokes by changing the current colour | |
| Live Paint Bucket tool has a widget that makes it easy to switch colours without leaving the tool | |
| Live Paint Selection tool allows you to select an edge in a Live Paint group | |
| Live Paint Groups can be created by executing the Object > Live Paint > Make command | |
| Live Paint Groups can be merged by executing the Object > Live Paint > Merge command | |
| Live Paint Groups can be released by executing the Object > Live Paint > Release command |
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What You'll Learn
Using the Live Paint Bucket tool
Live Paint is a brilliant solution to painting illustrations with multiple faces that are not necessarily independent shapes that can be easily filled. Illustrator provides two methods of painting: you can select a fill, stroke, or both for an object, or you can convert the object(s) to a Live Paint group and assign fills and strokes to the separate edges and faces of paths within.
The paintable parts of Live Paint groups are called edges and faces. An edge is the portion of a path between where it intersects with other paths. A face is the area enclosed by one or more edges. You can stroke edges and fill faces. Take, for example, a circle with a line drawn across it. As a Live Paint group, the line (edge) dividing the circle creates two faces in the circle. You can fill each face and stroke each edge with a different colour using the Live Paint Bucket tool.
To use the Live Paint Bucket tool in Adobe Illustrator: Go to the Swatches Panel and define a Swatch Group. The Live Paint Bucket tool has a widget that makes it easy to switch colours without leaving the tool, but it is only useful if you define a Swatch Group to function as a palette for the colouring. In the Swatches Panel, go to the Swatch Group, and select a colour. Ai will use this as the initial colour setting of the Live Paint Bucket tool. Select all the overlapping shapes that you want to colour. Create the Live Paint Group by doing one of the following: Execute the Object > Live Paint > Make command. Get the Live Paint Bucket tool, and click once on an area of the selected overlapping shapes. Ai will create a Live Paint Group that contains the selected paths, and in the Layers panel will give it the default name "Live Paint". On the Art Board, you will see that the newly created Group contains the items and that it has a distinctive Bounding Box that has controls with Xs inside.
Before you begin using the Live Paint Bucket tool, you may want to set its options. To do that, double-click the Live Paint Bucket tool. Ai will launch the Live Paint Bucket Options dialog. In the dialog, you can update the following options: The Paint Fills checkbox enables you to target and colour a Face's Fill. When you mouse-over the interior of a Face Object, Ai will: Highlight the interior of the Face with a border that is defined by the Highlight area's Color and Width fields. This is illustrated in the Fill Targeted image in the accompanying figure. Switch to the Fill colouring cursor. The Paint Strokes checkbox enables you to target and colour a Face's Stroke. When you mouse-over an Edge Object, Ai will: Highlight the Edge's Stroke with the colour that is defined in the Highlight area's Color field. This is illustrated in the Stroke Targeted image in the accompanying figure.
Once you've made a Live Paint group, each path remains fully editable. When you move or adjust a path's shape, the colours that had been previously applied don't just stay where they were, like they do in natural media paintings or image editing programs. Instead, Illustrator automatically reapplies them to the new regions that are formed by the edited paths.
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Applying colour to fills and strokes
To apply colour to fills and strokes in Adobe Illustrator CS6, you can either select a fill, stroke, or both for an object, or convert the object(s) to a Live Paint group and assign fills and strokes to the separate edges and faces of paths within.
To select a fill or stroke for an object, click the Fill box or the Stroke box in the Tools panel, the Properties panel, or the Color panel. Selecting the Fill box indicates that you want to apply a fill rather than a stroke, and vice versa for the Stroke box. You can then select a colour by clicking a colour in the Control panel, Color panel, Swatches panel, Gradient panel, or a swatch library. Alternatively, you can double-click the Fill or Stroke box and select a colour from the Colour Picker. To apply the selected colour to an unselected object, simply drag the colour from the respective box onto the object. To remove an object's current fill, click the "None" button.
To convert an object to a Live Paint group, first select the object(s) you want to include in the group. Then, click and hold on the Shape Builder tool in the Tools panel to select the hidden Live Paint Bucket tool. You can then fill each face and stroke each edge with a different colour using the Live Paint Bucket tool. As you add more paths to the Live Paint group, you can fill and stroke the new faces and edges that are created. When you modify a path in a Live Paint group, Illustrator automatically colours the modified or new faces and edges using fills and strokes from the existing group. If the results are not as expected, you can reapply the colours you want using the Live Paint Bucket tool.
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Creating Live Paint groups
Live Paint in Illustrator CS6 allows you to colour your artwork freely, as you would on a canvas or paper. You can stroke each path segment with a different colour and fill each enclosed path with a colour, pattern, or gradient. This is especially useful for illustrations with multiple faces that are not independent shapes that can be easily filled.
To create a Live Paint group, start by selecting the object or objects you want to convert. Then, click and hold on the Shape Builder tool in the Tools panel to select the hidden Live Paint Bucket tool. With the cursor over the selected objects, click to make a Live Paint group. You can now fill each face and stroke each edge with a different colour using the Live Paint Bucket tool.
When you modify a path in a Live Paint group, Illustrator automatically re-applies the colours to the new regions formed by the edited paths. You can also add more paths to an existing Live Paint group. To do this, double-click the group and click the Isolate Selected Group button in the Control panel. Then, draw another path, and Illustrator will add the new path to the Live Paint group.
If the colours are not applied as expected, you can reapply the desired colours using the Live Paint Bucket tool.
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Modifying paths in a Live Paint group
When you modify a path in a Live Paint group, Illustrator automatically reapplies the existing colours to the new regions formed by the edited paths. This means that when you move or adjust a path's shape, the colours are not fixed in place but are instead reapplied to the new path.
The paintable parts of Live Paint groups are called edges and faces. An edge is the portion of a path between where it intersects with other paths, and a face is the area enclosed by one or more edges. You can stroke edges and fill faces. For example, if you have a circle with a line drawn across it, the line (edge) divides the circle into two faces. You can fill each face and stroke each edge with a different colour using the Live Paint Bucket tool.
To modify paths in a Live Paint group, you can use the Selection tool to put the group into isolation mode. Then, draw another path. Illustrator will add the new path to the Live Paint group. When you are done adding new paths, click the Exit Isolation Mode button.
You can also select a Live Paint group and the paths you want to add to it, and then choose one of the following options: Object > Live Paint > Merge, Click Merge Live Paint in the Control panel, or Click the Merge Live Paint button in the Quick Actions section of the Properties panel.
If you want to join two paths in a Live Paint group, you can try selecting the paths and clicking "expand" in the top panel. This will cause the paths to join, but the stroke will change. Alternatively, you can try merging the regular path with the existing Live Paint object.
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Using the Selection tool
The Selection Tool in Adobe Illustrator CS6 allows you to select and edit specific areas of your artwork. To access the Selection Tool, you can click and drag your cursor over the objects you want to select. A blue outline with anchor points will appear, indicating that the objects are ready for editing.
You can also use the Selection Tool to put a Live Paint group into isolation mode. First, double-click the Live Paint group or click the "Isolate Selected Group" button in the Control Panel. This will allow you to draw new paths within the group. Once you're done adding new paths, click the "Exit Isolation Mode" button.
Additionally, the Selection Tool can be used to select specific portions of an object. For example, if you have a cross shape, you can click on one arm of the cross to highlight just that portion. This allows you to modify the selected section by changing its style, colour, filling, thickness, texture, or other parameters. You can also delete or copy the selected portion.
The Selection Tool also enables you to apply different attributes to different sections of the same object. For instance, you can change the stroke colour of one section of a line to pink while keeping the rest of the line black.
Overall, the Selection Tool in Adobe Illustrator CS6 provides a range of functionalities that allow you to work with and modify specific parts of your artwork, making it a versatile tool for creating detailed and intricate designs.
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Frequently asked questions
Live Paint is a feature in Illustrator that allows you to colour in your artwork. It is particularly useful for illustrations with multiple faces that are not independent shapes that can be easily filled.
First, select the object using the Selection Tool or the Direct Selection Tool. Then, click the Fill box to indicate that you want to apply a fill rather than a stroke. Select a colour from the Color Panel or Swatches Panel and apply it to your object.
Go to the Swatches Panel and define a Swatch Group. Select a colour from the Swatches Panel and get the Live Paint Bucket Tool. Select all the overlapping shapes you want to colour and create a Live Paint Group.
Using the Selection Tool, double-click a Live Paint Group and put the group into isolation mode. Draw another path. Illustrator will add the new path to the Live Paint Group. Click the Exit Isolation Mode button when you're done.
