1. Creating & Working with Clipping Masks
Adobe Illustrator

2. Overview Basics of a Clipping Mask Download & Preparations
Using Text to Create a Clipping Mask
Using a Shape to Create a Clipping Mask

3. Basics of a Clipping Mask
Think about the idea of a Mask –
Used to hide part of something and show other parts
Same thing with the Adobe Suite. Illustrator, Photoshop & InDesign are all capable of creating masks
In Illustrator it is a Clipping Mask
So, a clipping mask is an object whose shape masks other artwork so that only areas that lie within the shape are visible—in effect, clipping the artwork to the shape of the mask.

4. Downloading & Preparation
From the assets zip extract the palmtree.tif file, put it somewhere you can find it
Load Adobe Illustrator and create a new document and name it “ClippingPractice”

5. Text and Clipping Masks
In Illustrator, go to File > Place
Placing an outside file adds the file to the current .AI document. This is different from File > Open which will open the file as its own entity in the Illustrator program
Navigate to the palmTree.tif file and select it
Make sure in the Place window to de-select Link
Linking means the palm tree would NOT actually be on the page; instead there would be a “pointer” or shortcut, that specified how to find the image.
Click on the artboard to place the image of the palm tree

6. Text and Clipping Masks
Deselect everything via Select > Deselect
Select the Type Tool and open the Character Panel
Remember – Can click Character on the Property bar at the top

7. Text and Clipping Masks
Type your name, pick a typeface, set to 48 point and white
Note on color choice for Fill: The palm tree image is going to become the fill for the text. The color really doesn’t matter in this situation, white is just easier to see on top of the image.
Position the text so it is on the palm tree image
Position doesn’t matter, however as a rule of thumb with using a clipping mask with text, do not use images where you want the viewer to immediately recognize what it is a picture of
Use images that add to the design but are not focal or important to the design

8. Text and Clipping Masks
Once your name is in position over the palm trees, select BOTH the image and the text
Can use the Selection Tool to marquee select (Click & Drag across to select both), or
Shift + Click the text and the image to have both selected
Choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make to get the following result:

9. Text and clipping masks
Using the effects menu – Can also add to the new clipped mask
For example, could add a drop shadow by going to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow
When working with the Effects Options, be sure to check the Preview option under the OK and Cancel buttons as to be able to edit on the fly and see the edit results.

10. Text and Clipping Masks
For a graphic this small, remember to crop the artboard
Even if saved with transparency, the edges of the graphic will be the artboard edges
Saving as a .GIF or .PNG is especially important with web design work
Use the Artboard Tool and crops the graphic
Once done, go to File > Export > Export As
Choose the clipping mask practice folder, and by the “Save as Type”, use the drop down menu to choose .PNG

11. Shapes and Clipping Mask
Clipping Masks can also be created using the shape tools
File > Place a graphic to use as the fill in the mask
Draw a large ellipse, white fill, no stroke
Remember: Fill color really doesn’t matter
Select both Objects
Object > Clipping Mask > Make

12. Shapes and Clipping Mask
Once the clipping mask is complete –
The shape can be reselected using the Selection Tool and then a stroke can be added around the shape.
Can use the Stroke panel in the panels menu on the right side to increase the weight of the stroke to make it more visible

13. Multiple Shape and text Mask
Let’s get real fancy
It’s likely you have multiple shapes you’d like to turn unto clipping mask
If the were contiguous (touching) you could use the ShapeBuilder tool to convert them to a single shape, but if they are not, a different approach is needed
Let’s build something with some text, an ellipse, and a rectangle
Sunset pic!

14. Get Started Find a photo Create a new Illustrator document
File->Place to bring the photo in. Make sure to uncheck the Link button
Then position

15. Prepare text
For this exercise, we’ll use text – choose a large font, type some text
Text has to be converted from text object to shapes, so after you’ve resized your text, select it and choose Object->Expand
Could then resize these vector letters to resize more with selection tool, or reposition slightly
Select the text AGAIN, and repeat the Object- >Expand
(See how the individual letters are now highlighted?)

16. Add other shapes
I added a shape with the pen tool for the beach (remember to close) and an ellipse for the sun
Background or stroke doesn’t matter
All of the shapes that will be part of the same mask should be sublayers of the same layer!

17. SeLect all shapes
Now, select All of the shapes, EXCEPT the background… may want to start with Select->Deselect
Notice how the Group of text, the ellipse, and the path are all selected (in the layers panel, you can see the circles highlighted)

18. SeLect all shapes Then, choose Object->Compound Path- >Make
If you get an error message, you probably didn’t Expand the text twice (box to letters, letters to shape)
To verify operation worked, deselect everything, then click and drag youThis is hard to discern, but notice that when you drag, all elements are moving

19. Create the Mask Now, we can make the mask
Select the compound path, and shift click background
Then, choose Object->Clipping Mask- >Make
This combination can now be moved around – the elements will “stick together”
Other shapes/lines etc should be placed in other layers