How to Cut A Part of an Image on Adobe Illustrator
When it comes to photo editing, you’ll be amazed by the variety of tools now offered, besides the ever-popular Photoshop. But the best part about this variety is that most tools have come up with a specific function they specialize in. An example is another tool by Adobe called Illustrator. But like its counterpart, Illustrator is a bit complicated. That’s why we’ll be showing you to cut out a part of an image on Illustrator.
Cutting the Different Parts of an Image
There are different aims when one wants to cut out a part of an image. And with detailed tools like Illustrator, one has the liberty to go about a number of ways to achieve this objective, depending on the aim. If you’re looking to cut part of an image, you probably want to extract the background of an image or extract an element from an image.
Cutting an Image on Illustrator
To begin cutting an image on Illustrator, you’ll need to load it on to the canvas.
Loading up the image
- Launch Adobe Illustrator and select Open from the home screen.
Click on “Open” - On the pop-up that appears, browse and select the image you want to cut and click on Open.
Cutting the image
- Once the image finishes loading up, look near the top-right. Click on Layers, and then click on Create New Layer at the bottom of the same pane.
The “Create New Layer” option is represented by a square with a plus sign inside it - When the new layer is created, lock the original one by clicking on the blank space beside the eye icon.
Lock the original layer - Next, set the fill color to none.
Click on the small box with the red line to set your fill color to none - Then, select the Pen tool.
Click on the Pen tool to select it. - Choose a starting point and then continue dotting down points on the boundary of the part of the image you want to cut. Lines will form and join these points automatically.
Draw boundary points around the part of the image you want to cut - When you finally circle around to the final point, click on the first point you made. It should say anchor when you place your cursor on it.
Click on the first point to anchor the cutout - Now, head on over to the Layers pane again. Unlock Layer 1 and click on the space beside the hollow circle to activate a blue square.
Unlock the layer and select it - Next, click on Select from the Menu bar. From the list of options, click on All.
Click on “Select”, followed by “All” - Finally, click on Object on the Menu bar. From the options, select Clipping Mask, and follow it with by clicking on Make.
Click “Object”, then “Clipping Mask” and then “Make” - The part of the image you had marked will now be separate from the original image.
The cutout will now be separate from the original image
Photoshop vs. Illustrator
Although both are products offered by Adobe, there are subtle differences between Illustrator and Photoshop. The most prominent one being that Illustrator is primarily used in vector art, or art comprising of points, lines, curves or shapes. Illustrator is mostly used for creating designs for cards, brochures, logos and art.
On the other hand, Photoshop aims to be a one-stop solution to photo editing, offering the most nuanced and detailed tools. along with the simplest ones, to freely work on your photos and fill them up with imagination.
Conclusion
While Illustrator may not be the best tool for photo editing, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t any merit when it comes to photo editing. You can take advantage of Illustrators diverse tools to make some changes in your photo and completely rework them in Photoshop. At any rate, that’s all from our side. We hope that this helped you out and cleared up the misconception between Illustrator and Photoshop.
FAQs
Q. What is Illustrator?
Illustrator is another tool offered by Adobe that you can use to work on images, create vector art, designs, logos and more.
Q. How can I cut part of an image on Illustrator?
Load up your image and create a new layer. After that, use the Pen tool to trace a boundary around the area of the image you want to cut. Once done, select both the Layers and use the Clipping Mask option to cut out that part from the rest of the image.
Q. What is the difference between Photoshop and Illustrator?
Although both are products developed and offered by Adobe, Illustrator and Photoshop have some obvious differences. Illustrator is a platform to create vector art, designs, logos, etc. Photoshop is an all-in-one tool that allows you to edit your images using a wide variety of well-nuanced tools.
