Recommendations for Illustrator contour plugin ?

[stefano panusa]

I was a little overwhelmed looking for a way to use the Corel contour tool in Illustrator CS5. There's lots of google results, a couple of free plugins, etc. If anyone has a plugin that they could recommend, I'd really appreciate it. Basically I'm trying to create a trace (cut) line on either side of the vector lines that make up an image.

[Doug Griffith]

Which version of Illustrator are you using?

[Dewey Schramm]

If you are using Illustrator CS3 or above, then you don't need a plug in to create a cut line, it is available natively with Illustrator. Often I have a piece of artwork that I want to raster, and want to cut out the shape around the artwork. I select the entire object I want to be cut. I copy it, and paste it on top of itself so I am working with a copy. I then go into the menus and select (I think it is edit) menu: Edit > Path > Offset Path. A dialog pops up that offers some options. The first is how far from the original you want the new path (sometimes I use one eighth, sometimes I use a sixteenth), use whatever you need. The dropdown then offers between round, bevel and miter options. Often because of my preferences I choose round - though occasionally I want a sharp corner. I rarely change the number box - I've yet to find a useful reason for it. Preview will show you what the effects of what you are choosing will be. Once you accept the changes, you will be left with a path (or paths) around your selected work. And if you are like me the first few times you will be spooked as it it doesn't look like what we want. Wait, there's more. Without deselecting the results, I "ungroup" what was produced. Once this occurs, I go into the Pathfinder window (menu: Window > Pathfinder), and click the "Merge" button (hover the mouse over each of the buttons to find "merge" if you are unfamiliar with them), and then click the "expand" button. This leaves me with a solid path blob of my outline. I change the fill to none, and and what is left is an outline traced around my original artwork. I then change the stroke thickness of the outline to an acceptable value for vector cutting and I am in business.

Also, sometimes I want the traced vectors/lines to be inside my artwork (concentric objects for example)... the Offset Path dialog responds to negative numbers by creating an inner line path (or paths). This comes in handy if one has a heart for example created with flowers woven to make the heart shape. I follow the process above to create the outer ring for the flower heart, and then repeat it with a negative offset value to create the inner ring of the flower heart.

I hope this has been helpful - I promise it isn't as complicated as the typed words suggest - if you do it 3 or 4 times to try it out, you'll likely find it becomes intuitive and easy.

Happy creating... Feel free to ask any followup questions, although I don't always check in as often as I like - others will likely answer your questions - and maybe more clearly as well :)

Dewey

Edit: Grammar

[stefano panusa]

Dewey.. that was a great explanation, I was wondering how to do the inner path as well, and the negative values really made it come together. I'm sure you're clear explanation will many others in the future.

[Scott Shepherd]

In CS5, there are some really good tools. The "Shape Builder" tool does a great job and is super powerful. That can get you a nice shape, then use the offset path to put an offset to it.

I think the Shape Builder is probably one of the best new tools in CS5. It really is powerful. Far more powerful than you might think at first look.