"invert" vector (make transparant area visible and visible area transparant)

[macerto]

Say I have a vector (example attached), how can I then make the visible area transparant and the transparant area visible?

liftarn_Skull_07.svg

[Dan C]

Hi macerto,

One easy way of doing this could be to draw a rectangle and fill this whatever colour you desire. Then move this new layer to beneath the curves in the layer studio, finally select the curves layer and set it's blend mode to 'erase'. As such:


Hope this helps!

[MEB]

Hi macerto,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Another way: draw a black filled rectangle the same size of the canvas. Select both the rectangle and the skull and go to menu Layer ▸ Geometry ▸ Combine.
This will keep everything as vectors when you export the file to a vector format.

[macerto]

Thank you Dan and MEB. Dan, your method worked great. 

MEB, I tried your method but the combine option is greyed out when I follow the steps (only divide is available). Perhaps I'm doing something wrong?

[MEB]

Hi macerto,
You have to select both shapes. Press and hold ⌘ (cmd) (or CTRL if you are using Windows) and click both layers in the Layers panel to select them. Alternatively zoom out a little if necessary and drag a marquee around both objects with the Move Tool to select both. The combine (and all the other boolean operations) should then become available.

[macerto]

MEB, I was doing it the way you described, but I noticed I only see the 'divide' option when i try it with svg files. It works fine with png files for example.

[MEB]

Hi macerto,
I'm not sure what you are doing exactly but here's what i meant using your SVG file:

 

[macerto]

MEB, I forgot to click on 'edit document' when dragging the svg into AD. Still learning!
Thank you for the detailed explanation!

[firstdefence]

Is there any reason you couldn't also use Geometry > Subtract?

[lepr]

.

[MEB]

On 6/9/2018 at 11:01 AM, firstdefence said:

Is there any reason you couldn't also use Geometry > Subtract?

Hi firstdefence,
Yes, you can use subtract. I opted for combine here because it's not dependent on the layer's order in the Layer stack (i didn't know the user layer's structure), while when using subtract the skull must be placed over the rectangle for the boolean operation to work.