Can't join curves to fill

[fatkidfrank]

I'm working on a new design for my Fire Dept and I've run into a brick wall.  I'm attempting to design a new scramble, letters over lapping each other, and I was successful in getting the outlines done but I can't figure out how to fill it.  

I have done this a few times  before using Illustrator and the Live Paint feature normally works but I have been at this for a few days and I haven't been able to figure out a work around.

I started with just the 4 letters of a font and then combined them to get the curves I wanted.  From there I broke the ones I needed to delete.  In doing so I believe I have opened them up so when I go to fill it I get all sorts of unintended results.  

I'd greatly appreciate if anyone can point me in the right direction or tell me if I need to attack if from a different angle.

Please excuse the novice level of this post.  I'm brand new to Affinity and its been some time since I've played with Illustrator so I'm starting from square 1 again.

 

 

 

CAFT scramble outline 2.afdesign

[firstdefence]

It looks like what you think is a fillable space is just a collection of lines that box together but in reality it is negative space; an enclosed area made from surrounding objects but there is more that is wrong with this. 

Fixing this file will be a waste of time, better to start again.  

What font have you used was it called Rye? Found it.

[firstdefence]

Well that was epic lol! Saved with history so you can scroll back and forth in the history panel.

 

CAFT scramble outline 2 version2 .afdesign

Font: Rye https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/rye

[gdenby]

Hi, fatkidfrank,

firstdefence beat me to it. I have to admit that when I 1st opened the file, my inclination was that there wasn't any other option than to start from scratch.

I was stoping using Illustrator about the time Live Paint was introduced, but Designer doesn't work like that at all. Designer works more like AI did before the introduction of live paint. Eventually that nudged my memory as to what I had to do way back when I was handed 2-D drawings to vectorize.

So I rasterized your work, and ran it thru a vectorizer 2 times, once for the outlines, and again for the enclosed shapes. Brought into AD, and started picking thru the forms to add color.

Attached, a partial job. If you like, you could adjust to your liking. I'd suggest selecting each part of a letter fill, and either grouping them for better organization, or better, doing a boolean add so they became a single layer which could be recolored all at once.

CAFE.afdesign

[firstdefence]

After looking at the design, while it is admirable that you would attempt such a design, I find it loses impact because of it's inherent complexity and it becomes hard to read or understand, it basically scrambles the eyes < pun intended  and it would be more so at a distance.

I think a stronger image would be had by simplifying it.

What does C.A.F.T stand for?  Worked it out: Combined Area Fire Training

Is there a reason for the interweaving of the letters?

[firstdefence]

1 hour ago, gdenby said:

Hi, fatkidfrank,

firstdefence beat me to it. I have to admit that when I 1st opened the file, my inclination was that there wasn't any other option than to start from scratch.

I was stoping using Illustrator about the time Live Paint was introduced, but Designer doesn't work like that at all. Designer works more like AI did before the introduction of live paint. Eventually that nudged my memory as to what I had to do way back when I was handed 2-D drawings to vectorize.

So I rasterized your work, and ran it thru a vectorizer 2 times, once for the outlines, and again for the enclosed shapes. Brought into AD, and started picking thru the forms to add color.

Attached, a partial job. If you like, you could adjust to your liking. I'd suggest selecting each part of a letter fill, and either grouping them for better organization, or better, doing a boolean add so they became a single layer which could be recolored all at once.

CAFE.afdesign

I did consider running it through Magic Vector but that was way to easy lol! 

[fatkidfrank]

2 hours ago, firstdefence said:

After looking at the design, while it is admirable that you would attempt such a design, I find it loses impact because of it's inherent complexity and it becomes hard to read or understand, it basically scrambles the eyes < pun intended  and it would be more so at a distance.

I think a stronger image would be had by simplifying it.

What does C.A.F.T stand for?  Worked it out: Combined Area Fire Training

Is there a reason for the interweaving of the letters?

First off, Thank you so much for that file.  I came for advise and I can say I got a whole bunch more.  Strong work on working out the initials. Most people in our town can't even figure it out   

To answer you question, for reasons I'll never know it has become tradition to make scrambles like that for department logos.  They are normally complex and yes hard on the eyes at any sort of distance.  Normally the more complex the more people seem to like them and since I'm currently in the dog house with our Chief I figure I better really make it confusing.  

Thanks for including the history in the file.   Now comes the task of scrolling through it to see how I should have done it to begin with.  

 

[fatkidfrank]

So if I attempt something like this in the near future is there any way to accomplish the design without creating all the overlapping curves by hand and not exporting to a vectoring program?  Possibly just use the smart mode on the pen and creating the necessary curves?

[firstdefence]

16 minutes ago, fatkidfrank said:

is there any way to accomplish the design without creating all the overlapping curves by hand and not exporting to a vectoring program?

I doubt it, the text "Weaving effect" and the Font style made it more complex but kudos for that lol!. 

Initially I started doing boolean divide and all that stuff but it just got messy very quickly. In the end I just typed the letters arranged them as you did and worked out the best order to layer them, then created shapes to overlay the hell out of it  it looks more complex than it actually is, it's just getting the mindset right and taking your time with it. Now I've done it I could probably streamline it a bit, not much just a bit.

Warning: don't drink alcohol and do this you'll end up with your fingers in knots 

I reckon you'll get a gold star for this idea, just show him the image and drop the mic 

 

[Alfred]

4 minutes ago, fatkidfrank said:

So if I attempt something like this in the near future is there any way to accomplish the design without creating all the overlapping curves by hand and not exporting to a vectoring program?  Possibly just use the smart mode on the pen and creating the necessary curves?

You shouldn’t need to create any overlapping curves by hand. You can do this kind of thing by clipping a copy of each overlapping letter to a shape which covers the overlap, as described in the thread linked below. (It’s obviously going to be more complicated with multiple overlaps, but it should still be doable.)

 

[firstdefence]

2 minutes ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

You shouldn’t need to create any overlapping curves by hand. You can do this kind of thing by clipping a copy of each overlapping letter to a shape which covers the overlap, as described in the thread linked below. (It’s obviously going to be more complicated with multiple overlaps, but it should still be doable.)

 

I dare you, I double dare you 

[firstdefence]

Ive improved it a bit, added another overlap over the T just because I can and it gives it another kudos point of complexity, and grouped the overlays to make the file neater and easier to change colours.

CAFT scramble outline 2 version3 Scrambles Revenge .afdesign

 

[fatkidfrank]

This looks amazing!! At this point I'm half tempted to ask you just to go into work for me from now on.  I'd have plenty of gold stars after just 1 day!

[fatkidfrank]

50 minutes ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

You shouldn’t need to create any overlapping curves by hand. You can do this kind of thing by clipping a copy of each overlapping letter to a shape which covers the overlap, as described in the thread linked below. (It’s obviously going to be more complicated with multiple overlaps, but it should still be doable.)

 

Thanks for this alfred.  I think I have a lot of experimenting ahead of me...that and I should probably by Affinty's book

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, firstdefence said:

Ive improved it a bit, added another overlap over the T just because I can and it gives it another kudos point of complexity, and grouped the overlays to make the file neater and easier to change colours.

So now all you have to do is work out how all the shadow effects of each interwoven letter should combine for the best 3D effect.   

[firstdefence]

3D is soooooo November, Flat is the new 3D 

[fatkidfrank]

7 hours ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

You shouldn’t need to create any overlapping curves by hand. You can do this kind of thing by clipping a copy of each overlapping letter to a shape which covers the overlap, as described in the thread linked below. (It’s obviously going to be more complicated with multiple overlaps, but it should still be doable.)

 

Alfred, I tried this technique and was successful with just one overlap per letter but when I attempted to drop multiple shapes into the same letter it undid the previous overlap.  Any thoughts on how to do multiple overlaps without creating a letter per overlap?

 

[Alfred]

32 minutes ago, fatkidfrank said:

Any thoughts on how to do multiple overlaps without creating a letter per overlap?

You can reduce the number of letters required by doing a Boolean ‘Add’ of all the clipview shapes for a single letter, but however you do it it’s inevitably going to involve more work for multiple overlaps than for single ones.