How to Make a Live Paint Group on Adobe Illustrator CS5

Fill areas of your artwork using Live Paint.

Live Paint is an Adobe Illustrator CS5 tool that allows you to rapidly fill vector images with different colors. Prior to filling a section of an artwork with a color, Illustrator must convert the object to a Live Paint Group. Illustrator combines the artwork selected for the Live Paint into a single group. Once grouped, it distinguishes each fill section by every enclosed area.

Instructions

1. Select the "Selection" tool.

2. Select the artwork that you want to convert to a Live Paint Group, then hold down the "Shift" key to select multiple paths.

3. Click on the "Object" menu, then hover over "Live Paint" and select "Make."

4. Click on the "Live Paint Bucket" tool. Select the desired color that you want to use from the Color panel or the Swatches panel.

5. Hover the mouse over the Live Paint Group; a red outline will appear around an area that you can paint. Click in the area to add the select color.

Tips & Warnings

• When the Live Paint Bucket tool is selected, press the right or left arrow key to scroll through the colors in the Swatches panel.

• Transparencies and effects will be removed when an object is converted to a Live Paint Group.

• Type, bitmap images and brushes cannot be converted to Live Paint Groups.

References

• Adobe Illustator CS5: Create Live Paint Groups
• Adobe Press; Creative Drawing in Adobe Illustrator CS4; Mordy Golding; January 2009