Expert: Amy - 5/21/2009

Question
I am working in Illustrator CS4.

For a logo, I included numerous paint blobs and I want to be able to erase
portions of the paint blob that has "spattered" beyond the logo's base. I tried
isolating each blob, but every time I ran the erase over a portion of it, it
would either reappear or grow larger in size. I also tried to select the one
path that it has (basically, I can only see on black line path for the blob), but
that erases the entire blob when I run the eraser over it. I read somewhere
about putting an arc around the portion I want to remove and then using the
eraser tool, but that made no sense at all. The arc just became another vector
graphic. I am sure there is an easy explanation, but I have been searching in
both the heap/support area as well as via google and can't find anything.  

Also, I reset the art board boundaries to fit closer around the logo, but when I
saved it as a jpg and then when I viewed as a jpg, the image is off center e.g.
upper left or partly cut off. Is there a way to minimize the art board without
impacting the image? In photoshop what you see is what you get when you
crop it or change the background of the image, this doesn't appear to be the
case in Illustrator. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Brooke

Answer
Hi Brooke.

1 - Sounds like you created this with a scatter brush? Erase tool isn't going to work. Expand the brushed stroke first (Object > Expand Appearance), then delete the blobs you don't want by using the white arrow tool, selecting, and hitting the delete key. Warning, you won't be able to edit the original path after this, so make a copy and hide it on another layer first.

2 - Use the crop tool to define the area you want in the finished jpeg. Simply select the crop area tool (or hit Shift+O), then drag the area you want to be in the jpeg and let go. Then, in Save for Web, you'll see that only the cropped area appears... the art board is ignored.

Important: Make sure that in the image size tab of the Save for web dialog, you have NOT selected Clip to Artboard. If it is selected, deselect it and hit apply.

Once you click off of the crop tool, the crop tool display with the grayed out boundaries will be replaced by trim lines. The crop is still active and all future save for webs will follow it. To modify the area you made, select the crop tool and just drag the anchors. To delete it, select the crop tool and make sure the Control window is visible. (Window > Control) You'll see a delete button up there that you can use.

Good luck!
Amy