I can’t quite pictire what you are talking about, but a layer mask or vector mask would seem to be what you need, I think.
just imagine the number 8…. the first vector looks like a snowman, and the other vectors are like the two holes. instead of adding two white spots to make holes, i want to cut out those two spots from the snowman shape so that i only have the one vector that looks like an 8. can this be done?
I think I know what you mean. You can have "holes" in Shapes. Hold down Alt and make your hole paths.
yes, thats the idea, but ive already drawn the shapes with the pen tool. So can this be done with the pen tool, or only with select mode? because i want to keep it as a vector mask in case i need to increase the size or change colors. and can it be done with a pen shape that is already drawn?
edit:okay, i tried it and it works with the pen tool, but how do i cut a hole with a shape thats already made?
edit2:okay, i got it to work. i just copied the path that i wanted to use to cut, and pasted it onto the one that i wanted to be cut.
thanks for your help
If the outline is just a regular path, and not already a vector mask, make sure it is active in the Paths palette, and use Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color (or you can use the "New Fill or Adjustment Layer" icon at the bottom of the Layers palette, instead of the menu).
Should be able to do it with the Pen tool and Alt even in a pre-existing Shape. I did it to test out my answer, no problem. Make sure you are on the Vector Mask.
