After I make a pattern, in this case an HO scale brick wall, I also make a rectangle to use as a window opening in the brick pattern. I then move the rectangle over the brick pattern and use 2 different colors, one to engrave the brick pattern and the other to cut out the rectangle window opening.
The problem I’m having is that after I place the rectangle over the brick, click on the brick, click on the rectangle, and click on “cut shapes”, I can remove the brick pattern inside the rectangle, but it also removes the rectangle itself. I tried duplicating the rectangle to no avail.
How do I remove the pattern inside the rectangle but retain the rectangle itself?
I did pretty much what you did. I added the rectangle opening to the brick wall. I selected the wall and then the rectangle. When I used the “cut shapes”, it cut out the bricks, but it also eliminated the rectangle, even when I duplicated it. I need to keep the rectangle so I can cut out the opening.
Sorry if this is a bit confusing, not as tech savvy as I could be.
Good point. No real reason other than to speed up the process a bit. If I design a building with 20 windows and doors, it’ll save some time. It just bugs me that I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong, if anything.
The use of this feature is essential in my opinion. I have also made a small Christmas house with many openings on the existing brickwork.
I’ll make a little video as soon as I have time and peace for it, then we can try to go from there.
It went faster than expected, here is a small demo of how it works (here for me).
Notice that I duplicate the square and set it up on the red layer. Then I deselect everything, select my brickwork and the red square afterwards, as the cutting tool.
Cut shapes mark everything outside as the result, but a click inside the window reverses the selection. Now I delete contents of my red “help window” and the bricks and the red window disappears.
Are you clicking to select the cutting shape? If you’re dragging it will be selecting both rectangles.
Potentially, you could duplicate the rectangle (crtl+D) then put that rectangle on a different layer, toggle the visibility of that layer in the layers menu so you can’t see it anymore, perform your cut, and then turn that rectangle layer back to visible.
You shouldn’t need to do all that, but it will at least preserve it.
Correct, but I can’t clearly show it in a “normal” YouTube video, so I try to make it more visible this way and I also go through the menus to show what I do.
I use shortcuts a lot, it’s the fastest way.
I have rationalised those steps to a single step … but many roads lead to Rom
Thanks for the input.
Billie, is there a chance to grab the Videotool you lightburn people use for your short and direct video explanations?
I have made many short explanation videos for friends here in our forum and it will save me tons of time. Especially when I don’t want to become a “you tuber”.
Here’s what I did.
Brick wall- individual bricks grouped as wall so wall is one image
opening in wall- black rectangle
rectangle moved into wall, made duplicate in different color, turned black layer off
Selected wall, selected rectangle, hit “cut shape”, nothing happened
Finally got it. I select the wall, then add the opening, duplicate it, change the color, turn of the black layer, select the wall again, and press “cut shapes” it works!
I was adding the opening before I selected the wall the first time.
Okay, so now how do I do multiple openings in the wall all at once, such as a set of window openings? I tried selecting 2 openings, but only one of them worked.
