How do I crop a grouped shape in Illustrator?

You can crop a grouped shape in Illustrator by using the Crop tool. Here's how:

Cropping a Grouped Shape in Illustrator

The Crop Tool in Adobe Illustrator offers a straightforward way to crop groups, without having to ungroup elements.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Select the Group: First, select the grouped shape you want to crop using the Selection Tool (V).
2. Choose the Crop Tool: Select the Crop Tool from the toolbar. It’s usually found under the Eraser tool or within the Shape Builder Tool. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Shift + O.
3. Define the Crop Area: Drag the handles to specify the rectangular area for cropping. This defines the new boundaries of the group.
4. Apply the Crop: Once you've defined the crop area, press the Enter key or click the Apply button in the control panel (or the top toolbar). This action crops the grouped shape to the selected area.

• All the elements outside of the selected area will be discarded, resulting in a cropped version of the group.

5. Fine-tuning: If needed, you can adjust your selection with the selection tool after the crop to move the group, scale it, or perform other operations.

Key Considerations When Cropping Groups:

• The crop function works by defining a bounding box; anything outside that box is removed.
• The crop applies to the entire group as a single object, not each individual component within the group.
• This method allows you to rapidly modify the overall shape of your artwork without manual editing of individual paths.
• As mentioned in the YouTube video (9:23-10:30), the Crop Tool is one of the several ways to alter shapes in Illustrator.

Example Scenario

Let's say you have a group of stars, and you want to remove part of the group because it is overlapping another part of the design. By cropping the group using the above mentioned steps, you can trim down the stars to the exact shape and placement you want.

By following these steps, you can effectively crop any grouped shape in Illustrator, making it a simple but powerful method for refining your vector designs.