13. Filling Shapes and Using Strokes

• Introducing the Fill tools

• Selecting a shape

• Defining a fill region

• Selecting and transferring colors

• Adding a stroke

• Changing stacking order

Lines created on a vector layer aren’t rendered unless they have a fill and a stroke. If a line is drawn without any stroke, then the line won’t appear when the project is rendered. A fill is a colored area that is applied to a closed shape. When a fill is selected, it is highlighted with a checkerboard pattern. Selected shapes can be filled with a color and effects as defined in the Style palette.

Independent of a shape’s fill, the curves that make up the shape can also be colored and styled. When a color, line width, or effect is applied to a curve, it is called a stroke. Strokes can be applied to an entire curve or to only a portion of a curve.

When fills and strokes overlap, the fill and stroke that are visible are determined by the object’s stacking order. The stacking order can be adjusted as needed.