Illustrator space around outline and removing shape

Question

I've used "//" and "\" to create this "W", and have made them into outlines, as I'm trying to give the different layers a colour, as well as having a white space where the lines touch and I would like to remove the top of the second "\".

I'm struggling with the white space at the moment and now I've added a stroke, the fill has decreased. Is there another way I could do this?

I've also tried to use my pen tool to remove the top of the "\" but when using "Path Finder" I cannot find an option to "Minus Forward". I'm a newbie so any advice would be lovely :)

Answer 1

Draw a shape with the pen tool that you would like to remove. So in your case draw a shape around the top part of the backwards slash

Make sure the object is below that blue slash in the layers panel.

Open the Pathfinder window in window - pathfinder. Select both objects and select minus back in the pathfinder options (Lower right option).

See example

The final result will look like this.

For more examples check out this site: http://www.illustratortips.com/index.php/Instruction/Intermediate-Tips/how-to-use-the-illustrator-pathfinder-palette.html

Answer 2

The easiest way to handle this is by simply using the Appearance Panel to arrange things properly first.

I'll assume you've got a "Rounded COrner" effect and then a white stroke on the black areas....

Select the black shapes and click and drag the stroke below the fill on the Appearance panel. This will solve the "shapes get smaller when stroked" issue.

From there, it's a simply matter of selecting it all and choosing Object > Expand Appearance. Then choose Object > Expand (click ok with both fill and stroke checked). Now, click the Merge button on the Pathfinder Panel (not the menu).

This will get you here:

Simply use the Direct Selection Tool (the white arrow) to click the white areas and delete them.