Convert Path in to editable Shape Illustrator 22

Question

Illustrator newbie here - I downloaded an AI file with of a heart that is a single layer/single path as you can see here:

What I want to do is fill this with text - I know you can use envelope distort, but it's not having the intended effect. This technique works if I draw say a circle; as this has a "stroke" and a "fill". The heart shape is a single path and I can't interact with the "middle" which is what I think the issue is.

I think I need to convert this path into 2 shapes; effectively an "outside" heart. and the inside heart which is in white at the moment. I could then fill this with text while leaving the blue outline heart intact.

I don't even know what to google - I tried converting to a compound path and a shape but it just fails/doesn't do anything.

Any guidance appreciated.

thanks

Answer 1

1. Your object has overlapping paths, so you need to fix that before continuing

2. Select the heart, and in the Pathfinder, hit the Unite button to turn it into a compound path with a distinct inner and outer path, with no overlaps.

3. Copy Ctrl+C and Paste in Front Ctrl+F. Click Object > Compound Path > Release or use the shortcut Alt+Shift+Ctrl+8. Select and delete the outer path, leaving the inner path and the copy of the heart graphic behind. Now you can type inside the inner path using the text tool.

In the example below, I have filled the inside of the heart grey so you can see it's a separate shape.

Answer 2

Select the shape and use the Shape Builder Tool

Cmd + M Mac or Ctrl + M Win, click each part of the shape.