This is a recurring problem for me which has cropped up again recently.
I have a rectangular object, a clipping mask with shapes inside, which needs to be warped to a very specific shape using the Envelope Distort tool. If nothing inside the clipping mask extends beyond the limits of the mask (if nothing is actually being clipped), it works exactly as expected.
However, if anything is being hidden by the clipping mask, the envelope distort includes the clipped content in the overall size and shape that is warped, which makes the result wrong; the rectangle of the clipping mask is not warped 1:1 with the envelope shape.
Any ideas? I feel like there's an "Ignore Clipping Mask" check box somewhere that I'm missing.
I'm very confident that this is possible, as I am working with some production files from an unknown source that appear to have been done this way. If it matters, I do not have any rasters within the clipping mask, but I do need to avoid flattening the mask–the content needs to remain vector when the warp is complete.