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enter image description here

How to merge to circles and rectangle in illustrator from this sketch to make a blob?

enter image description here

Now I'm trying to get this logo (using these shapes). Should I use the Metaball tool to create the one shape or another way?

enter image description here

Trying to get this shape happening (see left)

enter image description here

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  • Is my answer what you're looking for? If not, please explain your desired effect in more detail.
    – Hanna
    Nov 7, 2012 at 7:41
  • @Johannes Hey, Johannes this isn't quite what I'm after although I did it with circles and manually selecting and creating anchor points to delete sections of the circle.
    – Josh
    Nov 7, 2012 at 8:16
  • As an aside...if you're making this for a logo, note the somewhat related Nickelodeon splat. Apr 23, 2014 at 17:05

3 Answers 3

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This is actually something which the Shape Builder Tool makes very easy and you can use the circle configuration you already have....

enter image description here

Without the need to draw any more paths.

  • Simply select the circles and grab the Shape Builder Tool
  • Click and drag on the areas you wish to combine.
  • To remove an area hold the Option/Alt key and click-drag.

This makes it a matter of seconds to get from the circle configuration to the desired end shape.

blob

Note: This assumes the original circle configuration has the circles actually touching one another. If there's a slight gap between circles it may result in uneven curves in the final shape.

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  • Nice manual solution. TIL.
    – CU3ED
    Sep 26, 2017 at 2:24
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Like this?

metaball script

If so then this should do the trick: http://shspage.com/aijs/en/#metaball

metaballing technique

Note that you might want to play with the metaball parameter and interior circle size to get a smoother curve on the ends.

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  • Yeah, that's what I'm after. Now to make it look the way I want.
    – Josh
    Nov 7, 2012 at 6:35
  • You seem to be getting it pretty close on your own. Probably some combination of techniques displayed in this thread will be needed to get you exactly what you want.
    – nine9ths
    Nov 7, 2012 at 8:41
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You can do this from within illustrator using the pathfinder tool:

Just draw out your shapes, select them, and unite them. enter image description here

Another example: enter image description here

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