I have this silhouette of a deer I'd like to put inside an oval with none of the rectangle outside of it showing.


I can do the clipping mask but is there a way to "apply" the clipping mask so it is editable afterwards? For example, I want to put a stroke around the entire object, but I keep getting this.


Thank you!

Clipping paths just affects the amount of your object that is visible - it doesn't affect the actual geometry of your object. So in your case you can imagine that the shape still has the square corners, so the stroke you apply is actually drawn round the outside of the square, and then the clip is applied so that you only see the bits inside your circle.

For what you want to achieve it would be better to use a Boolean operation. Rather than clipping with the red circle, select both the object and the circle then use Path > Intersection. This will affect the actual geometry, removing the square corners completely. You can then apply your stroke.

Additionally, clip paths can be edited when you activate the corresponding button:



I agree a clip path is not the best solution in this case

Moini wrote:Additionally, clip paths can be edited when you activate the corresponding button

Probably not in this case - editing works when the clipping path is actually a path, but not when it's a primitive such as a rectangle or ellipse (which I suspect is the case with the OP). Using Path > Object to Path on any primitive that you wish to use as a clipping path is often a good idea for exactly this reason.

It does work now, although the coordinate system is messed up a bit, with the clip being in the defs.

Wow, thanks for the good information everyone! Path > Intersection worked.

Moini wrote:It does work now, although the coordinate system is messed up a bit, with the clip being in the defs.

I just tried again, and you're right - though I would argue that the coordinate system is so messed up as to make it practically unusable.

With my test image the handles for altering the circle were so far away from the circle itself - and so differently sized - that effectively modifying the clip path using them would be very difficult. I'll stick to converting to a path, or unclipping if I want to retain the primitive, until the handles can appear at the right position and scale.

Fyi, little moot vocabulary lesson. A Clip and a Mask are similar, but different things. A mask typically uses a blur or gradient with transparency, to create a sort of feathering effect on the objects inside the mask path. And the mask also acts like a clip too, for hiding outer areas.

The clip is for hiding the unwanted outer areas, only.

Well, both clip and mask could hide inner areas, such as creating a donut type of shape, if you create the paths properly.

Xav, I agree, I wouldn't recommend making use of that feature. I think it was even mirrored