Silhouette 'Subtract' & 'Subtract All' Tool Tutorial

Let's talk about the Silhouette Subtract Tool today.  I had a reader question about how to use it recently so I thought it was worth a quick lesson. 

The subtract tool lets you cut out or subtract sections of designs so they perfectly align with other designs. In this example, a portion of the M and B are subtracted around the ampersand.

The secret to the subtract tool is layers. Depending on which layer of your design is in the foreground and which is in the background will determine what piece is 'subtracted.'

For this example, since I wanted M and B to have subtracted areas, I made sure the '&' was 'in front.'

Okay let's get started.
Open Silhouette Studio and head to the Design area.

I used an ampersand design I had in my Silhouette Studio library. I ungrouped and released the compound path to delete all the diagonal lines.

Once the ampersand was ready in Silhouette Studio, I added my M and B. I typed them each separately so I could position them freely without them being grouped.

I resized the letters and then overlapped them with the ampersand so it looked like this.

I then brought the & to the front (highlight the & only > right click > bring to front).  It's important to remember that the image(s) you DO NOT want sections deleted from need to be in the front.

It's easiest to see the order of layers if you fill them with a color using the fill color tool

Now it's time to start subtracting. Open the Modify panel from the right tool bar.

Select the entire design at once and click 'Subtract All'.  You must highlight/select the foreground image and the background image at the same time for the subtract all or subtract tools to work.

It will look like nothing happened...

...but if you move the designs apart you can see the area of the M that was covered by the ampersand has been subtracted.

Everywhere on the letters that was overlapped by the ampersand was deleted as you can see in this before and after.   You can work in small sections ie just the M and the ampersand or you can highlight all three designs at the same time when subtracting all.

I cut the letters on one paper and the ampersand on a coordinating paper  and then mounted them on another complimentary color to really make them pop.  I think this would be cute in a bedroom shared by siblings or for twins.  If you use more romantic or subtle paper it would even work for a master bedroom or as stationary. There are so many possibilities.

Here's a closer view at the subtracted area and how it comes together.

Now if you're wondering what the difference is between 'Subtract' and 'Subtract All' this is how the Silhouette manual describes each:

Subtract:  This option will remove all overlapping parts of images that are in front of

other images, so that only the image located in back will remain with the overlapping

parts removed.

Subtract All: This option will remove any portion of an image that is in back behind another image

I find a graphic more easy to understand so here's one I created to show the effect you get on a single design depending on what's in the foreground and background and whether you use the 'subtract' or 'subtract all' tool.  Note: The top images included two circles originally, but one of the circles is no longer visible after using the subtract tool. 

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!