Wipeout or Image Clip using a Circle or Spline

If you ever need to mask part of an image using a circle, you might know that neither WIPEOUT or IMAGECLIP support the selection of a circle. One way to work around this is to use the POLYGON command to draw your “circle” – just use a high number of sides, maybe 200.

After you create the multi-sided polygon, just use the WIPEOUT or IMAGECLIP command. If you use IMAGECLIP, make sure the Invert option is set correctly.

See below for examples. The top image is a inverted image clip created from a 200-sided polygon, which approximates a circle very well. The bottom image contains another 200-sided polygon with a wipeout applied, and a closed spline converted to a polyline, to which an inverted image clip has been applied.

Using wipeout on a circular or irregular curved shaped area