In a previous tip I showed you how to group shapes together. This comes in helpful if you need to move those shapes to a new part of the slide or change the size. Unfortunately, some shapes do not scale well especially if you do not group them. Here I should like to show you how you can create a more complex selection of shapes that appear as a single item.
How to draw a cat
- Start with the head.
- Select the [ellipse tool] and click and release towards the top of the slide.
- Select the ellipse tool again, but this time, click, hold and drag to create a fat ellipse. When you are drawing this object, it may not sit quite where you expect it to sit.
You need to align the two images one under the other, using the [aligning tool] in the Drawing Section of the Home tab within the [Arrange] tool drop-down list.
- Remember to select both objects before selecting the Arrange list to use Align.
- Select [Align Centre].
The result is this.
- Click away from the two objects you have drawn and you will not have anything selected.
- Notice that there is an outline to both objects and where they overlap you can clearly see that this is two objects. With the last object sitting on the top layer.
- Draw two ears using the triangle tool.
- Move them to the right places on top of the head.
Your cat will look like this.
How to make one object from several
- Select all the objects together.
- Select the [Shape Format tab].
- In the first section called [Insert Shapes] select the dropdown arrow next to [Merge Shapes].
A list appears to show five alternatives to choose from. 
- I shall select the first one – Union.
My cat will look like this.
There is still a black outline but it goes all around the outside of this one shape. A cat.
- To finish off the cat draw a tail using the [freeform: scribble tool] or the [curve tool].
- Use the Format Shape side window to thicken the tail to you desired thickness.
- Then group the tail and cat together, as we did in the previous tip.
- Draw some whiskers too and you will have a cat that looks a little like this.
I hope you enjoyed drawing a cat with me. Explore the other choices in the Merge Shapes list. You might find the shape you have been looking for but have not found and now it’s so easy to create. Have fun!
