How do I use the Create Shape tools with multiple nested vectors and a custom profile in Aspire to make rings, borders, and frame moldings?

The Create Shape tools are not limited to a single boundary vector. Selecting multiple nested vectors simultaneously creates ring-shaped or frame-shaped components, a critical technique for sign borders, picture frames, and decorative panel edges. This entry covers nesting, Preserve Internal Corners, Blend To Inner Vectors, and combining nested vectors with a custom profile.

How Multi-Vector Nesting Works

When you select an outer vector and one or more inner vectors before running a Create Shape tool, the software treats them as a nested set:

• The outermost vector defines the outer edge of the shape
• Inner vectors create holes or islands, so the shape only exists in the region between the outer and inner vectors
• The profile rises from the outer edge and from the inner edge toward the center line of the band

This is how you create a raised border, molding frame, ring, or a letter with counters (select the letter outline and its counter vectors together) without any manual subtracting or Boolean operations.

Step-by-Step: Creating a Rectangular Sign Border

1. Draw your outer rectangle (for example 24" by 18")
2. Draw an inner rectangle inset by your desired border width (for example 22" by 16")
3. Select both vectors (click the outer vector, then Shift+click the inner one)
4. Open one of the Create Shape tools: Round, Angled, Smooth or Custom
5. Set height and profile parameters
6. Click Apply. The border component appears only in the band between the two rectangles

Preserve Internal Corners

The Round, Angled, Smooth and Custom forms have a Preserve Internal Corners checkbox. For rectangular or polygonal frames, the internal corners of the shape can curve into the center line and look rounded.

• Unchecked: the internal sides curve into the center line where the two sides meet, giving rounded internal corners (like a roof valley that curves).
• Checked: the internal sides stay straight until both sides converge at the corner's center line, giving a defined sharp crease and a point, as if the corners were perfectly mitered (like two pitched roof wings meeting at a building corner).

Use it for frames, mitered borders and geometric shapes with crisp corners. Leave it off for organic shapes and anything that should flow smoothly around corners.

Blend To Inner Vectors

The Smooth and Custom forms also have a Blend To Inner Vectors option. The Round and Angled forms do not have it. It applies the selected profile across the selected vectors and blends it from the outside of the vectors to the inner vectors, giving a smooth transition between nested shapes instead of an abrupt cutoff at the inner vector.

• Unchecked: the profile is applied around each of the selected vectors.
• Checked: the profile blends from the outside of the vectors to the inner vectors.

Setting it up:

1. Draw your outer closed vector (for example a large circle, the outer boundary of a plaque)
2. Draw one or more inner closed vectors inside it
3. Select both (click the outer vector, then Shift+click the inner one)
4. Open Create Shape - Smooth or Create Shape - Custom
5. Tick Blend To Inner Vectors, choose your profile and click Apply

Limit or Scale still control the final height, Base Height adds a flat base plane below the shape, and Preserve Internal Corners still applies.

Use cases: raised borders on plaques and medallions with a defined inner recess; rings or frames that taper smoothly from the outer edge to the inner edge; layered sign designs where the border transitions into a central flat area; rosette centers where petals blend from an outer ring to an inner boss. Try it with different outer and inner shapes (for example an outer circle with an inner square), try both settings on a nested set, and compare in the 3D view before you commit.

Three or More Nested Vectors

You can nest as many vectors as needed:

• Outer rectangle, band, inner rectangle, inner band, inner oval = concentric profile rings
• Complex sign panel with outer border, inner border, and a centered oval frame, all in one operation
• Concentric circles give alternating peaks and valleys between each pair

The Custom Shape Tool (Your Own Profile)

Create Shape - Custom uses a vector you draw to define the profile, instead of the standard Round, Angled or Smooth profiles. For the full workflow, the leg rule and troubleshooting, see the entry on the Custom Profile option.

1. Draw your closed boundary vector(s), the outline of the shape you want to create
2. Draw an open vector that represents the profile cross-section (what the shape looks like in side view). The profile must be open, not closed
3. Select the boundary vector(s) AND the profile vector
4. Open Create Shape - Custom
5. The shape comes from the part of the profile above the line joining its two end points, so the profile should usually have a leg. A profile without a leg is interpreted differently by the software (see the pictures in the official documentation), so check the 3D preview

Combining Nested Vectors with a Custom Profile

This is a standard technique for creating sign frame moldings:

1. Draw your two boundary vectors (outer and inner)
2. Draw an ogee or cove profile vector (open, with a leg)
3. Select all three
4. Open Create Shape - Custom, leave Blend To Inner Vectors unchecked, and tick Preserve Internal Corners for rectangular frames
5. Click Apply
6. Result: a consistent molding profile running around the frame

Compound Shapes by Stacking

You can run Create Shape several times on the same or different vectors with different combine modes. For example, make a beveled letter with an Angled profile, then make a second Flat component from the same outline (or an inset copy) set to Subtract to cut a flat top into the bevel. Try the heights on scrap or in the 3D view first.

Use Cases

• Molding borders: draw an ogee or cove profile and run it around a rectangular border, like a physical router molding bit
• Sign backgrounds: raised border with routed inner field
• Picture frames: full molding profile CNC-cut as a relief component
• Plaque bases and rims: stepped edge profiles or a Round shape between two circles for a raised rim
• Cabinet door panels: raised or recessed panel profiles
• Rosette rings: concentric rings at different heights to build up a medallion base

Common Problems