Adding 'Holes' to B Shape

Completed letter B

Next step is to create the 'holes' in the B. This will be a review of the procedure used to subtract a shape from letter A, but this time we need to make 2 holes!

Deselect the B shape. Create new circle shape.
Ellipse Tool
Colors: Black outline. no fill.
Tool options: Circle shape, Show Nodes, Create on Vector, Line Style Solid, Width 3, Anti-Alias checked.

Draw 2 circles in the of B for the 'holes'. Make the bottom 'hole' slightly larger than the top one.

Shape Tool: Select top circle, right click, select 'Convert to Path'.
Switch to...
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Right click, Edit>Select All
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Right click, Edit>Reverse Contour
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Right click, Edit>Cut
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Select colored B shape (nodes should be visible), right click, select Edit>Paste. The 2 shapes are now combined and one 'hole' has been subtracted from the B.

Repeat for the other 'hole'.
Shape Tool or Pick Tool: Select bottom black circle, right click, select Convert to Path. Switch to...
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Right click, Edit>Select all
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Right click, Edit>Reverse Contour
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Right click, Edit>Cut
Pen Tool-Edit mode: Select colored B shape (nodes should be visible), right click, select Edit>Paste to subtract 2nd shape.

On the B layer of your Layer Palette, there are now 2 sub-layers named 'new ellipse' that are blank. Again, for sake of neatness, remove these sub-layers by right-clicking the layer on Layer Palette and selecting 'Clear'.

Now the shape looks more like a B, but it probably needs a little fine-tuning. Use the Pen tool to select nodes and adjust control arms to smooth the curves until B looks more like finished shape above. I think the B looks better if bottom half ('belly') is larger than top and holes are aligned.

Tip: Don't make the 'holes' too big or B won't look like a chubby bubble!

To move or resize the 'holes' in the B without distorting the circle shape, select all 4 nodes of the circle first. Either drag a selection around the circle with the Pen tool or hold down the Shift key while selecting each node with cursor.

Deselect B. You can also hide visibility for B layer now. Click the 'eye' icon on Layer Palette to hide.