In the newest release of Adobe Illustrator (CS5), there are 3 drawing modes: Draw Normal, Draw Behind and Draw Inside. Draw Normal is the default drawing mode. The default mode simply means that the arrangement of your objects will appear in the order in which you draw them.
Illustrator CS5 added two new drawing modes: Draw Behind and Draw Inside. Draw behind simply means that the arrangement of your objects will appear in the opposite order of the default mode. Any object drawn will appear behind all current objects on your art board. The biggest change to the Drawing Modes panel is the addition of the Draw Inside mode. Think of it as another way to create a clipping mask. A dotted line will indicate that the Draw Inside mode is activated (example below). The first object drawn in this mode will be the “mask” for any other object drawn. In the example below, the 2nd object drawn was the blue square and it is masked to fit in the circle shape.
You can use the Draw Inside mode for other objects such as lines, text and brush strokes. It’s easy to use and helps you work more efficiently!
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