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The final step is to create the soap bubbles. The circles we created in the first part of the tutorial and then squashed down when we modified the height to 60% represent the flattened portion of the bottom of the bubble. Select one of the larger ellipses and zoom in very close so the bubble shape ellipse appears to be about the size shown above.

Create a circle that is a little bit wider than the bubble shape ellipse. Center the bubble shape ellipse inside the circle so that the sides of the ellipse and circle are touching.

Using the Shape Editor Tool, draw a horizontal line that dissects the place where the circle and the ellipse come together.

Select the line and the circle (not the ellipse) and Arrange > Combine Shapes... Slice Shapes. This divides the circle into two shapes as illustrated above top right in pink and green.

TIP: To draw a horizontal or vertical line with the Shape Editor Tool, click the starting point then click on the page again a short distance away to drop the ending point of the line. Select the end point with the Shape Editor Tool and hold down the Shift and the Ctrl keys and drag. If you drag to the side the line will constrain to horizontal. If you drag up, the line will constrain to a vertical line. You can also drag on an angle.

Copy the ellipse to the clipboard (Ctrl c). Select the top half of the circle and the ellipse and Combine Shapes... Add Shapes. This creates the shape shown on the left with the red outline.

Paste the ellipse on top using Shift Ctrl v. Select the ellipse and the bottom section of the circle and Combine Shapes... Add Shapes. This creates the shape shown on the right with the green outline.

Make a duplicate of the top shape (the bubble). Select the original shape with the Fill Tool then select Circular Fill from the drop down list of Fill Types. Drag the center of the fill up and left a little. Click the inside control point and change the color to white. Click the outside control point and make the color pale yellow. From the Fill Effects drop down list, select Alt Rainbow.

Select the duplicate and apply a Circular Fill using the two shades of gray shown on the bottom. Move the center to the right and down as shown.

Select the Alt Rainbow-filled shape with the Transparency Tool. Select Circular from the drop down list of Transparency Shapes on the Infobar. Drag the center of the transparency down and right as shown. Change the inside Transparency slider setting to 85% and the outside setting to 0%.

Apply a Circular, Bleach transparency to the duplicate shape. Move the center of the transparency down and right as shown. Change the Transparency slider settings to 85% and 0%.

Center the rainbow colored shape over the bleach transparency shape. This makes the top of the bubble.

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