In the long run it's easier to separate the object by doing break apart and then combining each object into its own path you will have to work in outline mode at first and use the alternative selection tool, but you will find it goes very fast This is more what I was looking for than tylerdurden's(...

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, I'm looking to color only the lines and am mostly not going to be filling anything in, so this will not solve my problem. I suppose I should have clarified that.

Ok, so I've been trying to separate out the various tools and utensils (staplers, exacto knives, and anything else falling from the skirt) depicted in my file from the girl so that I can color them differently. Pictured here: https://i.imgur.com/7q7AnIj.png Now, suppose I use this rectangle path: ht...