Editable Happy Shiny Text with Illustrator

By Matt Herndon
2008-02-01


Shinny Happy Text

Make your text shine with this tutorial as we take plain dull text and transform with some cool shine effects and keep the text editable!

Let’s get started. First you want to pick out your font type. This effect works best with thicker sans-serif fonts, but don’t let that stop you from being creative with your type.

Begin with some type.

Next you need to open your Appearance palate (Window>Appearance) and click on the upper right hand arrow. Select Add New Fill.

      

It should automatically fill with black, but if it doesn’t that’s OK. 

Next, you will want to click on the Fill in the Appearance palate. Choose an existing or custom gradient from the Swatch palates to make your gradient.

You can also drag colors onto the Gradient Sliders area from the Color and Swatch palates to create new gradients. If you want to change a color just drag your new color choice on top of the existing color. This will replace the old color.

Adjust the colors on your gradient box by either sliding the colors left or right or sliding the little diamond shapes above (Which adjust the spread of the colors throughout the gradient).

     

Now lets get the correct direction we want our gradient to flow in. Select the Gradient Blend tool.

Position the crosshairs above or below the text and click + drag. The gradient should change according to the angle you move the tool in. To get a more technically straight gradient, hold down the shift key as you drag. Adjust the colors and sliders until pleased. J

That’s pretty much it for a shiny gradient. Jazz it up more with an outline in the same fashion as you did the Fill, but use the Stroke. Select Add New Stroke in the Appearance palate and choose your color. However on the stroke, click + drag the color swatch underneath Character. This will keep your fill on top of your stroke. Open the Stroke palate to increase the stroke to the desired thickness.

Add a drop shadow for depth.  (Make sure you click the art board the back onto your text before applying the drop shadow or other effect. If not, it will cause the effect to position itself on the layer you are working – for some undesired results).

Add other effects into the mix by adjusting color and direction of the gradient. Here the text looks like a reflective metal in gold.

…the gradient.

Then just angle the gradient with the Gradient tool.  (Or type in the specific Angle you want in the gradient palate). Add a Stroke and Drop Shadow for an additional effect.

For a more rounded and gel look –

Adjust the gradient with lighter colors on the edges.

It may take a few tries with the gradient tool to get the desired look, but it’s VECTOR and it’s EDITABLE!!

Tutorial Pages:
» Shinny Happy Text

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