I spent almost 2 hours trying to do this following another video tutorial...after watching this video I took me 3 minutes to learn how to do it. thankuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
I literally spent all day trying to follow all of the other 3D text tutorials and I felt like a complete dunce and failure because the instructions were all so convoluted. I was about to call it quits when I found your video. Your five-minute instruction was so darn basic and easy to understand and follow that I found success. My logo is going to look fantastic now. Thank you!
Don't feel bad. I have been an art director for 13 years and this video just taught me how to do something I have been doing the hard way the whole time.
One of the best illustrator tutorials I have ever watched- detailed enough to be easy to follow, but simple enough to not be overwhelming. I especially appreciated your foresight to potential problems, and explaining how to avoid them. Thank you, thank you! I just subscribed.
This method should be the standard in making 3D text in Illustrator. I've made 3D text following so many different tutorials, and I think this is the easiest, most time-efficient option. Thank you for your easy-to-follow tutorial!
This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks! I laughed about not clicking on the image when selecting strokes/fills, I do that too and it drives me crazy!
this was by far the best tutorial on this...i just looked at to many others that made no sense whatsoever. they either talked too fast or not at all with annoying music playing in the background!
very well..i tried to listen some other people but could not understand the 3d concept easily..but you made this 3d work so easily to work on.. thanks.
Hi from Australia, great tutorial Matt. That's a block shade not a drop shade btw and traditionally they are always placed on the left side of text unless its a script font if you try it I think you'll agree it just looks better balanced. As an old signwriter I find it amazing how clunky Illustrator is with it's text function and effects just have a look at how easy it is using FlexiSign or SignLab for that matter, maybe one day Adobe will wake up to this and make our lives so much easier.
Hello Matt, I have tried numerous times in inches and it does not work, but it does work in pixels. Is there way to do it in inches and have the same effect.
This tutorial doesn't appear to work in the newest AI. Can you help? When I simply select the text it doesn't show the fill color in the appearance window. I have to actually highlight the words to get the fill box to appear. BUT then I am not allowed to add a second fill. (it's grayed out) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hey Matt, Is there a way to use this technique to make custom fonts? I am working on this board game branding project and I need to make a font with this 3d effect and be able to change the color of the 3d part. Would I have to make a different font for each color I want to use?
The 3d Extrude and Bevel effect within the Effects pull down menu is a pretty quick method as well. You just apply that effect with whatever desired angle of 3d you want it to have and then expand appearance (under the object menu) and voila you have your 3d type as well. Both methods required me to go back with the direct selection tool to get the desired colors etc. that I wanted.
Yeah, but your original text or shape needs to be at an angle or you won't see the extrusion. I would love for the 3D tool to be able to apply the extrusion without having to move or rotate the original shape.
I followed the exact same steps; however, the text does not look the same! It looks like multiple texts, not one long shadow. COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS!
Scratch that. Yours is a gold color; mine is white, and you have to click the active link with the dotted underscore. Basic...and I was not paying attention
Question, while this is OK for print or WEB. for vinyl cut graphics this needs to be a single line not jagged at all. can this be done in a smooth vector line without deleting unnecessary nodes afterwards??
When I used a cursive font my shadow was not "connected" to my top layer. My shadow just looks like I made a duplicate and drug it behind my text. How do I get it to look like they are connected and blend?
Aargh. I was so hopeful when I saw the title of this video. I want to be able to do this effect, but not by over complicated it. Corel Draw let's you get this effect with one click and there is no mess of duplicated fills. And the edges are smooth because they're just paths. I switched to Adobe Illustrator over 12 years ago and I still miss the Extrude tool in Corel Draw.
Okay, I am currently trying this method and mind you, I am a beginner at using Illustrator. When I clicked on "add a new fill" the colour of the text changed to black(the colour of the new fill). I tried swapping the layers(on Appearance window) to the back but it doesn't work like Photoshop. So please help me. Thank you.
I like this tutororial but can anyone help me for a 3D graphic that needs to be cut. Even when I put the steps really low it leaves a jagged line, which when cut will show up! Cant figure it out!
Hello Sir, I have a problem, if I follow your instruction, at the end the Back Colour gets doubled or trippled, so there is no straight lane in the shade font. What am I doing wrong?
I used a light green for the extrusion, instead of black, and when I drag and drop the text in a Photoshop smart layer (I am making a product mockup), the light green becomes very desaturated, while other elements of the same green color are exactly like in the illustrator file. I can't understand why this is happening.
When you do the step to create the 3D extrude, make the move distances smaller. I typically try .5pt to start. The jagged edges happen when that distance is too far, and you're able to see each copy.
Thank You, this was very helpful. I have an older version of ILLUSTRATOR CS3, are there any major differences between my version and later versions of ILLUSTRATOR?
This also can be done with blending tool. There is a single problem with both techniques. After expanding/converting the shadow into shape you will get a lot of useless shapes and vertices that follow the smooth of the shadow(visible only in outline mode). To avoid any problems when printing/rooting etc, i recommend to clean the shapes manually. (to obtain single shapes for each letter).
Same comment as as Nathalie. Except I had to sit through a person twirling the 3D revolver like a toy without explaining how to do it. Your tutorial took 2 minutes and its a breeze to edit. The other way(s) (i saw many approaches to do this) and it involved converting the text to outlines... and it WAS destructive, and no way to edit it afterwards :( Thank you so much Matt. Subscribed.
I also make Photoshop and Illustrator kits and textures to help you make amazing things! Check them out here: bit.ly/3aWqZpF
instablaster
I spent almost 2 hours trying to do this following another video tutorial...after watching this video I took me 3 minutes to learn how to do it. thankuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
@107309255235583630046 That's amazing, thank you!
same here!!!
I literally spent all day trying to follow all of the other 3D text tutorials and I felt like a complete dunce and failure because the instructions were all so convoluted. I was about to call it quits when I found your video. Your five-minute instruction was so darn basic and easy to understand and follow that I found success. My logo is going to look fantastic now. Thank you!
same here bro. I lost all day watching all kinds of 3D tutorials and got so beaten up.
This was so helpful! After browsing about 20 videos on the topic, yours is the only tutorial that worked, and it worked FAST. Thank you!
I’ve been using illustrator for over six years now and I just figured out how to do this thank you so much
Don't feel bad. I have been an art director for 13 years and this video just taught me how to do something I have been doing the hard way the whole time.
One of the best illustrator tutorials I have ever watched- detailed enough to be easy to follow, but simple enough to not be overwhelming. I especially appreciated your foresight to potential problems, and explaining how to avoid them. Thank you, thank you! I just subscribed.
This method should be the standard in making 3D text in Illustrator. I've made 3D text following so many different tutorials, and I think this is the easiest, most time-efficient option. Thank you for your easy-to-follow tutorial!
No problem! This way does work out pretty sweet, and it doesn't put too much strain on the file either.
This has been one of the most useful ILLUSTRATOR tutorials I have watched since I discovered it 2 years ago.
Glad to hear that Mustafa :)
Dude you rock! there's another video out there which pulls up first when one searches, but the gent skips this whole process, thank you!
This is so fast! Much easier than I have previously been doing! Thanks!
This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks! I laughed about not clicking on the image when selecting strokes/fills, I do that too and it drives me crazy!
:)
This saved me $40 in buying a 3D illustrator template. IT does exactly what I need it to do, thank you!!!
this was by far the best tutorial on this...i just looked at to many others that made no sense whatsoever. they either talked too fast or not at all with annoying music playing in the background!
Glad it was helpful Coquie :)
GREAT STUFF!!
Easily the best Illustrator tutorial I have ever seen. Learned so many other small things like Shift+Click to get RGB menu. Subscribed!
I never even knew this appearance window existed and now I use it so much. Thank you
Nice :)
very well..i tried to listen some other people but could not understand the 3d concept easily..but you made this 3d work so easily to work on..
thanks.
Hi from Australia, great tutorial Matt.
That's a block shade not a drop shade btw and traditionally they are always placed on the left side of text unless its a script font if you try it I think you'll agree it just looks better balanced. As an old signwriter I find it amazing how clunky Illustrator is with it's text function and effects just have a look at how easy it is using FlexiSign or SignLab for that matter, maybe one day Adobe will wake up to this and make our lives so much easier.
+John Crash Thanks, and thanks for sharing your knowledge as well!
New time saver UNLOCKED!! thanks Matt
Worth mentioning that if you change the "Move" numbers to negative i.e. -0.25 or whatever works, then the extrusion will go the opposite direction.
Hello Matt,
I have tried numerous times in inches and it does not work, but it does work in pixels.
Is there way to do it in inches and have the same effect.
2021 and this works well. Thanks for posting!
Can you link the setuper channel, soft and track, so you don't have to color and rena 3 tis ? Btw aweso video!
Incredibly knowledgeable and we'll-spoken teacher. Nice tutorials comfortableness with the subject makes starting soft real exciting!!
So what is you want the extruded "shadow" in a different perspective - say lower left or upper left?
this tutorial just saved my life. thank you!!!
because in the intro for example I want to make an acoustic soft, but later I want to make a distortion or any other effects in that sa
Thanks for making this video short and clear! Appreciated.
This tutorial doesn't appear to work in the newest AI. Can you help? When I simply select the text it doesn't show the fill color in the appearance window. I have to actually highlight the words to get the fill box to appear. BUT then I am not allowed to add a second fill. (it's grayed out) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
make the type into an outline using shift + Command + O (for Mac)
Followed it exactly and its not working for me. idk what im doing wrong
Wow. Compared to other videos this is soooo much more efficient and effective. Thanks!
Thanks!
Thank you for posting an easy to understand tutorial.
Whaaat can't believe I didn't know this! Thanks for the great tutorial.
Hey Matt, Is there a way to use this technique to make custom fonts? I am working on this board game branding project and I need to make a font with this 3d effect and be able to change the color of the 3d part. Would I have to make a different font for each color I want to use?
No, you should be able to just adjust the colors by changing the color of the fill / strokes. Should be pretty easy!
May i know what is the font type you used? Its simply amazing
The 3d Extrude and Bevel effect within the Effects pull down menu is a pretty quick method as well. You just apply that effect with whatever desired angle of 3d you want it to have and then expand appearance (under the object menu) and voila you have your 3d type as well. Both methods required me to go back with the direct selection tool to get the desired colors etc. that I wanted.
Yeah, but your original text or shape needs to be at an angle or you won't see the extrusion. I would love for the 3D tool to be able to apply the extrusion without having to move or rotate the original shape.
Hi, When I pull up the appearance window and click on my text the options in the appearance window leave? Help?
definitely diving into your videos. Thank you so much for taking the ti to teach us that are green in the field. Have a great day
Just wondering will this effect show if work is printed?
Thanks bud! great video and instructions.
Hi. How or can I separate the effect on text just to use it on silkscreen printing?thank you.
I followed the exact same steps; however, the text does not look the same! It looks like multiple texts, not one long shadow.
COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS!
Works great...but...how did you embed 'transform effect' within the Appearance drop down. My CC20 box does not appear to do or have that.
Scratch that. Yours is a gold color; mine is white, and you have to click the active link with the dotted underscore. Basic...and I was not paying attention
Glad to hear you figured it out Steve! Sorry I didn't see this before then.
I set my text us the same way you did and I’m still getting the fx part not working out?
Question, while this is OK for print or WEB. for vinyl cut graphics this needs to be a single line not jagged at all. can this be done in a smooth vector line without deleting unnecessary nodes afterwards??
This method would probably be better for that - ua-cam.com/video/xO6Ta0629EI/v-deo.html
I needed this! I've been using Drop Shadow this whole time and haven't been happy with it. Thank you!
Glad to hear it! :)
Awesome tutorial, thank you!!!
thank you so much, it works
i want to start making soft and rapping i have an acer laptop. does soft soft co with good softs already?
loved this tutorial. quick, easy, and straight to the point. thanks! +1 thumbs up
still helpful in 2021 - thanks
This was super helpful, thanks so much for sharing
how can i add stroke to the second fill on the text
Thank you Matt!
Wow! Perfect, thank you!
You’re amazing! Just found this now and it’s exactly what I needed. Thank you!
So easy! Thanks!
Excellent and very clear tutorial! U R Z Best!!!
Quickest tutorial on this subject I've yet to find - thank you!
Exactly what I needed ty
Awesome tutorial! Has it always been this simple to create the 3D effect?😂🙆♂🙆♂
You saved my life, thank you very much !!!
I'm always happy to save lives.
When I used a cursive font my shadow was not "connected" to my top layer. My shadow just looks like I made a duplicate and drug it behind my text. How do I get it to look like they are connected and blend?
Thankyouuu! Help me a lottttt!
Aargh. I was so hopeful when I saw the title of this video. I want to be able to do this effect, but not by over complicated it. Corel Draw let's you get this effect with one click and there is no mess of duplicated fills. And the edges are smooth because they're just paths. I switched to Adobe Illustrator over 12 years ago and I still miss the Extrude tool in Corel Draw.
Did you Copy paste in place first?
Rockstar! Thank you.
My effects menu doesn’t have the transform/ distort option 😭
nice! but what if your font as transparent in it?
for me the first copy creates a little black outline around the letter.
Okay, I am currently trying this method and mind you, I am a beginner at using Illustrator. When I clicked on "add a new fill" the colour of the text changed to black(the colour of the new fill). I tried swapping the layers(on Appearance window) to the back but it doesn't work like Photoshop. So please help me. Thank you.
Thankyou so so so much this video
I like this tutororial but can anyone help me for a 3D graphic that needs to be cut. Even when I put the steps really low it leaves a jagged line, which when cut will show up! Cant figure it out!
I appreciate you! Thank you!
I tried this tutorial but the shadows are pixels how to fix that
What if you want the shadow to go the opposite way? as in -45 degrees for example. Can't figure it out.
Enter a negative value in for the pixel movement.
Thank you!!! Could not figure this out anywhere!!
This was very helpful, thanks!
How can you do this on an iPad?
Hello Sir, I have a problem, if I follow your instruction, at the end the Back Colour gets doubled or trippled, so there is no straight lane in the shade font. What am I doing wrong?
this is so helpful! and so quick
Glad it was helpful Amy :)
Thank you very much for this trick
dude, you just saved me. thank you so much!
I used a light green for the extrusion, instead of black, and when I drag and drop the text in a Photoshop smart layer (I am making a product mockup), the light green becomes very desaturated, while other elements of the same green color are exactly like in the illustrator file. I can't understand why this is happening.
Excellent, clear directions, Matt! Will look at more. Thanks - Bruce
Thank you Bruce :)
i dont have "packs" folder at the right side x) help
Hey Matt, how do you get rid of jagged edges that are created after doing this?
When you do the step to create the 3D extrude, make the move distances smaller. I typically try .5pt to start. The jagged edges happen when that distance is too far, and you're able to see each copy.
can this be done similarly in photoshop?
You can definitely achieve this effect in Photoshop, although I haven't found a way quite as elegant in terms of ability to edit the text afterwords.
Thank You, this was very helpful.
I have an older version of ILLUSTRATOR CS3, are there any major differences between my version and later versions of ILLUSTRATOR?
Thank you, it is super useful! And just wonder is it possible to save this style, and use it again when we need it by just one click?
carolboat Yep, watch this: ua-cam.com/video/BactW0m7Amw/v-deo.html
nice teacher thank you so much
hi does anyone know how come my text won’t let me add a fill in the layer?? it just won’t allow me and idk how to add the effects. Thanks!
This also can be done with blending tool. There is a single problem with both techniques. After expanding/converting the shadow into shape you will get a lot of useless shapes and vertices that follow the smooth of the shadow(visible only in outline mode). To avoid any problems when printing/rooting etc, i recommend to clean the shapes manually. (to obtain single shapes for each letter).
Or you can simply merge all the shapes together removing all the unnecessary shapes once you're done using the pathfinder panel.
Yep, but the vertices still remain, unfrotunately.
Same comment as as Nathalie. Except I had to sit through a person twirling the 3D revolver like a toy without explaining how to do it.
Your tutorial took 2 minutes and its a breeze to edit. The other way(s) (i saw many approaches to do this) and it involved converting the text to outlines... and it WAS destructive, and no way to edit it afterwards :(
Thank you so much Matt. Subscribed.
+Michael Sharp (TechniSmart) Glad to hear it was helpful :D
Thanks a lot 🙏🙏🙏
Helps A LOT! Thanks
how do you make the 3d effect to be just the online not filled with color?
Excellent - thanks!
Thank you ! Very helpful.
It really is a very useful video! Thank you so much!