Making Text Three-Dimensional in Illustrator

Gradients are great for giving dimension to things. Unfortunately, gradients work only when you fill areas with them, and your only options are radial or linear gradients. Gradients don’t flow along strokes, and you can’t make them match complex shapes. Or can you? By using the Blend tool, you can create gradients in any shape your heart desires!

1. Create your text.
Any text will do, but large, fat, sans-serif text works best. We use 100-point Antique Olive Black.
2. Select the text with the Selection tool and then choose Type➪Create Outlines.
As a first step in modifying your text to extremes, you have to turn it into paths.
3. In the Color palette (Window➪Color), set the Fill to None and the Stroke to Black. Use the Stroke palette (Window➪Stroke) to set the stroke to 1 point ( pt).
This handy trick makes the paths of the text easier to see and work with.
4. Simplify the type.
Strategically delete path segments of the letters by clicking them with the Direct Selection tool and pressing the Delete key, one segment at a time. The goal here is to create letters that are single, continuous lines, where the inner-tube is gone.
5. Round off the corners and ends of the path.
Choose Window➪Stroke, click the Stroke palette’s pop-up menu, and then choose Show Options to access the palette’s hidden options. Choose Round Cap and Round Join. Finally, set the Stroke to 10 pt. (By default, the corners and ends of Illustrator paths are sharp.) This step gives you a nice rounded look for your tubes.
6. Duplicate the text by selecting the entire text with the Selection tool and then choosing Edit➪Copy➪Edit to Paste in Front.
7. Make the duplicated text lighter and narrower.
In this example, we change the stroke of the duplicated text to white from the Color palette, and the stroke was set to 1 pt from the Stroke palette. The Fill was left set to None. (You can set Fill from the Color palette or the Toolbox.)
8. Select the white text, and with the mouse or your keyboard arrows, move the white text and slightly offset it from the black text.
The two sets of text are ready for a blend.
9. Select both sets of text with the Selection tool.
Click and drag with the Selection tool over all the text.
10. Select the Blend tool from the Toolbox and blend the two sets of text.
To blend the two sets of text, click an endpoint of any letter in the white text. Then click the same endpoint of the same letter in the black text. It may help to zoom way in on the two points by clicking and dragging over them with the Zoom tool. When you’re in the proper position to make the first click with the Blend tool, a little multiply (x) sign appears to the lower right of the tool. When you’re in the proper position for the second click, a little plus (+) sign appears to the lower right of the Blend tool.
The two paths blend together in a series of subtle steps, creating the appearance of a gradient flowing along a path. Totally tubular!

If you don’t get these results, double-click your Blend tool and in the dialog box, choose Specified Steps from the Spacing pop-up menu. Enter (type in) 10 in the Specified Steps field in the Blend Options dialog box, and then click OK.