All your Font Needs
3D Indented Text Effect in Illustrator
For this tutorial, we will use LOT Free Font from Fontfabric.
1 - In Illustrator, create a “New Document”.
2 - Select the “Type Tool” (T), choose your font (we used LOT) and type your text.
3 - Right-click on top of your text and choose “Create Outlines”. Change the “Fill” color to a medium shade of your choice (we used one from the “Swatches Panel”).
4 - In the “Appearance Panel” click on the “Effects Menu” button at the bottom and choose 3D > Rotate and use the following values:
5 - Go to Object > Expand Appearance, then right-click on top of your text and choose “Ungroup”.
6 - Afterwards, right-click on top of your text again and choose “Release Clipping Mask”. then right-click on top of your text and choose “Ungroup” again.
7 - Select the “rectangle Tool” (M), draw a rectangle. Fill it with a darker shade of the color you chose for your letters.
8 - Using the “Selection Tool” make sure its covering the portion of your first letter that would be shaded if there was a “depression” in your text. Make sure the corners overlap perfectly.
9 - Select both shapes and in the “Pathfinder Panel” choose “Divide”, right-click on top and choose “Ungroup”. Then, delete the outside portion of the rectangle.
10 - You can go to View > Outline (Command/Control + Y) to enter “Outline View” so it’s easier to see where the rectangle should be placed. Use (Command/Control + Y) again to exit “Outline View”. Repeat this for all your letters.
11 - You may need to use the “Direct Selection Tool” (A) to select only an “Anchor Point” of the “Rectangle” and to move it to better fit your letter.
12 - Once you are done, select all your shapes, right-click on top of them and choose “Group”.
13 - Your “Artwork” should look similar to this:
by @lornacane
