Retro Faux 3D Text Effect in Illustrator

1 - In Illustrator, create a “New Document”.

2 - Select the “Rectangle Tool” (M), draw a Rectangle that covers your entire Canvas and fill it with a Medium Brown from the “Swatches Panel”.

3 - “Lock” it using the small “Padlock” icon on the left side of its Thumbnail and then create a “New Layer” by clicking on the small button at the bottom of the “Layers Panel”.

4 - Select the “Type Tool” (T), choose your font (we used “Myriad Pro Bold Italic”) and type your text.

5 - Center it using the “Horizontal and Vertical Align Center” options on your Top Menu and make sure that “Align to Artboard” is selected. Or use the same options in the “Align Panel”. Make sure the “Fill” and “Stroke” are set to “None” in the “Swatches Panel”.

6 - Head to the “Appearance Panel”, click on the “Add New Stroke” button on the Bottom-Left side of the panel and choose a Dark Brown from the “Swatches Window”. In the “Stroke Panel”, set the “Weight” to 2 px, check the “Dashed Line” box and input 3 px in the first “Dash” box and 8 px in the next one named “Gap”. Make sure that the “Align Dashes to Path Ends” is selected.

7 - Then, click on the “Effects Menu” on the Bottom-Left side of the Appearance Panel and navigate to 3D > Extrude & Bevel… and use the following values. Once you are done click “OK”.

8 - Go back to the “Appearance Panel” but this time click the “Add New Fill” button on the Bottom-Left side of the panel and choose Medium Blue shade from the “Swatches Window”. This fill should be on Top of everything.

9 - Double-click on “3D Extrude & Bevel” in the Layer Thumbnail to fix the appearance of the lines if needed.

10- Create another “Fill” using the same color but place it (drag) under the other one and the “Stroke” just on top of the original one (“No” fill and stroke).

11 - With it still selected, click on the “Effects Menu” and navigate to Distort & Transform > Transform… and use a “Horizontal Move” of 0.18 cm and “Vertical Move” of -0.1 cm.

12 - Select your first “Stroke” and click on the “Add New Stroke” button so the new one is placed on top. Make it exactly lake the previous one.

13 - With the “Stroke” still selected, click on the “Effects Menu” and navigate to Distort & Transform > Transform… and use a “Horizontal Move” of -0.18 cm and “Vertical Move” of 0.1 cm.

14 - Select the Top Fill, and add a “New Stroke” on top, make it White and with a 2 px “Weight” (uncheck the “Dashed line” box). With the “Stroke” still selected, click on the “Effects Menu” and navigate to Distort & Transform > Transform… and use a “Horizontal Move” of -0.18 cm and “Vertical Move” of 0.1 cm.

15 - Select the Bottom Fill (“No” fill and stroke) and add a “New Fill” on top. Use Black as Fill color and then click on the “Effects Menu” and navigate to Distort & Transform > Transform… and use a “Horizontal Move” of 0.4 cm and “Vertical Move” of 0.3 cm. In the “Transparency Panel” lower its “Opacity” to 20%.

16 - Click on the Top Fill (under the White Stroke) and add a “New Fill”. In the “Swatches Window” click on the bottom-left menu button and navigate to Patterns > Basic Graphics > Basic Graphics_Textures. Select one of the Textures as Fill (we used “Stipple Fine”).

17 - Click on the “Effects Menu” and navigate to Distort & Transform > Transform… and use a “Horizontal Move” of -0.10 cm and “Vertical Move” of 0.1 cm. In the “Transparency Panel” change the “Blending Mode” to “Hard Light” and lower its “Opacity” to 50%.

18 - In the “Layers Panel”, unlock the Bottom Layer (the one with the brown rectangle).

19 - Select the Rectangle and add a “New Fill” in the “Appearance Panel”. Use the “USGS 8B Intermit. Pond” Texture and lower its “Opacity” to 25%.

20 - Check it out.

by @lornacane