Sticker Text in Illustrator

For this tutorial, we are using “Streetwear” a free font from Artimasa.

1 – In Illustrator create a New Document, select the “Type Tool” (T) and enter your text. Choose the font and color of your liking. We used “Streetwear”.

2 – If you want, create a “New Layer” by clicking the button at the bottom of the “Layers” Panel. Move it to the bottom, fill it with the color or gradient of your choice and lock the layer by clicking on the little square to the left of your layer’s thumbnail.

3 – Select your text and go to Object > Expand, make sure the “Object” and “Fill” boxes are checked and click OK. Then go to the “Pathfinder” Panel and choose the “Unite” button.

4 – Select the text and go to Object > Path > Offset Path and enter a 1.5 mm Offset, and leave the other options as default. Select the resulting shape and fill it with a darker color and name it “Dark”.

5 – Go to Object > Path > Offset Path again and use a value of 1 mm this time. Name it “Light” and fill it with a very light shade of the color you used in your text.

6 – Duplicate your original text /Command/Control + C and Shift + Command/Control + V) layer and select the duplicate along with “Dark” then go to the “Pathfinder” Panel and use the option “Minus Front”. Rename it “Dark”.

7 – Make two other copies of the original text layer. Go to Illustrator > Preferences > General (Command/Control + K) and change the value of the “Keyboard Increment” to 0.3528 mm (1 pixel) if it’s not set like that. Select the top copy and click the down and right arrows once. Select both copies of the text and click the “Minus Front” option in the “Pathfinder” Panel. Fill the resulting shapes with a slightly lighter shade that the one used in your text.

8 – Duplicate “Light” twice and again, select the top copy, move it 1 click down and 1 to the right. Reselect both layers and click the “Minus Front” option in the “Pathfinder” Panel. Fill the resulting vectors with white.

9 – Make another copy of “Light” and make sure is in front Fill it with a Linear Gradient using the same lighter color used before and white. Use a 131.9° Angle, 100% “Opacity” and a 30% “Location for the first color and a 0% “Opacity”, and a 100% “Location” for the second one. With your vectors selected click on the “Gradient Tool” (G) in your “Toolbox” and move the “Gradient Annotator” to a position similar to the one shown in the screengrab (You can resize, move and rotate it by using the ends of the “Gradient Annotator”.

10 – With your vector still selected, go to the “Appearance” Panel and choose “Add New Fill” from the drop-down menu at the top right. This will create a new gradient fill, change the Angle to -57.8° and move the “Gradient Annotator”.

11 – Select the original text layer and go to Effect > >Stylize > Inner Glow and use the following values: Mode: Normal, Opacity: 30%, Blur: 6 mm, Center, Color #ffffff. Then, select the “Dark” layer and use the same Effect with the following values: Normal, Opacity: 100%, Blur: 0.5 mm, Edge, Color #470221. And finally, select “Light” and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and use these values: Normal, Opacity: 70%, X Offset: 0.5 mm, Y Offset:1.5 mm, Blur: 1 mm, Color #470221.

12 – Select the “Light” layer with the gradients (Topmost one) and change the “Transparency” mode to “Hard Light”.

13 – Your text should look like this:

by @lornacane