Get ready for spring with this colorful custom letting tutorial. You’ll learn how to manipulate text to create a more customized look and combine it with other vector graphics to create a seamless design.
You can find the source files in the directory labeled “source” that came in the files that you downloaded. You may wish to look through them briefly before we begin.
Step 1
Find a font that has at least two different weights, like bold and light. The font I’m using is called Raspoutine. It comes with regular, medium and bold weights.
Type a short phrase, you may want to use the same phrase I have to make following this tutorial easier. The important thing to remember is that you should keep the phrase short.
Step 2
We’ll want the first "O" to be larger but still have it coincide with the rest of the the smaller letters. In Option 1 notice how the smaller "o’s" look a little more thin than the larger "O." In Option 2 the smaller "o’s" look more similar to the larger "O." In Option 2, I’ve used a different, lighter weight of the same font for the larger "O." This is a subtle difference, but helps keep both the larger and smaller "o’s" looking as consistent as possible. Depending upon the font that you choose, using different font weights together may be much more dramatic.
Step 3
In Option 1 you’ll notice an even greater difference between the "S" and the smaller letters.
Note: To make the letters easier to work with, you should type each letter separately.
Step 4
To create unique shapes it’s not uncommon to use other characters within the font as a basis. Below I’ve used a parenthesis (Shift + 9) and rotated it to use as an underline for the word “Snap.” Experiment with other letters, characters and numbers that you can use in non-traditional ways.
Step 5
Arrange your letters into a balanced composition. If your phrase does not look balanced and composed, moving forward will yield unflattering results.
Step 6
Select all of the text and go to Object > Transform > Shear…The font you used will determine how much shear you need to apply to your text. Don’t be afraid to give it a good shear. I’ve found that the more dramatic the shear, the more dramatic the end result. I’ve entered -19 and selected Vertical.
