How-To Create 3D Type in Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

[@MattBorchert]

I also make Photoshop and Illustrator kits and textures to help you make amazing things! Check them out here: bit.ly/3aWqZpF

[@kieranraymond572]

instablaster

[@nathybm360]

I spent almost 2 hours trying to do this following another video tutorial...after watching this video I took me 3 minutes to learn how to do it. thankuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[@MattBorchert]

@107309255235583630046 That's amazing, thank you!

[@guncekazazoglu9954]

same here!!!

[@hpy2bsal]

I literally spent all day trying to follow all of the other 3D text tutorials and I felt like a complete dunce and failure because the instructions were all so convoluted. I was about to call it quits when I found your video. Your five-minute instruction was so darn basic and easy to understand and follow that I found success. My logo is going to look fantastic now. Thank you!

[@linhdaohuyen9995]

same here bro. I lost all day watching all kinds of 3D tutorials and got so beaten up.

[@kristy.fountain]

This was so helpful! After browsing about 20 videos on the topic, yours is the only tutorial that worked, and it worked FAST. Thank you!

[@donjonesuk]

I’ve been using illustrator for over six years now and I just figured out how to do this thank you so much

[@thedudedylan]

Don't feel bad. I have been an art director for 13 years and this video just taught me how to do something I have been doing the hard way the whole time.

[@elizagray1552]

One of the best illustrator tutorials I have ever watched- detailed enough to be easy to follow, but simple enough to not be overwhelming. I especially appreciated your foresight to potential problems, and explaining how to avoid them. Thank you, thank you! I just subscribed.

[@tammymilo3651]

This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks! I laughed about not clicking on the image when selecting strokes/fills, I do that too and it drives me crazy!

[@MattBorchert]

:)

[@mustafajackson9430]

This has been one of the most useful ILLUSTRATOR tutorials I have watched since I discovered it 2 years ago.

[@MattBorchert]

Glad to hear that Mustafa :)

[@RT38916]

This method should be the standard in making 3D text in Illustrator. I've made 3D text following so many different tutorials, and I think this is the easiest, most time-efficient option. Thank you for your easy-to-follow tutorial!

[@MattBorchert]

No problem! This way does work out pretty sweet, and it doesn't put too much strain on the file either.

[@StephCharles-u9i]

This is so fast! Much easier than I have previously been doing! Thanks!

[@ZealanTanner]

I never even knew this appearance window existed and now I use it so much. Thank you

[@MattBorchert]

Nice :)

[@RicoSanchez]

Dude you rock! there's another video out there which pulls up first when one searches, but the gent skips this whole process, thank you!

[@harwilliams9932]

Incredibly knowledgeable and we'll-spoken teacher. Nice tutorials comfortableness with the subject makes starting soft real exciting!!

[@crashman3150]

Hi from Australia, great tutorial Matt. That's a block shade not a drop shade btw and traditionally they are always placed on the left side of text unless its a script font if you try it I think you'll agree it just looks better balanced. As an old signwriter I find it amazing how clunky Illustrator is with it's text function and effects just have a look at how easy it is using FlexiSign or SignLab for that matter, maybe one day Adobe will wake up to this and make our lives so much easier.

[@MattBorchert]

+John Crash Thanks, and thanks for sharing your knowledge as well!

[@mirandahaws2252]

this tutorial just saved my life. thank you!!!

[@UsamaQazi]

very well..i tried to listen some other people but could not understand the 3d concept easily..but you made this 3d work so easily to work on.. thanks.

[@iLoveLeatherNYC]

2021 and this works well. Thanks for posting!

[@SHA256HASH]

Easily the best Illustrator tutorial I have ever seen. Learned so many other small things like Shift+Click to get RGB menu. Subscribed!

[@grannydeez13]

Wow. Compared to other videos this is soooo much more efficient and effective. Thanks!

[@MattBorchert]

Thanks!

[@Natronic]

Whaaat can't believe I didn't know this! Thanks for the great tutorial.

[@ceeece]

I needed this! I've been using Drop Shadow this whole time and haven't been happy with it. Thank you!

[@MattBorchert]

Glad to hear it! :)

[@otogunlesi]

New time saver UNLOCKED!! thanks Matt

[@coquiehughes9804]

this was by far the best tutorial on this...i just looked at to many others that made no sense whatsoever. they either talked too fast or not at all with annoying music playing in the background!

[@MattBorchert]

Glad it was helpful Coquie :)

[@Carbonoid1]

This saved me $40 in buying a 3D illustrator template. IT does exactly what I need it to do, thank you!!!

[@jekalambert9412]

Thank you for posting an easy to understand tutorial.

[@TenderloinsToughest]

The 3d Extrude and Bevel effect within the Effects pull down menu is a pretty quick method as well. You just apply that effect with whatever desired angle of 3d you want it to have and then expand appearance (under the object menu) and voila you have your 3d type as well. Both methods required me to go back with the direct selection tool to get the desired colors etc. that I wanted.

[@johnstanowski9489]

Yeah, but your original text or shape needs to be at an angle or you won't see the extrusion. I would love for the 3D tool to be able to apply the extrusion without having to move or rotate the original shape.

[@marniehaines9750]

You’re amazing! Just found this now and it’s exactly what I needed. Thank you!

[@Pemau18]

Thanks for making this video short and clear! Appreciated.

[@tusinicestorybera5638]

definitely diving into your videos. Thank you so much for taking the ti to teach us that are green in the field. Have a great day

[@benzakonium]

Worth mentioning that if you change the "Move" numbers to negative i.e. -0.25 or whatever works, then the extrusion will go the opposite direction.

[@Pinkglassesproductions]

This is super easy and I don't know how I've never known it before! Thanks.

[@MattBorchert]

Pink Glasses Productions No problem! =D Appreciate the comment.

[@guncekazazoglu9954]

You saved my life, thank you very much !!!

[@MattBorchert]

I'm always happy to save lives.

[@5minutesoffury466]

This was super helpful, thanks so much for sharing

[@brunaschiavottiello1960]

dude, you just saved me. thank you so much!

[@simplepage]

Awesome tutorial, thank you!!!

[@attariomuho]

Awesome tutorial! Has it always been this simple to create the 3D effect?😂🙆‍♂🙆‍♂

[@arneltorres3598]

because in the intro for example I want to make an acoustic soft, but later I want to make a distortion or any other effects in that sa

[@luos916]

Thanks bud! great video and instructions.

[@katiel2509]

loved this tutorial. quick, easy, and straight to the point. thanks! +1 thumbs up

[@mikebrary]

Thanks man, couldn't figure it out myself

[@marcuscarter]

GREAT STUFF!!

[@MaarChokoj]

Excellent and very clear tutorial! U R Z Best!!!

[@vlhayes4340]

This was so helpful and on time for my current project!

[@TheNatew97]

Thank you!!! Could not figure this out anywhere!!

[@sophielorenz1463]

Quickest tutorial on this subject I've yet to find - thank you!

[@johnstanowski9489]

Aargh. I was so hopeful when I saw the title of this video. I want to be able to do this effect, but not by over complicated it. Corel Draw let's you get this effect with one click and there is no mess of duplicated fills. And the edges are smooth because they're just paths. I switched to Adobe Illustrator over 12 years ago and I still miss the Extrude tool in Corel Draw.

[@HAFTV]

You should include how to flatten it also! I know how but others might want to know!

[@miriammorales5683]

It really is a very useful video! Thank you so much!

[@brucetretter]

Excellent, clear directions, Matt! Will look at more. Thanks - Bruce

[@MattBorchert]

Thank you Bruce :)

[@nicodishiznit]

I was using the blend tool until I see this. Thank you.

[@lukasvanhauden9452]

still helpful in 2021 - thanks

[@katteng6889]

That's just brilliant, thank you!

[@mattm5826]

Exactly what I needed ty

[@Elenatje1]

This was very helpful, thanks!

[@enlacesonline]

Wow! Perfect, thank you!

[@adriantra1305]

Thank you very much for this trick

[@CookieZ3353]

I wish I could work as fast as he talks! Good tutorial!

[@CookieZ3353]

please add how to reposition the shadow.

[@tyfannyxoxo]

Thankyouuu! Help me a lottttt!

[@SB-ez2lr]

I followed the exact same steps; however, the text does not look the same! It looks like multiple texts, not one long shadow. COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS!

[@candicecraig9174]

thank you for this! Great interaction.. only thing is that your video screen for me wasn't clear - ie. a bit pixelated - but i know what the appearance window looks like, so was able to follow along.

[@MichaelSharpTechniSmart]

Same comment as as Nathalie. Except I had to sit through a person twirling the 3D revolver like a toy without explaining how to do it. Your tutorial took 2 minutes and its a breeze to edit. The other way(s) (i saw many approaches to do this) and it involved converting the text to outlines... and it WAS destructive, and no way to edit it afterwards :( Thank you so much Matt. Subscribed.

[@MattBorchert]

+Michael Sharp (TechniSmart) Glad to hear it was helpful :D

[@christieokposin9889]

Thank you Matt!

[@thelovejournal5597]

Thanks for this tutorial

[@boshbakh]

Finally , I found it . Thanks a lot

[@rogerbeltz2370]

So what is you want the extruded "shadow" in a different perspective - say lower left or upper left?

[@SanguinePetal]

Wow thanks! Really helpfull and easy to follow tutorial!

[@machadoviewer]

Well done dude! This video helped me a lot and you do have a great teaching skill. Much appreciated.

[@hotmonkeyfilms]

So easy! Thanks!

[@Aprendizzz2009]

Thank you Matt, easy and fast... good tutorial...!

[@chargeittothegame688]

Thanks exactly what I needed.

[@xxAmy231xx]

this is so helpful! and so quick

[@MattBorchert]

Glad it was helpful Amy :)

[@tianacontreras216]

I appreciate you! Thank you!

[@impresadorcoldac2500]

Great video. Like your style. Thanks for the help.

[@MattBorchert]

Glad it was helpful!

[@alonry]

Thank you very much for this tutorial, I needed this.

[@willtimmons4319]

This is such a great tutorial. Thanks!

[@stefant282]

Thank you ! Very helpful.

[@beckyvoss6410]

This tutorial doesn't appear to work in the newest AI. Can you help? When I simply select the text it doesn't show the fill color in the appearance window. I have to actually highlight the words to get the fill box to appear. BUT then I am not allowed to add a second fill. (it's grayed out) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[@Killjoy0329]

make the type into an outline using shift + Command + O (for Mac)

[@ajongah]

Thank you very much its really helpful! 😇

[@tuhocae-aftereffecttutoria1886]

thank you for tutorial!

[@MattBorchert]

Here is an alternative way to create 3D isometric text in Illustrator using the 3D tool! kzbin.info/www/bejne/roCZhZRma5dse6s

[@MambaDeadly24]

how can one figure out the best pixels to input? just by putting random numbers?

[@MattBorchert]

@@MambaDeadly24 I just start with a very small number and adjust from there. Like .1 or .5.

[@MambaDeadly24]

Matt Borchert thanks !great video

[@techdude2121]

Awesome tutorial man , love the small tips ! thank you man.

[@ElenaBaryshkina]

Thank you! Very, very easy and useful! :)

[@droolglop1110]

This rules, have been doing this in a way goofier way for way too long, haha thanks dude!!!

[@bigcarli_carol]

Thank you, it is super useful! And just wonder is it possible to save this style, and use it again when we need it by just one click?

[@MattBorchert]

carolboat Yep, watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJLGpYpmopx0o9k

[@pangamespangames2893]

Rockstar! Thank you.

[@mamimami2596]

nice teacher thank you so much

[@SwitzerlandInsider]

Thank you!!

[@shubhagarwal158]

Can you link the setuper channel, soft and track, so you don't have to color and rena 3 tis ? Btw aweso video!

[@virusacke]

This also can be done with blending tool. There is a single problem with both techniques. After expanding/converting the shadow into shape you will get a lot of useless shapes and vertices that follow the smooth of the shadow(visible only in outline mode). To avoid any problems when printing/rooting etc, i recommend to clean the shapes manually. (to obtain single shapes for each letter).

[@MattBorchert]

Or you can simply merge all the shapes together removing all the unnecessary shapes once you're done using the pathfinder panel.

[@virusacke]

Yep, but the vertices still remain, unfrotunately.

[@Grimy_Aaronarr]

I'd like to confirm, it does work good.

[@laurelizab12]

This was life changing!!! You just saved me so many hours

[@MattBorchert]

Glad to help!

[@lbigbee]

Very helpful tutorial! Thank you. I thought maybe this method would place several copies of the "shadow" that would be visible in outline mode, but it does not. It's a great technique!

[@MattBorchert]

+Linda Bigbee Yeah I don't like stacking a lot of actual layers as the end result can be pretty messy (and difficult to modify afterwords). Thanks for the awesome feedback!

[@idletrains]

thank you, very helpful

[@lucaslow5057]

May i know what is the font type you used? Its simply amazing

[@ausfarooqabujawharah8411]

another tip to knowledge.... thanks alots

[@grade5educationalvideos461]

Thankyou so so so much this video

[@northsun_story]

Thank you! I was really good tutorial!!

[@BlogITCode]

Thanks very much bro, it help me save time

[@MattBorchert]

No problem 👍

[@ewpl]

too good to be true indeed! good tutorial!

[@johnchrissos7108]

Excellent - thanks!