It’s time to crack open the old Illustrator and learn something new! A few weeks ago, I shared a tutorial with some tips for utilizing gradients with shapes. Today, I’m building on my last video with even more awesome gradient tricks for typographic elements. Watch this short tutorial, and learn how to use gradients with text.
Gradients can be a great way to add stylization to text! You can give your words a gold or metallic sheen, make them appear to be fading into the background, or simply add a fun blend of color.
Since gradients aren’t a “new” concept, you’d think it would be really simple to add a gradient to the text in your design (you know, just like you do with any other shape). Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it should be; but, once you know what to do, you’ll be whipping out fancy, gradient type in no time!
The main tools you will be using:
Gradient
Window>Gradient
Gradient Tool
Shortcut: G
Eyedropper Tool
Shortcut: I
Appearance
Window>Appearance
Shortcut: ⇧F6
The two fonts I used is this tutorial are Angelica and Bebas.
There you have it! Maybe this technique wasn’t anything new for you—maybe it was, either way, I hope you enjoyed my high quality video and professional-level instruction (wink). If you’re interested in seeing more tutorials like this one, be sure to stay tuned by either subscribing to my YouTube Chanel or my email list (or both if you’re extra awesome)!
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, and maybe even learned a thing or two about how to use gradients with text. And, if there are any other Illustrator tools or cool techniques you’d like to learn more about, I’m always open to suggestions, so be sure to let me know in comments!
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Mandee is a professional graphic designer, amateur bird watcher, and rollercoaster enthusiast. She is a wife to hardworking high school teacher and mommy to three adorable little humans. She fell in love with graphic design when she started working on a comedy website with a guy she met her freshman year of college. Design wasn’t the only thing she fell in love with, and they were married a year and a half later. She created Designs By Miss Mandee to be a place where she could merge her passion for design with her lifelong love of crafting.