User Guide Cancel

Create 3D text effect

Search
  1. Illustrator User Guide
  2. Get to know Illustrator
    1. Introduction to Illustrator
      1. What's new in Illustrator
      2. Common questions
      3. Illustrator system requirements
      4. Illustrator for Apple silicon
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Create documents
      3. Tools
      4. Default keyboard shortcuts
      5. Customize keyboard shortcuts
      6. Introduction to artboards
      7. Manage artboards
      8. Customize the workspace
      9. Properties panel
      10. Set preferences
      11. Touch Workspace
      12. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
      13. Recovery, undo, and automation
      14. Rotate view
      15. Rulers, grids, and guides
      16. Accessibility in Illustrator
      17. Safe Mode
      18. View artwork
      19. Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
      20. Files and templates
    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Selection
        1. Overview
        2. Selection
        3. Direct Selection
        4. Lasso
        5. Artboard
      2. Navigation
        1. Overview
        2. Zoom
        3. Rotate View
      3. Paint
        1. Overview
        2. Gradient
        3. Shape Builder
      4. Type
        1. Overview
        2. Type
        3. Type on Path
  3. Illustrator on the iPad
    1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
      1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
      2. Illustrator on the iPad FAQs
      3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
      4. What you can or cannot do on Illustrator on the iPad
    2. Workspace
      1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
      2. Touch shortcuts and gestures
      3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
      4. Manage your app settings
    3. Documents
      1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
      2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
    4. Select and arrange objects
      1. Create repeat objects
      2. Blend objects
    5. Drawing
      1. Draw and edit paths
      2. Draw and edit shapes
    6. Type
      1. Work with type and fonts
      2. Create text designs along a path
      3. Add your own fonts
    7. Work with images
      1. Vectorize raster images
    8. Color
      1. Apply colors and gradients
  4. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      4. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  5. Add and edit content
    1. Drawing
      1. Drawing basics
      2. Edit paths
      3. Draw pixel-perfect art
      4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
      5. Draw simple lines and shapes
      6. Image Trace
      7. Simplify a path
      8. Define perspective grids
      9. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      10. Adjust path segments
      11. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      12. Perspective drawing
      13. Symbols
      14. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
    2. 3D effects and Adobe Substance materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Map artwork over 3D objects
      4. Create 3D objects
      5. Create 3D Text
    3. Color
      1. About color
      2. Select colors
      3. Use and create swatches
      4. Adjust colors
      5. Use the Adobe Color Themes panel
      6. Color groups (harmonies)
      7. Color Themes panel
      8. Recolor your artwork
    4. Painting
      1. About painting
      2. Paint with fills and strokes
      3. Live Paint groups
      4. Gradients
      5. Brushes
      6. Transparency and blending modes
      7. Apply stroke on an object
      8. Create and edit patterns
      9. Meshes
      10. Patterns
    5. Select and arrange objects
      1. Select objects
      2. Layers
      3. Group and expand objects
      4. Move, align, and distribute objects
      5. Stack objects    
      6. Lock, hide, and delete objects
      7. Duplicate objects
      8. Rotate and reflect objects
    6. Reshape objects
      1. Crop images
      2. Transform objects
      3. Combine objects
      4. Cut, divide, and trim objects
      5. Puppet Warp
      6. Scale, shear, and distort objects
      7. Blend objects
      8. Reshape using envelopes
      9. Reshape objects with effects
      10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
      11. Work with Live Corners
      12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
      13. Edit clipping masks
      14. Live shapes
      15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
      16. Global editing
    7. Type
      1. Add text and work with type objects
      2. Manage text area
      3. Fonts and typography
      4. Format type
      5. Import and export text
      6. Format paragraphs
      7. Special characters
      8. Create type on a path
      9. Character and paragraph styles
      10. Tabs
      11. Text and type
      12. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
      13. Update text from Illustrator 10
      14. Arabic and Hebrew type
      15. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
      16. Create 3D text effect
      17. Creative typography designs
      18. Scale and rotate type
      19. Line and character spacing
      20. Hyphenation and line breaks
      21. Text enhancements
      22. Spelling and language dictionaries
      23. Format Asian characters
      24. Composers for Asian scripts
      25. Create text designs with blend objects
      26. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    8. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Create a drop shadow
      4. Appearance attributes
      5. Create sketches and mosaics
      6. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      7. Summary of effects
    9. Web graphics
      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Create animations
      5. Slices and image maps
  6. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Import artwork files
      2. Import bitmap images
      3. Import artwork from Photoshop
      4. Place multiple files
      5. Unembed images
      6. Import Adobe PDF files
      7. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
      8. Links information
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
    3. Save
      1. Save artwork
    4. Export
      1. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      2. Export artwork
      3. Collect assets and export in batches
      4. Package files
      5. Create Adobe PDF files
      6. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      7. Adobe PDF options
      8. File information and metadata
  7. Printing
    1. Prepare for printing
      1. Set up documents for printing
      2. Change the page size and orientation
      3. Specify crop marks for trimming or aligning
      4. Get started with large canvas
    2. Printing
      1. Overprint
      2. Print with color management
      3. PostScript printing
      4. Print presets
      5. Printer's marks and bleeds
      6. Print and save transparent artwork
      7. Trapping
      8. Print color separations
      9. Print gradients, meshes, and color blends
      10. White Overprint
  8. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  9. Troubleshooting 
    1. Crash issues
    2. Recover files after crash
    3. File issues
    4. Supported file formats
    5. GPU device driver issues
    6. Wacom device issues
    7. DLL file issues
    8. Memory issues
    9. Preferences file issues
    10. Font issues
    11. Printer issues
    12. Share crash report with Adobe

Learn easy and quick ways to create 3D text effect in Illustrator.

You can create 3D effects using a variety of ways in Illustrator. In this article, we'll show you how to create 3D effect using the basic tools and features of Illustrator.

Logo with 3D text

New to Illustrator?

Get Free Trial app

Learn app basics

Already on Illustrator?

Update Your App

Check out What's New

Try it yourself

Get Sample File

Ai file; 218 KB

Before you proceed

4 steps to create 3D effect

Hollow letters

Step 1: Create text

make a copy

Step 2: Copy text 

3D graphic

Step 3: Make 3D shape

final artwork

Step 4: Add colors

Step 1: Create your text

Add text

Type your text using the Type tool and assign a font.

Remove fill color

Convert text to outlines by right-clicking and choosing Create Outlines.

Remove fill color, assign the stroke of 2pt and set color as black.

Release compound path

  1. Ungroup the letters in the text. Right-click and choose Ungroup.
  2. Right-click the letter and choose Release Compound Path. Select the inner sections of B and O and delete them.
Hollow letters

After the inner sections are removed, the letters show a hollow shape.

Step 2: Create a copy of the text shape

To create a copy of the shape, press Alt and then drag the shape.

Create a copy of the text

 Assign a different stroke color so that we can easily differentiate between the two outlines. Let's use blue.

Step 3: Create a 3D shape for letters

Using the anchor points

Create 3D graphic using anchor points

  1. Select anchor points on the path around the area where 3D effect is to be created.
     The Anchor point options will become available on the Control panel when you select the anchor points.
  2. Press Command/Ctrl+C and Command/Ctrl+F to copy and paste in front or choose Edit > Paste in Front. This will copy the paths held by the selected anchor points and paste them in place on the top. This process helps you make an identical copy for precision. Assign these new paths a diff stroke color.
  1. Join loose ends to make a closed path.
  2. To make a closed path, select end points and click the Connect Selected End Points button  in the Control panel.
  3. Complete the step for the whole letter 'O'.

Using the Pen tool

Use the Pen tool to draw faces around all the edges of the letter. 

Keep solid fill to zero and assign a different stroke color for easy identification.

3D

Use either of the two methods (Pen tool or anchor points) to create the 3D dimension for letter B.

After all 3D faces are created

3D graphic

Step 4: Add fill and stroke color

Add outline color

Fill the solid colors into the shape and delete the stroke color.

final artwork

Select all the letters and add a contrasting color for the stroke.

The final artwork

Here's the final artwork. Go ahead and use it for your logo extension and creative branding. 

Final

Alternate ways to create 3D designs

You can also create the 3D text object using the Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel option or Blend option. For more details, see Create 3D objects. Creating 3D object using these options is quicker, but you may experience precision trade-offs.

Bevel tool
3D typography using Extrude & Bevel option

Blend tool
3D typography using the Blend option

What's next: Learn about 3D effects

We've got you started with creating 3D text effects in Illustrator. If you would like to know more about 3D workflows learn about 3D effects in Illustrator. 

More text design ideas

Create text design using Blend objects

Have a question or an idea?

Ask the community

If you have a question to ask or an idea to share, come and participate in Adobe Illustrator Community. We'd love to hear from you!

Adobe logo

Sign in to your account

Quick links

View all your plans Manage your plans

Legal Notices    |    Online Privacy Policy