Area Type Tool

[gretac29310284]

here's what happens when  I try to make the type fit in an area tool. 2 photos.

[gretac29310284]

How do I turn the shape I created into a usable path for the Area Type Tool?

and/or: Is there a text warp tool for the bowtie shape I used without having to use the Area Type tool? And how come the outlines text is grayed out? I thought I could use that to warp the text, although that would be very time consuming.

Thanks! Greta

[Doug A Roberts]

I've seen this case before, but never an explanation. Something about that shape generates a mesh with three sets of points on top of each other:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/envelope-distort-issues/m-p/12857581

See here also:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/how-do-i-make-this-smoother/td-p/12857134

You could create a mesh from the object in advance -- by selecting the four corner points, going to Object > Create Gradient Mesh, then using that as the Envelope.

Or you could use Warp wth Mesh, 1 row and 2 columns, and pull the central points towards the centre of the shape.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @gretac29310284,

Thanks for reaching out. I hope the suggestions shared by Doug helped resolve the problem.

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks,

Anubhav