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How do I make this smoother?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
April 4, 2022
4 replies
919 views

Hello,

How can I make this smoother? I want the word to look like it's growing each side from the N.

I've looked at the effects but can't find anything that gives the right result.

I hope this makes sense to someone!

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer kphotopage

Becky, Hi.

To add to what has already been suggested,

Here I set my type.

Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Warp.

Here I applied a slight Bulge,-7%

Selection Tool (black arrow), drag downward on bottom center handle

You also have Options to Expand or Edit Contents.

K

Jacob Bugge

Community Expert

Ah, Becky, I saw your screenshot as showing growth along straight lines, as a bow tie shape.

kphotopageCorrect answer

Legend

Becky, Hi.

To add to what has already been suggested,

Here I set my type.

Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Warp.

Here I applied a slight Bulge,-7%

Selection Tool (black arrow), drag downward on bottom center handle

You also have Options to Expand or Edit Contents.

K

B

BeckySweetAuthor

Participating Frequently

This is great, thank you so much!

Jacob Bugge

Community Expert

Becky,

If you are satisfied with this simple way, you can:

1) Write your word, you can keep it as live Type, then create a nofill/nostroke rectangle at least as large as the Bounding Box and apply Object>Path>Add Anchor Points, then centre align and Group;

2) Deselect, then Direct Select the rectangle and copy it to the front (Ctrl/Cmd+C+F+X+C), then move the middle Anchor Points at top and bottom towards each other to get the desired bow tie shape;

3) Select everything and Object>Envelope Distort>Make with Top Object.

Ctrl/Cmd+Z is your friends.

If you wish to stretch the outer letters instead, move the corner Anchor Points away from each other.

Edit: Images to show the way(s) all as live Type, the original in the middle:

Click Here to see in Chrome

B

BeckySweetAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thank you!!

Prbolem is, when I try to envelope distort, this happens:

No matter if it's outlined or live text. So weird. The object was in front of the text too.

Jacob Bugge

Community Expert

Becky,

You (still) have a curved shape at top and bottom.

My suggestion was based on a top object as a bow tie shape with straight segments, made by moving centre/corner Anchor Points up/down, see the screenshot below with the objects/frames shown in red, and it is important that you have corresponding Anchor Points on the rectangle grouped with the live Type in 1) and on the rectangle turned into a bow shape in 2).

What happens if you try that?

Click Here to see in Chrome

Eric Dumas

Community Expert

Hi,

I think I get it. You want to make the word look like it is bending around a curve, in your sample the letther remain straight up, so the effect does not work.

You can test a couple of techniques (in my experience, other designers will have other ideas):

you can use Object >> Envelope Distort (3 choices: Warp, Mesh and Object)
it works better with point-text, not paragraph text. So use the text tool and click on your artboard instead of drawing a text frame.
Warp is the easiest, Try Bulge, with Horizontal and a Blend of about -12. Test different values and you might need to scale the result in height only (vertically)
Mesh, will add points around your word, use the direct selection tool (white arrow - shortcaut A) to select points and move them, adjust the bends of the bezier curves. It is a bit more complex as you have a much higher level of control, select 2 points to move of the same amount on either side of the mesh.
Object means you draw a closed curve with your pen tool (for example), select the object an your text with the selection tool (black arrow) and apply the Object>Envelope distort> Make with top object. The text will stretch to fit in the shape. Sometimes you will get unexpected results, works best for weird shapes.