Maintaining LOOK When Reducing Font Size (Stock "Font" Vector File)?

[michaelm101]

Looks great in original mode, but somewhow all gets lost when reduced to my actual usable size...

Thanks very much in advance!

[Monika Gause]

You might want to turn on Scale strokes and effects in Preferences > General

[michaelm101]

Thank you, did that, but it's not having any effect 😞

[Monika Gause]

So you do not scale the text object, but instead enter a different font size?

Maybe instead scale the text object. Then the Preference option will kick in

[michaelm101]

Thx. Yes, I've been entering MUCH smaller text size. I'm a newbie and would have to end my life if it wasn't for your support. Do I simply go to the properties box and scale it down, keeping propertions intact?

[Bobby Henderson]

When you select the "Sample" object what all do you see in the Appearance panel? Is the word "Sample" a live text object that can be re-typed into other words or phrases? It looks like multiple stroke effects are applied to it. The block shadow effect looks like it might be a blend effect. Some of these kinds of effects might not be very friendly to re-sizing without flattening/expanding beforehand.

[michaelm101]

Yes, it's a complex peice. However, none of the "stuff" in there can be altered. Only the size and type style/font can be changed-- and as we can see , drastically coming down in size becomes an issue. How many people have use for size 400 type?

[creative explorer]

@michaelm101 I was trying to replicate the issue but somehow I couldn't do it how you got it like that. What I did instead was:

1. Create a title text with the word 'Sample' 
2.  Change it to 400 points (which I already did at first)
3.  Select the 'Sample' text. 
4. Made a copy of it. Edit - Copy
5.  Create Outlines of the text. Type - Create Outlines
6. Swap the 'fill' with the 'stroke' in the tool bar
7. Change the black color to the golden color. 
8. Add a stroke. In this case, I changed it to 20 points thickness
9.  Paste in front of the 'Sample' text. Edit-Paste in front
10.  Select both the text and the outline text and able to resize it without issue
11.  Go to Preferences, and Scale Corners, Stroke and Effects is turned on
    
    See the attached silent movie! 

[michaelm101]

Thank you for this. I still want to maintain the chunky dimensional aspect  of the letters.  I have purchased several "alterable" font/texts and all of them do the same thing when they're drastically reduced in size ( I nned it for a title to be readable on an 10"w x 15"L panel). The originals are just SO GIGANTIC!

[Monika Gause]

Please select them and show a screenshot of Window > Appearance.

Also I do not really understand what you are writing. If you are reducing the size proportionally, then of course the result will be less chunky.

[michaelm101]

In the initial post, there is a sample of the original purchased file, and underneath it, the reduced version.

I have also added another below...

[michaelm101]

When reduced, it becomes exponentially chunky....

[Monika Gause]

But do you want to maintain the chunkyness or do you want to get rid of it? 

WHen posting the appearance panel, please:

1. Select the object

2. show us the full appearance panel. In this screenshot it's cut off.

Did you turn off "Scale strokes and effects" in Preferences > General before scaling the object?

[michaelm101]

Thank you.

1) I'd like to preserve the sense of dimension/depth, but without going overboard and appearing unaesthetic. 

2) "Scale strokes and effects" is checked/enabled.

[Monika Gause]

The artwork in your screenshot shows some depth.

If you want to have more depth, you will have to edit the effects that make the appearance. They are inside the strokes and fills. Probably 3D effects.

[michaelm101]

Thx. Yes, there is depth, but I'd like a small fraction of that depth.

And, Yes, 3D efx.

I'm a complete newbie and the strokes and fills appear to be a job for a pro.

[Monika Gause]

It is quite advanced, but even pros would need to experiment with those settings, since there are quite a lot of fills and strokes at work in your example. So what I wouzld start with:

1. In the appearance panel turn every fill/stroke off and on, so you see exactly waht part of the design it is resposible for.

2. Then click on one effect after the other and change the settings to get a feeling for what it does and how it reacts to your input.

Here's how the appearance panel works: https://youtu.be/zXvRbN03MzQ

[michaelm101]

Thanks again for your help!

I can literally spend DAYS on sometning like this...

[Monika Gause]

It's a nice way to get into effects.