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How do I give text an offset path in Illustrator?



How do I give text an offset path in Illustrator?


Question

Okay, I am just trying out the offset path effect for a custom font. I followed this tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU2wDdLNTdE I tried doing the same, typed a word and expanded it,then put a stroke to it and finally offset path.I got the desired effect- the expanded version of my base letter,without expanding the red stroke proportionally. First offset path effect

I tried to repeat the effect, as told in the tutorial,but by applying offset path again I get this- Second offset path effect However this was not my desired effect.All this has done is increased the fill for the inner 'o'. I want the stroke to be retained for the blue path. In other words, I want multiple 'o's beneath the previous 'o'. Each bigger than the previous, but the stroke should remain- As shown in the tutorial. How do I achieve that ?

2014/12/11
1
1
12/11/2014 10:56:00 AM

Accepted Answer

Your problem lies in the fact that the 'o' you are trying to give an effect is two separate paths, probably in a group. Effects like offset will not work properly, indeed. You will want to select all the o's paths and then make them into a Compound Path: Object > Compound Path > Make or right click > Make Compound Path.

Besides, this effect is more easily achievable using the Appearance panel:

  1. Type your text. If you want part of the letters to have the effect, type them as a separate object;
  2. Be sure the object is selected;
  3. Open the Apperance panel, Window > Appearance or Shift+F6;
  4. In the panel, select the Characters object and choose Add New Fill, either through the panel options or the filled square icon in the lower right:
    add new fill button in Illustrator CS6
  5. With that fill selected, give it a different colour and choose Effect > Path > Offset Path. Use Preview to fiddle with the offset value;
  6. In the Appearance panel, drag the new fill below the characters. The Appearance panel works just like a layers panel.
  7. Repeat with different colours and different offset values to create a multi-stroke effect.

Be sure during the whole process that your object stays selected, or it will not pick up the changes you make in the Appearance panel.

2014/12/11
2
12/11/2014 12:13:00 PM