Illustrator How-To: Using Stroke Offsets for Depth Effects

This video tutorial is excerpted from “Total Training Inc.”

Total Training has many more titles like this one. Click here to learn more.

To make text come alive, add stoke outlines to it. But to make text stand out, add depth to it with offset strokes. It’s a familiar look often seen in comic book lettering, one that’s easy to accomplish in Adobe Illustrator CS. All you need are layers and the Transform Effect feature.

In this video clip (2 minutes 9 seconds), Deke McClelland shows:

How to check what effects have been applied to a text layer
How to edit effects that have already been applied to a text layer.

In the full Total Training for Adobe Illustrator CS® training series, you will learn the fundamentals of drawing, how to use the pen tool, 3D effects, type on a path, Flash animation, and more.
This video tutorial is a QuickTime movie. Click this link “Stroke Offsets for Depth Effects” to download the file.
Note: This file is a 3.1MB download.
If you do not have QuickTime installed, you can get it here:

anonymous says:

September 17, 2004 at 10:22 am

I enjoyed the tutorial. Free training always rocks. The current format works great for me on either my Mac or PC.

But would be nice to offer optional formats and downloads. This is the new millennium. It’s all about “re-purposing” It’s no longer about this or that.

You have the content – showcase your talent.

September 17, 2004 at 12:05 pm

Thanks for the tutorial.

appreciated

September 20, 2004 at 11:41 am

I don’t like video training. Bring back PDF instruction.

February 5, 2006 at 3:14 pm

Wanted to view, wouldn’t open, encrypted!? Yes, I have QuickTime installed.???

Anonymous says:

September 16, 2009 at 2:35 pm

I clicked on the link to download the video but the page was not found.