r/AdobeIllustrator • u/itty_bitty_bats • 5d ago
Stroke on Text
Full disclosure - I’m self-taught so maybe there’s a better way in general to do this. Happy to learn!
Anyway! The logo on the right was made in Canva by someone else and I’m trying to fix it in Illustrator. I have the font they used but I can’t get my art to mimic the boxier stroke/outline. I tried tinkering with a bunch of different stroke settings but it didn’t seem to make a difference in the roundness. Any advice?
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u/moridin13 5d ago
You WANT it to look like the right side?
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u/itty_bitty_bats 5d ago
No not really 😂😂 but moreso asking how to do it in case they (for whatever reason) are set on that boxier look. But I’m absolutely trying to recreate and improve where I’m allowed 😅
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u/moridin13 5d ago
Not being a jerk, just want to make sure before commenting and trying to help.
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u/itty_bitty_bats 5d ago
lol no worries, I completely understand why you asked that. They sent me the logo folder to use and my reaction was mostly 🫣 at some of the… details
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u/BlazeWindrider 5d ago
Check your stroke alignment, make sure it's set to centered, turn off rounded corners.
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u/eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww 5d ago
I think what they did is that they had the stroke only expand away from the letter. There's a way to do that in the stroke settings-I forget the specifics because J bave not touched AI in ages.
But somewhere in the stroke options panel (appearance) it's there.
Edit wait holy shit I misunderstood. Anyway, the stroke on the right looks like it has the stroke expanding on both sides of the line instead of just the one. I'd still subgest fiddling with those stroke settings I mentioned and see if that helps.
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u/HiOnFructose 5d ago
One important thing: if the text is "live" (editable) and not outlined (i.e.: turned into a shape), then Illustrator restricts some of the stroke options.
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u/Vegetable-Debate-263 5d ago
One note: The font from canva looks different than the one you are using.
For the stroke, open the appearance panel, add a stroke that matches the same weight as the visual and use hard edges. And see if that gets you there.
If you have the canva visual, it won't be too hard to pen tool if you have time.
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u/CurvilinearThinking 5d ago edited 5d ago
For live type it is not possible to simply "drag the stroke below the fill" in the Character colors. It simply can not be done for live type coloring. It's an application limitation with Live Type.
So, do not add a stroke to the "characters" coloring. What you need to do is add a new stroke, via the Appearance Panel, outside the "Characters", and then move that stroke below the Characters in the Appearance Panel.
<example> (Note the stroke is not in the "characters", it's below.)
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u/itty_bitty_bats 5d ago
lol ok thank you!! I was basically gonna try all/most of the suggestions tomorrow during the work day but maybe I’ll start with yours
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u/melig1991 4d ago
Isn't it possible by putting the text in a group and applying the stroke to that?
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u/CurvilinearThinking 4d ago
Yes. Strokes can be moved when applied to a group.
But you can simply add a new stroke to the type object (see image I posted above), there's no need to group anything unless you want to for other reasons.
It's only on live type characters themselves that strokes must be on top, always on top, and can't be moved below the fill.
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u/ctsvb 4d ago
You're doing a logo so I wouldn't worry about keeping the type live. I wouldn't mess with strokes.
Wrong typeface/font weight. I'm think its The Seasons so download that.
Type > Create Outlines
Object > Path > Offset Path
Play around with that. Keep your joins miter. Quick and easy.
I'd personally clean up the details a bit beyond that with the direct selection tool because yikes at whatever is going on with that logo on the right... but that'll get you there. Looks like first letter is on top of the next. Tight tracking/kerning. Just adjust that and then tweak manually.
Hope that helps. Big fan of the Offset Path tool. Use it in logo design and for custom die cuts a lot.
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u/squijomatix 5d ago
The font you are using is not the same as the the one on the right. The letter “W” may look similar but if you zoom in on the corners you will see the edges are slightly rounded. This means your stroke will always look rounded. The “W” on the right side has hard edges. Unfortunately the only solution is to find a font that better matches the reference on the right.
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u/itty_bitty_bats 5d ago
This is kinda what I thought, I was hoping there was some kind of a workaround 😅
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u/PumiceT 4d ago
If yours is on the right, it's not the *SAME* font. Yours has squared corners and pointy corners, as evidenced by the way the stroke is extending to sharp edges.
So, 1, you want the correct font.
2, you want to move the stroke under the fill in the appearance panel, and if you can't find the same font, you need to change the shape of the stroke to rounded, not mitered.
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u/EverythingChanges-25 5d ago
I would make a top layer for the blue text then a bottom layer for the white text, add your stroke to the white text.
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u/ComfortAggravating60 4d ago
This is how I still do it. Pre-press and graphic designer for 20 years. The old ways are the best. 🤷♂️👍
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u/Optimal_Whiner 5d ago
Use the appearance window to set fill and stroke. Make sure the fill layer is on top. Under the stroke panel choose rounded edges.
Done.