If you've found an error in this tutorial (or elsewhere on the site) or you feel that something's not quite right with it, I'd like to know so I can address it. Send me the details. When writing, please include the tutorial name and where you believe the error lies. Thanks.
In Print
Illustrator CS Most Wanted Techniques And Effects
The Swanky Text FX tutorial, along with many others, are featured in the new book from Friends of Ed "Illustrator CS Most Wanted: Techniques and Effects". Written by Matt Kloskowski and technical edited by Michael Hamm of ergodraw.com, you'll find a ton of useful tips, information and techniques to bring your work in Illustrator to the next level.
09 | Adding Atmosphere
The aliens on the planet need air to breathe so let's give them an atmosphere.
Select the planet and choose Effect > Stylize > Outer Glow. Modify the settings and values to match those in the image below.
To add some visual interest to the planet's surface, we'll create some swirls.
Lock the PLANET layer and press Ctrl/Cmd + L to create a new layer above this layer but below RINGS. Name the new layer SWIRLS.
In the toolbox, set the fill to a light yellow (R:255 G:255 B:0) and the stroke to none.
Use the Rectangle Tool to create a series of yellow stripes that vary in width. Be sure the top and bottom of each stripe extends beyond the planet's boundaries. Use the image below as a reference.
Note: If your stripes have the glow effect on them from the effect we applied to the planet, open the Appearance palette (Window > Appearance) and click the Reduce to Basic Appearance command at the bottom of the palette.
10 | Twirling
When you're done with the stripes, select the Twirl Tool from the toolbox. It's located in the tool flyout menu of the Warp Tool. Double-click the Twirl Tool to display the tool's options. Enter a value of 360 for both width and height and click OK. To get good results with this tool, the brush dimensions should be much larger than the planet shape which we set at 180pt earlier.
You're still on the SWIRLS layer but center the brush over the planet shape on the layer beneath. Click and hold the mouse button for about 1-3 seconds to twirl the stripes.
11 | Masking
Since parts of the stripes extend beyond the planet's shape, we can apply a clipping mask to hide them. First, deselect the stripes by choosing Select > Deselect.
We'll use the planet as a masking shape so unlock the PLANET layer, click the circle (make sure you don't get any stripes) and make a copy. Lock the layer and select the SWIRLS layer. Paste the copy in front of the stripes by using Ctrl/Cmd + F. For the mask shape to work, it must be in front of the objects you will mask.
Press Ctrl/Cmd + A to select everything and choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make. Shortcut freaks can use Ctrl/Cmd + 7. Click the Crop command on the Pathfinder palette. This will remove not only the mask but the portions of the stripes that were hidden by it. The mask and crop technique is quicker than using the Pathfinder Divide command. Had we gone that route, we'd be selecting and deleting all the individual stripes. Fun!
To make the stripes look like part of the planet, open the Transparency palette (Window > Transparency) and change the blending mode to Overlay and drop the opacity level to 50%.
