Old School Embossed Type in Illustrator

I haven’t seen a tutorial  to create this type of effect in Illustrator yet, so I thought I’d put a quick and dirty step-by-step together. Before figuring it out most places that I have read would say to just use the 3d/Extrude tool in illustrator. Problem with that tool is that it doesn’t allow Oblique Projection. My method is pretty simple and only takes a few minutes, much easier than drawing all the individual lines. Here goes…

 

Step 1:

Add some type to your art board and then duplicate it. Next outline one of the copies you just made.

 

Step 2:

Now option+shift+drag the outlined version to make a copy and to offset it on a 45º angle.

Next send the copy that you just made to the back.

 

Step 3:

Go to your blend options and set the spacing to “specific steps” and type “20” in the field. (you can play around w/ this number, the higher the number the more points you are going to end up with)

 

Step 4:

Select the 2 elements and then,

Go to Object > Blend > Make

 

You’ll end up with something that looks like the screen capture above.

Step 5:

With the item still selected Expand it. Object > Expand

After the item is expanded you’ll see all the repeated steps of your type/graphic. Next, with the item still selected go to the Pathfinder palette and click on the Unite button.

You’ll now have one solid object that looks similar to the one above.

 

Step 6:

Now create a 45º angle line fill. Here’s an excellent tutorial on how to do this. You’ll more than likely have to play around with the line spacing and line width to achieve the look you are going for.

 

Step 7:

Make a copy of your the graphic you just created and send it behind the graphic with the lined fill and add a color/tint to it. Finally, bring down the original type and place it on the top. Whalla!

Feel free to comment if you have any questions of if my instructions are unclear.