How do I create a solid line of uniform thickness inside of a letterform in Illustrator?

Question

I've seen all sorts of headlines and ads that use this style a solid color section of type has a solid uniform line of a different color running through the exact middle of each letter. I've done all sorts of google searches and I haven't even come close to finding the answer (probably because I have no clue what this technique is called).

Of course I could draw a path on each letterform using the pen tool, but I want to know if there is an easier, time efficient way to do this, perhaps using the appearance pannel.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This has been driving me crazy for months!

See below for an example of what I'm talking about: "WARM INSIDE" from a Chili's tabletop ad.

Answer 1

1.Type text , right click on text and select Create Outlines.
2. Apply outside stroke.

Answer 2

To do this well, you'll need to use an typeface designed for the purpose - look for "inline" fonts.

Answer 3

I was able to recreate this effect in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, 2010, 2013, and 365. I didn't test mac 2011, but I expect it works there, too. Sadly, Photoshop and Illustrator do not have one of the features (miter outlines) that you need to do this. You can accomplish the effect with the following steps:

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint. Must be version 2007 or later
2. Create a new PowerPoint file
3. Create a text box
4. Type any text in the text box using a light font, such as Segoe UI Light, Ubuntu Light, Source Sans Pro Light, etc.
5. Assign that text the color of the inner stroke
6. Pull up the Format Text Effects dialog (or sidebar in 2013) (There are many ways to do this. The easiest is usually right-clicking the text and selecting "Format Text Effects..."
7. In the Text Outline section, select Solid line and select the color of the outer stroke
8. In the Outline Style section, increase the Width value until you like the way it looks. Try to allow the outline to overtake the text
9. CRUCIAL STEP: Ensure that Cap type is set to Flat and that Join Type is set to Miter
10. Select the text box. Be sure to not select the text, but the box it is in.
11. Open the Font dialog. There are many ways to do this, the easiest is by clicking the small icon on the lower-right of the "Font" section in of the Home ribbon.
12. Increase the character spacing until you like the way it looks. Try to **achieve a gap between the letters*
13. Close the Font dialog and ensure the text box is still selected
14. Duplicate the text box with Ctrl+D or Ctrl+C+V.
15. Move the new text box so it fits perfectly over the old one. This is easiest when you have snaps enabled in Grid Settings.
16. Open the Format Text Effects dialog (or sidebar) again
17. In the Text Outline section, select No line

VIOLA! You've just orchestrated yourself some text with a uniform-thickness line in a letterform :3

Answer 4

If you're looking to do this with an existing typeface, you would most likely have to use the Pen tool and do it manually which is what I have done here using Illustrator:

H with line inside http://chrisburton.me/i/h.svg

Answer 5

Using an inner stroke is unlikely to get the results you're after.

I'm not aware of any automatic way to style the text how you'd like it. I think the designer of the packaging in question probably did one of two things:

1. Found a typeface with this feature (there are quite a few).
2. Hand crafted the text and/or the effect.

I think the first option is more likely. So, that's probably what you should do. Although, if you don't have much text, creating the inner path could work well and may not be too much effort.

Answer 6

This can be done easily in Illustrator.

OPTION 1 (top JPG as example, and top image on the second JPG):

1) You need to duplicate the text you want to apply the effect on. Type your text and then use the "transform" command in the menu "object", then select "move". In the window of "move", put zeros everywhere to duplicate this text in the same same position. Press "Copy"

2) Select the text on the front. Add a big stroke of a different color with round corner and the edges aligned to center (see on pictures).

3) Select that text and do a "create outline" (in the menu type/create outline)

4) Select again this top text. Then go in the menu "object" and select "expand", check all the boxes. This will separate the border from the inside of the text.

5) Erase the outside border from the graphic, for each letter and keep the inside part only. You can use the white arrow for from the selection tool and simply click a corner of your letter, and press delete twice. Or you can ungrounp this and simply select the entire part, and delete it.

6) Fill that inside part with the tone you want, a light bright yellow to imitate your example. And fill the text still untouched in the background with a darker yellow with more magenta in it.

7) If you want to smooth a bit the effect, you can add a small border on the inside part; on my example I used a yellow that is between the 2 yellow for the color recipe. It gives some smoothing effect and blends a bit the 2 colors together. My border is 3pts thick.

But you could probably use the blend tool as well, it's just tricky something on curvy letters.

You can change the values to fit you preferences and the font you'll use for this. At this point you can play with the strokes to change the thickness of the inline. This is just an example.

OPTION 2 (see second JPG, example on bottom):

1) Simply choose a very thin font, and duplicate a copy behind it.

2) Fill the duplicated set with a thick stroke from the outside, and adjust.

This option may look better with think fonts or script style.