Outlining Shape Without Encroaching On Shape in Illustrator?

Question

A lot of sports logos use this effect, where shapes are outlined twice by different colors:

1. Black outline, orange outline
2. White outline, blue outline
3. Blue outline, white outline

But when I try to outline a shape in illustrator, it encroaches on that shape:

(See top image in screenshot)

What I've been doing is copying the shape, changing the color of the copy, and placing it behind the original. Then I try and and measure out both sides to make sure that there is even space and good symmetry when I resize the copy:

Is there a faster / more efficient way of doing this? Is there a way to outline the shape without the outline entering the shape and cutting off the color? Thank you.

Answer 1

You can add multiple strokes to a single object with the Appearance panel (Window → Appearance). You can also use the Appearance panel on whole groups or layers. You can also apply effects to specific strokes or fills.

You can see this example is a single live text object and a single ellipse. Using the Appearance panel I added 2 strokes to the text and 3 strokes to a group containing the text and the ellipse. I also added a Transform effect to one of the strokes on the text.

Keep in mind that the order of appearance attributes matters, so in this example I had to drag "Contents" (which contains everything in the group) above the strokes, otherwise the strokes would be drawn on top of the groups contents.

Answer 2

The easiest way to do this is duplication of the object, as many times as you need. Top copies have the lesser (thinner) outlines, lower ones have the thicker outlines.