Illustrator Text Effects
Originally seen in classic video games and retro computer interfaces, bitmap text has now become a trendy design choice, often used on posters and digital art to evoke a sense of nostalgia. Perfect for adding a retro look to your designs, this effect is ideal for projects that need a digital, old-school vibe, such as logos, posters, social media graphics, or even game design assets. It is a very simple effect to replicate in Illustrator, and you can create your own in less than 5 minutes using only default Illustrator tools.
Open Illustrator and make a new file at any size you want. Today, I will make mine at 1800 x 1200 px.
Select the Type Tool (T) and type your text using any font you wish. I will be using "CocoSharp Heavy" at 800 pt.
Go to Type > Create Outlines.
Now go to Object > Compound Path > Make.
Go to Window > Gradient.
In the Gradient panel, click on the "Linear Gradient" icon.
Go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to about 50 pixels and click OK.
Lastly, go to Effect > Rasterize, apply the following settings and click OK.
Now that you've learned how to create a bitmap text effect in Illustrator, with the effect complete, you can adjust the gradient type, angle, opacity, and even the color locations to customize a bitmap gradient that suits your needs. You can use this over any background you like, since we used a transparent background when rasterizing the gradient, as shown in the following example.
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