How to Make a Hollow Text Effect in Illustrator

Illustrator Text Effects

Sometimes the simplest task seems extremely difficult once you start. Making a hollow text effect in Illustrator is one example. There are, of course, many ways to make this effect, but today I will show you a very simple method that will allow you to edit the text and change the colors. Once we finish the effect, we will make a Graphic Style out of it to use later over any other text (or graphic) you want.

Step 1

Open Illustrator and make a new file at any size you want. In this case, I will make mine at 1200 x 800 px.

Step 2

Select the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw a rectangle covering your whole artboard using any color you want. In this case, I will set mine to #d0d1d3.

Step 3

Select the Type Tool (T) and type your text. I will simply type "HOLLOW" using the Norwester font at 240 pt.

Step 4

In the Tools Panel, set the the text fill to "none".

Step 5

With the text selected, go to Window > Appearance.

Step 6

Click twice on the "Add New Stroke" icon.

Step 7

Set the first stroke color to white and the Weight to 6 pt.

Step 8

Set the second stroke color to #d0d1d3 and the stroke Weight to 6 pt.

Step 9

With the second stroke selected, click on the "Add New Effect" icon and from the dropdown menu select Distort & Transform > Transform.

Step 10

In the Transform Effect window, apply the following values and click OK.

Step 11

Set the Fill color to White and click on the down arrow to display the fill effects.

Step 12

Click on "Opacity" and set the Blending mode to "Multiply".

Step 13

With the Fill selected, click on the "Add New Effect" icon and from the dropdown menu select Stylize > Drop Shadow. Apply the following settings and click OK.

Step 14

Again, click on the "Add New Effect" icon and from the dropdown menu select Distort & Transform > Transform. Apply the following settings and click OK.

Step 15

One more time, click on the "Add New Effect" icon and from the dropdown menu select Stylize > Inner Glow. Apply the following settings and click OK.

Step 16

Lastly, to make the effect a bit more appealing, select the "characters" layer. Click on the "Add New Effect" icon and from the dropdown menu select Warp > Arc. Apply the following settings and click OK.

Step 17

Now that the whole effect is completed, a good idea is to save it for a future use. To do that, go to Window > Graphic Styles and with your text selected, click on the "New Graphic Style" icon.

Some Final Notes

Now that you know how to make and save a hollow text effect in Illustrator, you can freely edit the text and change the colors, effects, and stroke weights in the Appearance Panel to fit your needs. Or simply type your text and select the graphic style we just did to instantly apply it.