10e20 Blog

Some things are easier to do than others when manipulating type. Here is a quick tutorial on how to transform and distort your type in an easily scalable way with a vector mask.

This works on the same premise as distorting or transforming a basic shape. When you convert a text layer to a shape a vector mask is applied to it and ables you to make many transform functions. Very quick, very easy, very effective.

Step 1. Create a new layer with your text on it. Experiment with various widths and styles. For exaggerated distortions I find that a thick or Bold Condensed type form works best.

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Step 2. With the type layer selected go to Layer/Type/Convert to Shape.

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Step 3. Now you can go to Edit/Transform Path/and choose any of the transform functions available. This will create a working vector mask path that will make the transforms smooth and scalable. For this example Skew was used with a bit of Distort on the left side corner.

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Step 4. When you are happy with your transforming go to the Layer Palette and right click on the Vector Mask thumbnail for the text layer. Now select Rasterize Vector Mask.

Thats it! Play with the various transforming functions with this technique, you will get clean crisp lines and it is a much more functional method to use than say just Rasterizing the type right off the bat.

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