How to Make Flaming Letters in Illustrator
Flaming letters are used as accents in a number of designs, such as sales brochures and album covers for rock bands. While flaming letters are easy to do in Photoshop, doing them in Illustrator, where the text remains editable and scalable, requires a bit of creativity, including an unorthodox use of the "Tweak" effect and the use of a clipping mask.
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Instructions
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1
Select the font you want to use, and choose a medium yellow color for it. Create a new layer underneath this text by clicking the "New Layer" icon in the Layers palette on the right side of the work area. This will be your baseline text for the flaming effect; all of the modifications you will be making will be on copies of this text on the layer you just created.
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2
Copy the text by selecting it and pressing "Ctrl" and "C" to copy, and then typing "Ctrl" and "B" to paste your copy directly behind the original text. Click on the small colored square on the Layers palette and drag the copy down to the new layer you created.
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3
Click on the "Lock" icon for your original layer.
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4
Click on the text in the bottom layer – you won't be able to see it directly, but you will see the indications it's selected – and change its color to a warm orange with the color picker.
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5
Click on the "Effects" menu and select "Distort & Transform," then select "Tweak" – move the vertical slider on the menu that comes up to 40 percent or so, and press "OK" – you will see distortions spring out from the top and bottom of the hidden text, like flames from a candle.
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6
Copy the text you just transformed, and paste it behind the layer you created, through using the "Ctrl" and "C" keys and "Ctrl" and "B" keys again, like you did in Step 2. Change the color of the text to red or orange or pale blue – whatever color you want the flames to be – and then apply the Tweak transformation again. Repeat this process until you have as many copies -- and as many colors of flame -- as you want.
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7
Create a black rectangle that's a little wider than your text, and slide it up so that the top of the rectangle exactly brushes the bottom of your baseline text. Press "Ctrl" plus "7" to use it as a compound clipping mask to remove the flames coming from the bottom of your letters.
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