- Working with Shapes
- Using Styles
- Playing with Type, Part 1: Tracking and Leading
- Playing with Type, Part 2: Baseline Shift
- Playing with Type, Part 3: Applying Warp
- What's Next?
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Playing with Type, Part 3: Applying Warp
One of the last pieces in the puzzle of working with type is the ability to perform warps at will. Once you've committed a block of text, you'll notice a letter A with a bent arrow at the top of the menu options. Click that icon to open a submenu with a variety of warps for you to use. In Figure 7, I chose a warp that applies a slight bend to the text.
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Here's a really cool trick. While using the Warp Text window, you can still move the text around. If you hover over your text, you'll see a Move tool is available. Click the text and drag it around, moving it to a new location if whatever warp you performed takes the text off of your canvas.
Each of the warps in the Warp Text field operates a little differently from all the others, so it's a good idea to experiment with a bunch of them to make sure that you get the exact effect you wanted (see Figure 8). Also, those sliders were made to let you give some final touches to your warp—take advantage of them!
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After committing the warp, you still have the option to go back and change the text in the layer. If at any point you want to adjust the warp again, click the text layer using the Text tool, and then click the Warp icon again.
Another quick way to get into the dynamics of the warp: With the text layer selected, press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T), and you'll get a series of transformation handles. Click the Warp option in the options menu, and you'll have a visual control to use for changing your warp (see Figure 9).
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Keep using these tried-and-true tips for playing around with shapes and text, and you'll notice a definite change in your creative skills. If you're looking for more instruction and inspiration, visit us at KelbyTraining.com.