3D Text Wrapped on a Sphere
This short tutorial makes a bold 3D sphere effect out of three words in Adobe Illustrator. It looks difficult but uses only a few tools: Pathfinder to divide a circle into segments, Envelope Distort to wrap each word into a segment, and a Blend to give the whole thing depth. The example words are “Digital”, “Art” and “Creation”.
Step 1: Divide the sphere
Draw a circle (hold Shift). With the Pen Tool draw two curved shapes across it with no fill, dividing it into the areas where the words will sit. Select everything, Pathfinder > Divide, ungroup, and unite any leftover pieces so you end up with three segments.
Step 2: Wrap the words
Type each word in a heavy, bold font. For each word: bring its segment to the front (Object > Arrange), select the segment and the word, then Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Top Object. Double-click into the envelope to rotate or reposition the text inside if it is hard to read. Lock finished parts with Ctrl+2 while you work on the others.
Step 3: Expand and blend
Unlock everything, select all and Object > Expand (object and fill). Group the result. Alt-drag a copy, then make a second smaller copy and bring it to the front. Colour the two copies differently, select both and Object > Blend > Make. Open Blend Options, choose Specified Steps and set a high value (150 in the video) until there are no gaps and the shape looks solid.
Step 4: Colour and strokes
Add a circle behind for the base of the sphere. Give each word its own colour and darker tones for the blend so the letters stay readable. Paste the flat front copy on top, add a white stroke set to Overlay with a variable width profile for a highlight, and adjust fills, or use gradients, until you like it.
Conclusion
Envelope Distort does the wrapping and the Blend does the 3D. Once you see the method you can wrap any words into any shape and blend it into a solid object.
Links from the video
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