How to Create Beveled Vector Art With Illustrator Cs2

Beveled edges add a finishing touch to vector shapes and text. Vector art is composed of geometric elements such as lines, circles and shapes, as opposed to bitmaps which are made up of many pixels. A smooth beveled edge in vector graphics adds a realistic 3-D effect. Beveled vector shapes and text are scalable and resolution-independent, so they have the same quality when printed huge on the side of a truck as they do on a small business card.

1. Go to “File,” then “New” and choose 3 by 3 inches for the width and height of your new document. Select “CMYK” for the “Color Mode,” and choose a Transparent background.
2. Step 2

   Double-click on the black box in the Toolbox on the left to change the Foreground color. When the Color Picker comes up, choose a light or medium value color so the bevel will be prominent.

3. Step 3

   Click on the “Ellipse” tool in the Tool box and draw a circle in the middle of your canvas big enough to take up about a third of it. You will see that it automatically fills up with the Foreground color you have chosen.

4. Step 4

   Go up to “Effect” on the horizontal menu bar at the top of your art board and scroll down to “3-D.” Click on “Extrude & Bevel” on the sidebar that opens up.

5. Step 5

   Set “Extrude” at two degrees and for “Bevel” choose the “Classic” bevel shape at a height of “4 pt.” Use the “Plastic Shading” setting. Click OK. Your circle now has a beveled edge. The slight extrusion provides a contrasting dark edge.

6. Step 6

   Click on the Foreground box and choose a different color in the “Color Picker” to contrast with your circle.

7. Step 7

   Go to the “T” in the Toolbox, drag it to your art board and type in a name such as “Vector.” Change the font to “Pump Demi Bold Let Plain 1.0″ and set the font size at 36 points.

8. Step 8

   Go to the “Direct Selection Tool” (white arrow) at the top of the Toolbox and drag it over to select your text. Then go to “Effect,” “3 D,” choose 5 points for “Extrude,” and the “Classic” bevel shape at 4 points in height. Click OK. Now you have turned your text into beveled vector art.

9. Step 9

   Use the “Move” tool (dark arrow) to drag your text on top of your circle. This approximates the look of a simple logo or badge done in beveled vector art.

10. Step 10

    Go to “File,” click “Save as,” and name and save your vector art file as an AI or PDF file. If you save it as a PDF, check the option to preserve Illustrator editing capabilities.