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Anonymous
3D W is giving me a headache
2016-06-17 11:54:28 Post No. 273585
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3D W is giving me a headache
Anonymous
2016-06-17 11:54:28
Post No. 273585
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Okay, so I was trying something in Ai before just to learn how to do it and to get familiar with the program. I didn't think the task I chose was hard and that it is a good idea for learning the basics. However, I cannot find anything useful on the Adobe page since I have no idea what to look for. When I try, their names for tools and workflows are confusing to me and, ironically, it is not really well illustrated. I have failed so often now that I am fucking mad. I really need someone to explain the best practice how to accomplish this:
I used the letter W that you see in pic related. I chose it because it has intersections. As you can see, as of now it is still just flat. What I wanted to do is add a kind of 3D effect to it by giving it a gradient and some depth (will recolor, it's a standard gradient I just used for the exercise).
To achieve this, I want the paths to go above each other, so that the "W" kind of looks like a spring, if you know what I mean.
For example, in the middle where the strokes meet and just merge, I want the path coming from the left to be above the part that comes back down. (That one should go below said line.) At the end to the right, where it is merging again, I want the path to go above itself once more, creating a round tip instead of the flat merge.
I hope someone understands what I mean by that and can help me out here. I just don't get how the tools work and how I can cut the letter into shapes. Hell, I don't even know how to make the closed paths that are already there longer without fucking everything up.
(I realize sometimes you can copy/paste but with drop shadows, gradients or opacity involved, I would rather not copy it multiple times to create the "illusion". Also, it's about getting to know the program, so a workaround is fine as long as it's generally applicable.)
I can't believe I don't even understand how to extend/cut an existing, closed path. Sorry that I am apparently THIS dumb.
Thank you all, guys!
