How to Curve Text on Illustrator | Transform Any Text Style

Learn how to curve text in Illustrator with our simple guide. Create stunning designs and add a unique touch to personalize your visuals. Alternatively, curve text in videos with CapCut.

how to curve text on illustrator
CapCut
CapCut2024-10-27
0 min(s)

Whether you're designing a circular logo, a curved banner, or just want your text to follow a specific path, knowing how to bend and shape text can add a unique touch to your projects. It can highlight the key messages and provide a dynamic visual appeal to brand logos, banners, and flyers.

In this article, you will learn how to curve text on Illustrator in simple steps, making it easy to make captivating designs even for beginners.

Table of content

A brief introduction to Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a design tool used by professionals to create graphics, logos, illustrations, and more. It's known for its vector-based design, which means your creations can be resized without losing quality. Learning how to curve text in Illustrator can not only help you make eye-catching designs but also create personalized logos, thumbnails, and flyers for social media.

Why choose Illustrator for curving text

Adobe Illustrator has powerful features that make it easy to create professional designs. Whether you're working on a logo, a banner, or a custom project, it offers everything you need to bring your vision to life. Here's why you should choose Illustrator for curving text:

  • Precise control
  • Adobe Illustrator gives you full control over every part of your design. This enables users to easily adjust the text and its path with great accuracy. This precision is important if you want to understand how to do curved text in Illustrator effectively.
  • Scalable vector graphics
  • It has a major advantage in that it works with vector graphics, enabling users to resize without losing quality. This means that text remains sharp and clear regardless of the size of the design. As a result, Adobe Illustrator is particularly useful for creating scalable logos and other designs.
  • Advanced typography tools
  • In Illustrator, you can use various typography tools to manipulate text. These tools enable you to curve text along a path or shape, making it perfect for creating circular logos or curved banners. All these tools can help simplify the process of how to curve text to a shape in Illustrator.
  • Customization options
  • Adobe Illustrator enables you to customize text in many ways, such as changing the font, size, colors, and effects. This flexibility is useful because it enables you to make your design unique and personalized.
  • Artistic flexibility
  • It provides the freedom to combine text with other graphic elements seamlessly. You can add text to a shape or create a custom design with curved text, giving you the ability to try out different experiments to test your creativity.

How to curve text in Adobe Illustrator | 3 quick and easy ways

When using Adobe Illustrator, you can curve text in several ways to achieve different effects. Whether you want a simple bend or a more complex curve, its tools make the process easy and efficient. Below are the 3 easy ways to curve text in your designs using Illustrator:

1. Warp

The warp tool in Illustrator is great for quickly bending or curving text. It lets you easily distort text into preset shapes like arcs, waves, or fisheyes, offering many design possibilities. This method is simple and perfect for beginners.

How to bend text in Illustrator with the warp tool

Here is how to bend text in Adobe Illustrator in simple steps:

    Step
  1. Select your text
  2. Begin by typing your text using the "Type Tool." After typing your desired text, use the "Selection Tool" to select the text box.
  3. Step
  4. Access the warp effect
  5. Go to the "Effect" menu at the top, then scroll down to "Warp" and choose the desired shape, such as "Arc" or "Bulge." A Warp options window will open, previewing the applied effect on your text.
  6. Step
  7. Adjust warp settings
  8. In the Warp options dialog, adjust the "Bend" slider to control the curve and fine-tune the "Horizontal" and "Vertical Distortion" sliders. Click OK to apply the effect when you're satisfied.
  9. 
    Showing how to curve a text in Illustrator using the warp tool

2. Type on a path

The type on a path tool is a versatile way to curve text along any custom path or shape. You can use it to make curved banners, circular logos, or artistic text designs. It enables you to type along any drawn path, giving you more creative control when looking for how to create curve text in Illustrator. This means you can fully customize the shape of the path.

How to curve words in Illustrator by typing on a path

Wondering how to make a font curve in Illustrator? Follow the below steps:

    Step
  1. Create your path
  2. Click on the "Pen Tool" to make a path on which you want to write the text. The path can be a straight line, a circle, or a custom shape.
  3. Step
  4. Type on the path
  5. To start typing along a path in Illustrator, click on "Type on a Path Tool" from the toolbar (found under the regular "Type Tool") and click on the path where you want your text to begin.
  6. Step
  7. Adjust the text position
  8. You can adjust text placement by dragging the start and end handles on the path, enabling you to reposition it to fit your design perfectly. Additionally, modify text alignment through the "Type" options.
  9. 
    Displaying how to curve text in Adobe Illustrator by typing on the path

3. Envelope distort

In Adobe Illustrator, you can also use the envelop ditort feature to bend and adjust text in advanced ways. It lets you curve text into any shape, which is great for creative design projects. With it, you have full control to reshape and mold text, giving you endless possibilities for creative expression in detailed designs with an enhanced visual appeal.

How to curve a text in Adobe Illustrator with envelope distort

Here is how to make arc text in Illustrator:

    Step
  1. Select your text
  2. Start by typing out the text you want to curve. Once you've typed it, select the text using the "Selection Tool" to ensure it's ready for the next steps.
  3. Step
  4. Apply the envelope distort
  5. With your text selected, go to "Object" in the top menu, then select "Envelope Distort"> "Make with Warp." This will bring up the Warp Options window, where you can choose from various preset warp styles.
  6. Step
  7. Customize distortion
  8. After selecting your warp style, use the "Bend" slider to curve your text. Adjust the horizontal and vertical distortion to refine the shape. Once satisfied, click OK to apply the warp effect.
  9. 
    Showing how to bend text in Adobe Illustrator with envelope distort

Tips to create curve text in Adobe Illustrator

Curved text can enhance your design projects, so it's important to use the right techniques. There are many things to consider to guide you through the process and help you understand how to curve text in Illustrator iPad or Windows. Here are some of the key tips for getting optimal results:

  • Choose the right tool
  • Choose an efficient and reliable tool when curving text in Illustrator. For simple curves, use the type on a path tool, and for more complex shapes, use the envelope distort feature. Knowing which tool to use will save time and help you achieve the desired effect.
  • Adjust text placement
  • Use the selection handles to move your text along the curve, ensuring it fits well within the space. Proper alignment will make the text easier to read and more aesthetically pleasing. This adjustment is crucial for anyone learning how to curve font in Illustrator.
  • Use warp for curves
  • The warp tool in Illustrator is a simple but powerful way to create basic curved text. It has preset styles like arcs or waves, making it easy to bend text. This method is great for beginners and can help you make fun, playful designs.
  • Try envelope distort
  • Use the envelop distort feature to create complicated designs to fit text into a specific shape. It lets you wrap the text around any object, giving you many customization options. Moreover, it is perfect for advanced projects where creativity is important.
  • Fine-tune typography
  • Adjust the typography settings after curving your text to improve your design. You can enhance your text by changing the font size, spacing, and alignment. Even small adjustments can greatly impact how your curved text fits your overall design.

An alternative way to curve text on a PC: CapCut desktop video editor

CapCut desktop video editor provides an easy way to curve text compared to Illustrator. In addition to video editing capabilities, this user-friendly tool provides features for adding stylish text. With it, you can create dynamic text effects, including curving your text to match your video's theme. It's a great option for enhancing video projects with eye-catching text designs.


Interface of the CapCut desktop video editor - a quick way to curve text for dynamic effect

How to make a text circular in CapCut

To add circular text with ease, first click the download button below to get the installer of the CapCut desktop video editor. Once downloaded, run it and follow the simple steps to set up this software on your PC. Finally, launch it and start customizing the text in your videos.

    Step
  1. Upload the video
  2. Open the CapCut desktop video editor and import your video by clicking "Import." Once uploaded, drag the video to the timeline to start editing.
  3. 
    Uploading the video to the CapCut desktop video editor
  4. Step
  5. Curve text and adjust its strength
  6. Go to the "Text" section, add your text, and scroll down to find the curve option. Enable it and use the strength slider to adjust how curved the text appears—higher strength creates a stronger curve, while lower strength gives a gentler arc. This lets you customize the text to fit your video's style.
  7. 
    Enabling the curve effect in the CapCut desktop video editor
  8. Step
  9. Export and share
  10. After curving the text, click "Export" to save your video in the desired format and resolution, then share it as needed.
  11. 
    Exporting the video from the CapCut desktop video editor

Key features

Here are some key features of the CapCut desktop video editor that make it easy to work with text in your video projects:

  • Effortless text curving
  • CapCut enables users to quickly create stylish, curved text that enhances your video's visual appeal with just a few clicks.
  • Text sizing and positioning
  • You can easily adjust the size of your text and position it anywhere on the screen, ensuring it fits perfectly within your video frame.
  • Seamless text alignment
  • CapCut helps you align your text precisely, making sure it looks professional and is visually balanced with other elements in your video.
  • Multiple text templates
  • Add text to videos while choosing from various pre-designed text templates and quickly apply eye-catching styles to your text.
  • AI-supported text generator
  • This feature helps you generate creative text ideas using AI, making it easier to find the perfect wording or style for your video content.

Conclusion

Understanding how to curve text in Illustrator is quite simple with the right techniques. You can use the warp tool, type on a path, or envelope distort to achieve the perfect curve for your text. With practice, you can master these techniques to create visually appealing graphics that stand out.

However, for an alternative to Illustrator, consider using the CapCut desktop video editor. This tool lets you edit videos and provides easy text-curving features, making it great for adding creative text effects to your video projects.

FAQs

  1. Is it possible to wrap text in Illustrator?
  2. Yes, you can wrap text in Adobe Illustrator using the type on a path tool or by creating a text frame around an object. This helps your text to follow the contour of shapes, making your designs more dynamic. For those interested in editing text in videos, consider using the CapCut desktop video editor, which offers similar text-wrapping features.
  3. Can I put a text on the curve in Adobe Illustrator?
  4. You can easily place text on a curve using the type on a path feature in Adobe Illustrator. This tool lets you align your text along any path, creating a curved effect that enhances your design. If you're looking to add curved text to your videos, the CapCut desktop video editor is a great option for achieving this effect.
  5. How to make a text curve in Illustrator?
  6. To make text curves in Illustrator, you can use the warp tool, type on a path, or envelope distort methods. Each method offers different levels of customization, enabling you to create the perfect curve for your text. If you want to explore curving text in your video projects, check out the CapCut desktop video editor for easy text effects.
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