In the following tutorial you will learn how to create a glassy text effect filled with a green, acidic substance. You’ll use shape creation tools, Opacity Masks, and filters. This project could work well to add a mad scientist feel to your next creative design project.
Step 1
Create a 700px by 300px, RGB document and start with the Rectangle Tool (M). Create a shape the size of your artboard and fill it with R=250, G=250, and B=250. Select this rectangle and go to the Appearance panel.Open the fly-out menu and click on Add New Fill. This will add a second fill for your shapes. Select it from the Appearance panel and use the radial gradient shown below. The yellow zero from the Gradient image stands for Opacity percentage. Make sure that this second fill is still selected and lower the Opacity to 75%.
Step 2
Continue with the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a new shape the size of your artboard. Next, you need a pattern for this fresh shape. Go to the Swatches panel, open the fly-out menu and go to Open Swatch Library > Pattern > Basic Graphics > Basic Graphics_Textures. This will open a new window with a nice set of built in patterns.Fill the the rectangle with the USGS 17 Sandy Dry Lake pattern and lower it’s Opacity to 45%. Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M), create a new shape the size of your artboard and fill it with the radial gradient shown in the second image.
Now, select the two shapes created in this step and go to the Transparency panel (Window > Transparency). Open the fly-out menu and click on Make Opacity Mask. In the end your shape should look like in the third image.
Step 3
Pick the Type Tool (T) and add your text. Use the Gota font with a size of 120pt and set the color at R=85, G=237, and B=10. Select the text and go to Object > Expand, then select the resulting group of shapes, and go to Object > Compound Path > Make.Double-click on the resulting path (in the Layers panel) and name it "Glow." Select "Glow" and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -2px Offset and click OK. Fill the resulting path with white and name it "Text."
Step 4
For this step you need to enable the Smart Guides (Command + U). Pick the Pen Tool (P) and draw some horizontal paths as shown in the first image. Add a discrete black stroke for each of these paths to distinguish them easier from the rest of the shapes.Now grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw some squeezed shapes above the horizontal paths. The Smart Guides should ease your work. Using the Selection Tool (V), select each of these oval shapes, then set the height value at 4px (from the Command panel) and the color at R=0, G=215, and B=0.
Step 5
Make a copy of "Text" and make it invisible, you’ll need it later. Now select the original "Text" shape, along with the horizontal paths created in the previous step, and click on the Divide button from the Pathfinder panel.This will create a group of new shapes. Select the top, white shapes (second image) and hit the Delete key, then select the bottom, white shapes and go to Object > Compound Path > Make. Name the resulting path "Green."
Step 6
Reselect the "Glow" shape, lower its Opacity to 15%, then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 15px radius, click OK and then lock this shape.
Step 7
Focus on one of the oval shapes created in the fourth step. Select it, hit Command + C once, then hit Command + F twice to create two copies in front. Next, go to Edit > Preferences > General and enter 0.25px in the Keyboard increment box. Now return to the two copies. Select the top one and hit the up arrow twice (to move it 0.5px up).Reselect the two copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=185, G=235, and B=71. Now lower its Opacity to 85%. Make two new copies of this oval shape (Command + C > Command + F > Command + F).
Select the top copy and hit the down arrow once. Again, reselect these two copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting path with R=0, G=190, and B=0. Repeat the same techniques for the rest of the oval shapes.
Step 8
Select the "Green" and fill it with the linear gradient shown below, then make two copies (Command + C > Command + F > Command + F). Select the top copy and hit the left arrow twice, then reselect both copies, and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting group of shapes with R=0, G=148, and B=68. Lower its Opacity to 55%, then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 1px radius and click OK.
Step 9
Next, you need to mask the group created in the previous step. First, make a copy of "Green" (Command + C > Command + F), fill it with white and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key).Now select this fresh, white shape (along with the group made the previous step), and go to the Transparency panel. Open the fly-out menu and click on Make Opacity Mask. Now your group should look like the second image shown. Select it and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key).
Step 10
Duplicate "Green," select this copy and hit the left arrow twelve times. Make a copy of this moves shape, select it and hit the left arrow eight times. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting group of shapes with white, lower its Opacity to 15%, then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 1px radius and click OK.
Step 11
Again, you need to mask the group created in the previous step. Make a copy of "Green", fill it with white, and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key). Now, select this fresh, white shape along with the group made in the previous step, go to the Transparency panel, open the fly-out menu, and click on Make Opacity Mask. Your group should look like the second image shown. Select it and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key).
Step 12
Select "Green" and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -2 Offset and click OK. Duplicate the resulting shape (Command + C > Command + F). Select this copy, then hit the right arrow and the up arrow six times.Reselect these two copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting group of shapes with R=185, G=235, and B=71. Now go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 1.5 radius and click OK.
Step 13
Once again, you need to mask the group created in the previous step. Make a copy of "Green," fill it with white and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key). Now select this fresh, white shape (along with the group made in the previous step), go to the Transparency panel, open the fly-out menu, and click on Make Opacity Mask. Your groups should look like the second image shown. Select it and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key).
Step 14
Turn on the visibility for the "Text" copy made in the fifth step and rename it "Glass." Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key), lower its Opacity to 30%, and fill it with the linear gradient shown below. The white numbers from the gradient image stand for location percentage, while the yellow numbers stand for Opacity percentage.If you choose to use another word you must know that each letter shape must have a 100% Opacity slider in the middle and two 0% Opacity sliders (one to the left and the other to the right). After you add this complex gradient, with this shape still selected, go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow. Enter the data shown below and click OK.
Step 15
Make a copy of "Glass" and Bring it to Front. Select this copy and hit D to add the default properties (white fill and 1pt, black stroke) for your shape. Remove the fill, select the stroke and make it 0.15pt wide, then go to Object > Expand Appearance. Fill the resulting path with the linear gradient shown in the third image below.
Step 16
Select "Glass" and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -4px Offset and click OK. Select the resulting path and hit D to add the default properties. Remove the black stroke and duplicate this shape. Select the copy and hit the right arrow eight times.Reselect this copy, along with the original shape, and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Select the resulting group of shapes, lower its Opacity to 60%, then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 2px radius and click OK.
Step 17
Make two new copies of "Glass." Select the top copy, then hit the right arrow twice, and the down arrow once. Now reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting group of shapes with white and lower its Opacity to 20%.
Step 18
Again, make two copies of "Glass." Select the top copy, then hit the right arrow and the down arrow five times. Now reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting group of shapes with white and lower its Opacity to 30%. Select this group and move it down in your Layers panel (below the other text components), right above the "Glow" shape.
Step 19
Make a new copy of "Glass." Select it, then hit the right arrow and the down arrow six times. Rename it "Shadow" and move it below the group created in the previous step (in the Layers panel). Now let’s edit the properties. First, remove the Inner Glow effect, then fill it with R=40, G=49, and B=50. Lower the Opacity to 6% and go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 1.5px radius and click OK.
Step 20
Open the Brushes panel. Pick the Pen Tool (P) and draw a simple path like the one shown in the first image. Fill it with none and use the Filbert Bristle brush. Next, you need to mask this shape. Make a copy of "Glass," fill it only with white and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key).Select this copy, along with the brush, and go to the Transparency panel. Open the fly-out menu and click on Make Opacity Mask. Finally, select this masked shape, Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key), and lower its Opacity to 50%.
Step 21
Let’s continue with the little bubble shapes. Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), hold Shift, create a 5px by 5px shape, and fill it with the linear gradient shown below. Continue with the Ellipse Tool (L), create three new shapes (3x3px, 2x2px, 1x1px), and fill them with R=246, G=255, and B=96. Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 3.5 by 3.5 shape and fill it with R=0, G=210, and B=0.Create a significantly smaller circle, place it as show in the second image, and fill it with R=125, G=235, and B=71. Select these two circles and group them (Command + G). Make a copy of this group, move it a few pixels to the right, and go to the Command panel. Check the Constrain Width and Height Proportions icon, and enter the 2.5 in the height box. Make two new copies of this group and resize them to 1.5px by 1.5px and 1px by 1px.
Step 22
Multiply the yellow circles created in the previous step, randomly spread them across the "Green" shape and change their blending mode to Overlay. Multiply the groups created in the previous step and spread them as shown in the second image. Select all these little shapes and group them (Command + G), then move the group below the "Glass" shape in the Layers panel.
Step 23
Make a new copy of "Glass," fill it with white, and Bring it to Front (Shift + Command + Right Bracket key). Select this fresh shape and go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Check the Horizontal button and click OK. Now, your shape should look like the third image. Select it and move it below the text, as shown in the fourth image.
Step 24
Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a shape like the one shown in the first image. Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A) and focus on this fresh rectangle. Select the top, left anchor point and move it a few pixels to the right. Now select the top, right anchor point and move it a few pixels to the left. Your shape should look like a trapezoid as shown.
Step 25
Select the trapezoid shape, along with the white, flipped text shape and go to Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Top Object. You will get a shape like the one shown in the second image. Select it, go to Object > Expand, then fill the resulting path with the linear gradient shown in the third image.
Step 26
Finally, reselect "Green" and go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow. Enter the data shown below, click OK and you’re done.
Conclusion
The final image is below in all it’s shiny glass and acidic, bubbly fluid glory.