Whether or not you’re a Steampunk fan, this two part tutorial is sure to test your knowledge on Illustrator, Cinema 4D and Photoshop. In the first half, we’re going to customize a Blackletter font and create 3D text with vector shapes. There’s lots to do, so let’s start with the first part of this two-part series!

Introduction

In this type treatment, I sought to bring together a Blackletter font with the alluring Steampunk Style. A quick search on the net about the movement will show a well defined style and a few dominant leitmotifs. Raging steam engines, whistling exhausts and shiny metals are the norm, so in keeping with the guidelines, I created this illustration.

Be sure to check out one of our other Steampunk tutorials on Psdtuts+, How to Create a Steampunk Style Illustration in Photoshop for great inspiration and some traditional Steampunk gadgetry!

Final Image Preview

Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $9/month. You can view the final image preview below.

Here’s what we’ll achieve by the end of these two parts.

For now though, we’re going to try and get this far.

Step 1

The first program on today’s list is Illustrator. Start it up, create a new web document with standard settings and type in your word using this free font.

Step 2

As you can see when zooming in, the font has a lot of harsh edges because it’s free, and not meant to be used for display purposes. We want a clean, few-endpoints font that won’t reveal any bugs in Cinema 4D. So turn down the Opacity of the text, and create a new layer. Lock the previous layer and start to trace your own version of the first letter.

Step 3

Try to keep the lines as smooth and natural as possible. You may choose to follow the edges by the letter (pun totally intended) or create a slightly different version like I did.

Step 4

Create a new layer underneath and create two bars over the old ones. While the color has no importance, I chose different values to make the tutorial easy to follow.

Step 5

Then on a layer above, create some dots with the Ellipse Tool (E). Create a rectangle too with the Rectangle Tool (M) and rotate it by 45 degrees.

Step 6

Then trace the… swirly thing near the center. Once you’ve done that, go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Use the values shown below.

Step 7

Locate your Pathfinder (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Trim icon.

Step 8

Select the Direct Selection Tool (A), or white arrow, and click firstly away from the object, then in the center. Delete that part.

Step 9

Now trace the rest of the word.

Step 10

Copy all the letter faces and paste them on a separate layer (Command + F).

Step 11

Go to Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 12

Go to Window > Stroke and give the text a 1 pt stroke.

Step 13

You’ll now have to click away and click back to only the top part of the text. For some reason, you can’t change the stroke alignment of all the elements at once. Anyway, change the alignment by clicking on the middle icon. Also, change the Weight to 7 points.

Step 14

Now go to Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 15

Trim it with the Pathfinder.

Step 16

Then offset it by -2.4 pt.

Step 17

Trim it again to flatten the effect.

Step 18

Now you can use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to delete the center.

Step 19

Repeat this process for all the remaining portions of the text.

Step 20

Now save it as an Illustrator 3 file. Cinema 4D won’t be able to access later formats.

Continue Learning…