fitting text to shape

[ldrain]

hi again-
i was wondereing if anyone out there knew how to fit a word into an organic shape. for example: putting the word "fish" into an outlined image of a fish.

a friend of mine showed me how to do it a few AI versions ago, and haven't really had a use for it until now. i tried messing with envelope distort and a few others, but rosetta didn't like that so it crashed. i figure i'd ask here before dealing with the extra crashes. thanks in advance-

[AdobeAce]

Hi ldrain,

Give this a try.

Type your word. No reason to convert to outline.

Draw your organic shape on top of your type.

Select both.

Go to Object>Envelope Distort>Make with Top Object.

Hope this helps!

Ace
:D

[ldrain]

that worked, thanks ace!

i also realized that i was trying it with a compund path before. doh :rolleyes:

[ldrain]

to add to my question months prior, is there a way to get the envelope distort to work on a compound path? i am using the Make with Top Object option. when i try to do it, i get this:

[Lukas Engqvist]

I guess looking at a normal traditional envelope would reaveal the secret.
try posting one letter in two different envelopes without tearing it into pieces ;)
An envelope is a simple shape of the outside-container.

[ldrain]

in case anyone is reading this, i found my solution. the top path that i was using before, inverted on itself, which caused the envelope to go psycho. to fix it, all i had to do was tweak the top corners so they didn't overlap each other. i also had to release the compound path and make 2 seperate envelopes in order for the envelope to work. :D

[The Repro Kid]

Just for fun, why don't you post the final? :)