Getting Funky in Adobe Illustrator1. I started with the font "Amplio Display Caps", and typed out the alphabet at 36 points. From past experiences experimenting with type, I know that a big bold font holds up better and maintains its legibility when filters and effects are applied to it. Small, light, very complex, or delicate fonts tend to become illegible very quickly. I converted the type to outlines in order to apply effects to the shape of the type by selecting Type/Create Outlines (Ctrl+Shift +O). As with other drawing programs, like Freehand and CorelDraw, you can either work with type as type, which allows you to format the text, use a spell checker, etc. However, if you want to apply artistic effects like filters, you'll want to work with type as a drawing object, and not as type.
 2. I love goofing around with type. If I didn't have to do things like earn a living, I'd spend most of my time experimenting with type. I thought it would be interesting to give this chunky, square, squat type face a more rounded look, so I applied Filter/Stylize/Round Corners, with a setting of 10 points.
 Makes you just want to don a pair of platform shoes, doesn't it? Everybody now! "Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive..." I was so inspired by this version that I applied some textures and colors to this font in Photoshop, which you can see below. But I digress. More funkiness was applied to this version of the type. 3. In this example, after Filter/Stylize/Round Corners was applied, so I experimented some more and applied the Calligraphy filter, by selecting Filter/Stylize/Calligraphy, with a setting of 9 points, and an angle of 120 degrees. Although the typeface is difficult to read, it has plenty of attitude.
 3. In order to regain some of the legibility, I used a smaller setting for the Calligraphy filter. After Filter/Stylize/Round Corners was applied, I applied Filter/Stylize/Calligraphy, with a setting of 3 points, and an angle of 120 degrees.
Additional Funkiness in Adobe Photoshop1.Because the first example was so much fun, I saved the Adobe Illustrator file, then opened it in Photoshop. I selected the example I wanted to experiment with using the Marquee tool, then copied it (Ctrl+C), opened a new file (Ctrl+N), then pasted it (Ctrl+V) into a new file. Since I'm using Photoshop 4, the type was automatically pasted as a new layer.2.Next, I applied a texture from KPT Texture Explorer. Following that, I applied the Inner Bevel filter from Alien Skin, with a setting of 5 pixels for the bevel, and the bevel type set to round. I then deselected the Transparency checkbox on the Layers palette, then applied the Alien Skin Drop Shadow filter with an offset of 2 pixels, and an opacity of 50%. The final step was to select black for the foreground color, then apply Edit/Stroke, with a setting of 1 pixel.
 1. Returning to the original file, I decided to experiment some more. I again selected the type, copied it (Ctrl+C), opened a new file (Ctrl+N), then pasted it (Ctrl+V) into a new file. 2. I created a custom chrome-type gradient using the Gradient tool, then applied it to the type. Next, I selected black for the foreground color, then applied Edit/Stroke, with a setting of 1 pixel. 3. With the Transparency checkbox selected on the Layers palette, I applied Filter/Blur More. Then I deselected the Transparency checkbox, and applied the Alien Skin Drop Shadow filter with an offset of 2 pixels, and an opacity of 50%.
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