Guides / Bevel
How to bevel text in Illustrator
Use Effect › 3D and Materials › Extrude & Bevel with a small depth and a Bevel shape, or fake a bevel with two offset strokes in the Appearance panel. JuicyType's Bevel effect draws vector facets on the face from a single Inset slider.
JuicyType Bevel · screen recording goes hereSkip to JuicyType ↓
The manual way, in Illustrator
- Select the text and apply Effect › 3D and Materials › Extrude & Bevel.
- Set Depth low, choose a Bevel shape and adjust its width and height.
- Alternatively, add two strokes in the Appearance panel, one light and one dark, offset with Effect › Distort & Transform › Transform.
The built-in bevel is shaded and rasterizes on export; the two-stroke trick is vector but only approximates a facet.
Steps drafted from Illustrator's documentation; to be checked in Illustrator 2025–2026 before launch.
Or, with JuicyType
Bevel with JuicyType
Select the text, open the JuicyType panel, choose Bevel, and drag. It is a live effect, so the text stays editable and every control can be changed later.
- Inset0–100%, default 40
- Colours and slope styleshared with the 3D section: top, side and slope colours and Color / Gradient / Comic / Split
JuicyType≡
Bevel✓
Inset
Colours and slope style
Keep live text●
Apply
0:45
Common questions
Is the bevel vector?
JuicyType's is. Illustrator's 3D bevel is a rendered surface until you expand it.