Hey there fellow designers! Are you looking for a quick and easy way to jazz up that logo you just finished, but aren’t sure what you can really do to help it? Look no further! The following tutorial will allow you to add a subtle but classy gloss effect to any text (or object!) in just a few simple steps. Please note that this tutorial assumes you know the basics of Adobe Illustrator, but if you have any questions, feel free to comment and I will be more than happy to help you out!

Step 1: Create Your Text

Since it is now 2016, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a generic “Happy New Year!” Once you have the text, go ahead and change the font to something more desirable. Once you’ve found your perfect font, head on over to your swatches panel and pick your favorite color.

Use your swatches panel to pick a font color.

Step 2: Convert Text to Object (Expand/Outline)

With the text you want to expand selected, head up to your Object menu and select Expand. This will allow you to apply new effects to your letters that might not otherwise be available to standard text. You can tell whether any letters in your file are editable text or expanded text by clicking on them. If you see an underline with the letters, the text can be edited. Expanded text will have points and lines around the outside of each letter.

Object and Fill should be selected before you click Okay.

QUICK TIP: Because expanding your text will convert it to outlines, you will no longer be able to change the font without retyping the words again. As a general rule, I always duplicate my text layer before I expand it, just to save myself some time. You can duplicate a layer by either copying and pasting (CTRL/CMD + C and then CTRL/CMD + V), or by holding down your ALT key and clicking and dragging the graphic you want to duplicate to another part of the screen.

Step 3: Create Some Gloss

First, duplicate your newly expanded text by either copying and pasting (CTRL/CMD + C and then CTRL/CMD + V), or by holding down your ALT key and clicking and dragging the graphic. Next, draw yourself an ellipse, in white. Rotate the ellipse slightly and change the opacity to 25%. Move the ellipse so that it crosses over the letters. Bring the duplicate letter layer to the front by clicking and dragging it above the ellipse in your Layers panel, or by pressing CTRL/CMD + SHIFT + ]. Select the duplicate letter set and the ellipse, and drag them off the artboard so you can see the white ellipse easier.

Change the ellipse's opacity to 25%. — Change the ellipse’s opacity to 25%.

Step 4: Make an Opacity Mask

With the ellipse and the duplicate letter layer selected, create an Opacity Mask via your Transparency panel. Drag the resulting graphic so that it aligns over top of your original letter layer. Once it is aligned properly, select the original letter layer and add a gradient and a stroke. This will add a finishing touch to your text.