How to Create Wavy Text Retro Effect in Illustrator

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If you've been wondering how to make SVG designs with the wavy retro stacked words, this tutorial will show you how to create the wavy text / ripple text effect using Adobe Illustrator. 

Follow these step-by-step instructions to quickly create a wavy text effect using Adobe Illustrator.

How Do I Make Wavy Stacked Retro Words?

Create your stacked text using your favorite font.

I am using this font which cuts beautifully using my Cricut Maker.

Quickly copy each layer by holding Option, grab the layer and drag it down to duplicate it.

Select all layers and Align: Horizontal Align Center and Align: Vertical Distribute Center

Group (CMD+G) all of the layers together:

How Do I Make Wavy Text in Illustrator?

You can easily warp your text in Adobe Illustrator to get the wavy text effect, using this technique.

Select all layers and click Object: Envelope Distort: Make with Warp

Choose the Wave Style and adjust the Bend. I am using 33%.

Leave the Horizontal & Vertical Distortion at 0.

You can play around with all of the Distortion options to create some very unique designs!

It takes only a few minutes to create the wavy text retro effect in Adobe Illustrator. 

How Do I Turn My Text Design Into a Cut File?

To turn your newly created wavy text retro design into a cuttable design for Cricut, Silhouette, etc. click here to read a super quick tutorial.