In this Adobe Illustrator tutorial, we will be creating a stunning glassy text effect in Adobe Illustrator. We will use shapes, the Pathfinder panel, and gradients to create a unique and eye-catching look. This glassy text effect is perfect for adding a unique look to logos and other designs.

We will begin by creating the basic text shape using the shape tools and the properties panel. We will then apply gradients to each part of the letter or number to give them a realistic glassy look. Finally, we’ll use the blending modes to add some subtle details and change the way the gradients and colors interact with each other. With these steps, you will be able to create a beautiful glassy text effect that will be sure to stand out in any design.

In this tutorial, I used gradients from www.coolors.co/gradients They have some really great stuff available for free.

Create a new .ai document sized 1920×1080

Create a background rectangle filled with #f2f1ed and align to the artboard. Lock this layer.

Make a new layer. Create a new rectangle sized 550x500px with 25px rounded corners. Align this rectangle to the center of the document.

Add a small bug of text to the top left corner of this rectangle. Proxima Nova Light, 12pt, 40% gray as the color.

Add a Drop Shadow, 10% opacity, 0px on the X axis, 8px on the Y axis, 12px blur. Lock this layer.

Make a new layer. Add a rectangle 300×300 with 60px corners and align it to the center of the artboard.

Fill this rectangle with a gradient going #34073d to #ef745c set to 90º angle. Use the gradient tool to tweak the gradient and make it a little smoother.

Duplicate that rounded rectangle and make a couple more background colors for the icon using gradients from: https://coolors.co/gradients

Lock all the icon background layers and make a new layer.

Create a rectangle 110x60px in size with 30px rounded corners.

Duplicate this rectangle and move it down 8px below this first rounded rectangle.

Set the width of this rectangle to 90px with the anchor point being the center-right point. Adjust the rounded corners if needed to ensure a pill shape.

Create an ellipse at 128x128px and cut it perfectly in half by deleting the middle-left anchor point with the Direct Selection tool.

Drag and click this shape so it seamlessly creates the rounded edge joining the top rounded rectangle with the bottom rounded rectangle.

Create a small 8x8px ellipse and use it to cut a rounded inside edge for this ellipse to remove the hard edge.

Select these three shapes and group them together.

Reflect this group and create a flipped copy. Move it downward to form the bottom part of our number 3.

Select both groups and duplicate them to save a copy of the shapes. Hide those groups so we don’t accidentally damage them.

Select the top part of the 3 and merge this into one shape with the Pathfinder panel. Do the same for the bottom part of the 3.

Select one of these shapes at a time and fill with a gradient fill and then create a white-to-white gradient. Set the opacity of the white gradient handle on the left to 0% and then select the shape and hit the letter “G” to use the Gradient tool and drag the gradient around to begin building a glass look. NOTE: We will do multiple layers of this effect to build a glassy look. Don’t worry about making it perfect right away.

After you have a glass look that you’re happy with, grab a copy of the top and bottom of the 3 and duplicate the groups one last time and, with both groups selected, hit the Intersect Shape option in the Pathfinder panel to save only the middle portion of our 3 shape.

Fill this shape with pure white and set to an opacity of 10-20%

Grab all the shapes that make the 3 and group them. Align this group to the center of the rounded rectangle shape.