Zarxrax wrote:3. I dunno how to use Illustrator, but the tutorial says to use the "blend tool" to make a gradient along the patch of each character. The way it works, is you want the first part that is drawn to be white, and the last part to be black.
The blend tool can be tricky - you have to kind of know what you want ahead of time to make it work. It's rather like the gradient tool in Photoshop, except instead of creating a gradient on one object, you're making a gradient between two different objects - it can be smooth or divided; in your case you want it smooth. (Illustrator's classic way of making something that should be really simple, really annoying.)
This is a pretty advanced technique, btw, just like the tutorial says. You have to deconstruct each letter's shape and then connect them with the blend tool in the appropriate direction. It's an awesome effect, but a bit of a handful if you're not really confident with what you're doing.
I don't think you even need to use Illustrator to do this particular tutorial, actually. Unless you're projecting your AMV on a five-story building, creating the text in Photoshop should be more than acceptable, resolution-wise. It will be easier to handle in terms of creating just the right gradiant on the letters without painstaking work with the blend tool.
There are easier ways to achieve that handwriting-simulated look than the one in this tutorial. But it is awesome...*is getting ideas*