How To Bold Text In Illustrator?

In this guide, you’ll get answers on how to bold text in Illustrator, and so much more. By the time you’re done reading this Ultimate Adobe Illustrator Tutorial, you’ll be ready to whip up an epic design.

Similar to any text editing feature such as underlining, drop caps, and underlining text, bolding text in Illustrator is an easy way to draw the reader’s attention to specific text elements. Hence, it’s a basic skill to know how to bold text in Adobe Illustrator.

Meantime, there isn’t just one way and one tool to bold text in Illustrator. You can do that using the Character panel or the Type and Effect functions.

Where is The Bold Function?

In Adobe Illustrator, manipulating text elements is a straightforward process, thanks to the Type tool and Character panel. The Type tool, represented by a “T” icon in the Toolbar or Tools panel, is your main instrument for creating text and editing text in your design.

If you wish to bold your text, you will have to open up the Character panel to find the bold function. You can open the Character panel by going to Window > Type > Character, which allows you to alter the font style, including making it bold if the font supports it.

Or go to the Control panel above your document, select the link that says “Character” and the Character panel will pop-up.

The Character panel is also where you can change the fill color of your text, create a bold effect by adding a new stroke, or even change the stroke color.

For more advanced text effect manipulation, you can use the Appearance panel and Appearance Palette.

How to Bold Text In Illustrator?

The easiest way to bold text in Illustrator is to first open the Character panel by going to Window > Type > Character. Next, choose the font you want and select Set The Font Style. In the drop-down menu, select the given bold style. 

Note that this can only work for fonts that include the bold character style in the font file. If this doesn’t work on the font you want, either find a replacement font that has a bold style or refer to the other methods in this guide.

Method 1: Bold Style

This method is dependent on the font you’ve selected. You may download a free font or a purchased one, that doesn’t matter. So long that at the time of installation, you have on hand either a variant font that includes the bold style or a file that is meant to bold the main regular font. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Select Text To Be Bold

If you haven’t already, create a new document by going to File > New. In the dialog box, set your desired dimensions and click the CREATE button. 

The next thing is to add text by selecting the Type Tool from the Toolbar and clicking on the area where you want your text to create a Point Type. Or draw a text box with the Type tool to create an Area Type. Start typing your text. 

Step 2: Select The Text

To make changes to your original text, you need to select it first. This can be done easily by using the Selection Tool or with a keyboard shortcut. Double-click on the text with the Type Tool to select all text.

Or use the keyboard shortcuts Command + A for Mac. 

Or press Ctrl + A for Windows.

Step 3: Applying Bold Style

With your text highlighted, open the Character Panel. Select the downward pointing arrow in the Set the Font Style section.

If your chosen font supports it, you should see “Bold” as an option.

Select it, and your text will transform into a bold font.

Method 2: Add Stroke

In this method, you won’t be using the Character panel to change styles. Instead, you will be making the edges or outline of the text thicker than the original font. Some people call this the Illustrator faux bold style.

Step 1: Open Appearance Panel

First, select the text by clicking once on the text frame. Next, open the Appearance panel by selecting Window > Appearance panel from the top menu bar.

Step 2: Increase Stroke Weight

Go to the bottom left-hand corner of the Appearance panel and click on the Add New Stroke button.

Go to the Stroke section inside the Appearance panel, click on the upward pointing arrow, and increase the stroke weight. The higher the value, the thicker your text will become and it will look bolder, thicker, and heavier.

If the color of your stroke is different from your text, I won’t consider it as a bold text, but a stroked or outlined text. In that case, change the color by clicking on the square color icon on the left of the Stroke section and select the existing color that is the same as your original text. 

Method 3: Offset Path

The other method to bold your text is to use the Offset Path function in Illustrator. I would say that this method allows you to be more precise with bolding your text than adding a stroke. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Create Outlines

This method does not require you to “path” or Create Outlines for your font. I prefer not to do that so that I can easily change my text, spelling, words, or style if I need to. But for some reason, if you wish to vectorize your text, you can do that.

Before creating outlines, duplicate your editable text because after your text becomes a vector format, you will not be able to make font style and word changes to your text. At least not as easily as an editable version if you will.

Having the duplicated editable text allows you to use the original font in case you need to edit your text after applying the Create Outlines function to the text.

To Create Outlines, select your text by clicking on it once. Then, go to the top menu bar, and select Type > Create Outlines. 

Or use keyboard shortcuts by pressing Shift + Command + O on Mac.

Or Ctrl + Shift + O on Windows.

You now have one set of backup text that can be edited and adjusted and another set that is in vector format.

Step 2: Select Offset Path

To bold your text, select your vectorized text, go to the top menu bar, and select Effect > Path > Offset Path.

Or, go to the Appearance Panel (Window > Appearance). Click on the “Add New Effect” button with the “fx” letters at the bottom of the Appearance panel. Navigate to Path > Offset Path. 

Step 3: Adjust Offset Settings

In the Offset Path dialog box, adjust the offset to your desired amount, and click OK. The higher the Offset value, the bolder your text will be.

To see the effect of what the Offset Path has done to your text, you can select the text and Create Outlines for the text. Here’s what it will look like:

How To Bold Text In Illustrator FAQs

1. Select Your Text: Use the Selection Tool (V) to select the text that you want to make thicker.
2. Open Appearance Panel: Navigate to the menu bar at the top, select “Window,” then “Appearance” to open the Appearance Panel.
3. Add New Stroke: In the Appearance Panel, click on the “Add New Stroke” button at the bottom of the panel. It looks like a square outline with a plus symbol.
4. Adjust Stroke Weight: Once the stroke is added, you can adjust the stroke weight to make the text thicker or thinner. The higher the stroke weight, the thicker the text will be.
5. Change Stroke Color: By default, the stroke might be a different color. To match it with your text color, click on the stroke color in the Appearance Panel and select your desired color.

If you have a bold font in Adobe Illustrator that you want to make appear thinner, you can use the “Offset Path” feature. Here’s how:

1. Select Your Text: Use the Selection Tool (V) to select the text that you want to make thinner.
2. Open Appearance Panel: Navigate to the menu bar at the top, select Window > Appearance to open the Appearance Panel.
3. Add New Fill: In the Appearance Panel, click on the “Add New Fill” button at the bottom of the panel. It looks like a solid square.
4. Adjust Fill Color: Click on the new fill layer in the Appearance Panel and adjust the fill color to match your text color.
5. Apply Offset Path: With the new fill layer selected, click on the “fx” icon at the bottom of the panel to add a new effect. From the dropdown menu, select Path > Offset Path.
6. Adjust Offset Value: In the dialog box that appears, enter a negative value for the offset. Start with a small value (like -1 or -2) and adjust as needed. The more negative the value, the thinner your text will appear.
7. Review Your Changes: Click “OK” to apply the changes. Your bold text should now appear thinner.

Note that this process creates an illusion of thinner text by offsetting an inner path. It does not actually change the font’s thickness. For best results, consider using a thinner font if available.