How do I extrude a logo in any OS X software?

March 13, 2010 5:33 PM

How do I extrude a logo in any OS X software?

I created a logo in Photoshop and need to extrude it and can't figure out how. I tried to import to illustrator and extrude but it extrudes a whole rectangle, not just the logo.

There must be some way to do this! Any software? I think at this point I could even justify buying something cause I have tried to do this for hours!

posted by UMDirector to computers & internet (9 answers total)

Are you trying to make the logo appear to pop out from the background?
posted by cmoj at 6:10 PM on March 13, 2010

Could you provide some more information about what you're visually trying to achieve? Do you have some samples of this that you can provide links to?
posted by odinsdream at 6:15 PM on March 13, 2010

No. Going for the 20th century fox look...
posted by UMDirector at 6:16 PM on March 13, 2010

I'm not a big Illustrator guy. I'm sure there must be a way to overcome that import problem you're having. But at the end of the day, I know Cinema 4D can do this for you. Example. Google around and you'll find examples of how to import from Photoshop if you have a logo already designed there.
posted by phaedon at 6:36 PM on March 13, 2010

Maybe this will help?
posted by cmoj at 7:22 PM on March 13, 2010

Does it need to be animated, or static?
posted by Alterscape at 8:30 PM on March 13, 2010

I'm going to assume you didn't create the logo with the pen tool/vector/paths in photoshop. This means your logo is pixel based, not vector. And, therefore, pretty much useless. Sorry.

Start over in illustrator. If you have CS3 or up, you can use Live Trace on your original file and have a good starting point.

If my assumption was wrong and you have done this with paths you'll want to use File -> Export -> Paths to Illustrator
posted by fontophilic at 8:54 PM on March 13, 2010

Also, I mean, buying the services of a graphic designer could be well worth your time and money. Not that I'm using AskMe to pimp myself, cause I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be kosher...
posted by fontophilic at 8:57 PM on March 13, 2010

As fontophilic suggests, logo design is not what Photoshop is for. This is the purview of Illustrator. Logos, by and large ... with VERY few exceptions ... need to be drawn using vector tools. The extrude tool in Illustrator works quite well on vector art.
posted by luriete at 10:02 PM on March 13, 2010