FROM ME THIS WEEK
You Don’t Need a Resolution Yet
2026 Jan, explore in progress
This time of year can feel oddly stressful. Everyone's talking about resolutions and getting your life together overnight. But you don't need to have it all figured out by January.
I like to think of the year as 12 chunks. January is just the first one, a month to explore, and feel chaotic while figuring out your direction.
You don't need a goal all the time. Sometimes experimenting and noticing what feels right is how clarity shows up.
I hope this gives you a different way to approach New Year anxiety.
Speaking of new perspectives, this week's tutorial is about turning flat typography into 3D. Let’s get into it then.
LEARN DESIGN
3D Live Text Shadow in Figma
Discover how to create a clean, long shadow in Figma—all live and editable.
3D live text shadow cover
🎁 Grab your starter file and follow along!
Video Tutorial is linked below.
Step 1 - Setup the text Base
Grabbed a text field → opened the Draw panel → chose Linear Repeat.
Then set Repeat count: 2 ; Gap: 1 unit
Duplicate the row and Offset it slightly forward
Setup the text base.
Step 2 – Apply Subtle 3D skew
Grouped the rows
opened the Skew plugin
set the vertical slider to –10°.
It adds just enough dimension without making the text distorted.
Apply a subtle skew.
Step 3 – Preview Prep
Place your skewed text inside the frame and scale it up (1000px tall in this example).
This doesn’t change the effect. It just makes the shadow easier to preview while you work.
Put text element back into design frame.
Step 4 – Generate Shadow
Open Oblique Plugin
Select the fill layer and Pick a color
Enable Group Projection
Turn off Auto-Update to avoid lag
Set: Angle: 15° / Copies: 400(for this example).
Then Click Projection
Project the shadow using the plugin.
Step 5 – Live, Editable Trick
As long as the plugin stays open:
Change the text, Adjust spacing, or Move elements around
Then hit Update, and the shadow regenerates instantly.
Update the projected shadow in the plugin.
Step 6 – Tada!
✨ Result time.
Here’s the 3D live shadow.
Final result.
Watch on Youtube
Like and share the video.
Leave a comment if you got any questions!
WHAT’S COMING NEXT
Next tutorials in progress
Coming soon
I’m currently working on the next batch of tutorials behind the scenes. A couple of them came directly from viewer requests, which I really enjoy building.
While these ideas are taking shape, I’ll keep sharing small insights and practical tips on social. If there’s a visual effect you’ve been curious about, tell me. I read every message.
New tutorials will start landing here again once the next batch is ready. ❤️
Thanks for reading and spending a bit of your day with me.
If you want to keep up with more behind-the-scenes thoughts or small design notes I don’t always send by email, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
Would love to have you there:
See you in the next email.
MengChi