Or how to draw an octopus
1°draw a line
2°type a letter along the line
3°apply a stroke shape to the line and increase its width till it masks the below part of the letter
4°apply 100% transparency to the text
5°apply blur to the whole with the below blur profile setting to -0,98 (see above)
Here you have the tentacle and you may edit its shape interactively with the Shape Editor, and change the letter(s), the font, its size, its kerning...
Enjoy,
ivan
