Forming the numbers 09 with 117 full names

Hiya,

I'm designing a graphic for the back of some clothes. The idea is to form the numbers '09' (on the back of the hoody) with everyone's names (all 117). How best would I do this?

Thanks,

beattie41

I'm a n00b, so not sure if there would be an easier way to do this...but you could make the outline of the 09, stick the names in there to fill them up, and then delete the outlines. As for which program would be best...I would assume Illustrator would be best, but I'd be interested to hear what the experienced parties say.

One way to do it (in either Illustrator or Photoshop) would be to type up all the names, then type '09' big, arrange the names in the 09 area (overlapping as necessary) then create a clipping mask.

a clipping mask is a great idea, but you are limited to a font, which is not a problem since you can get pretty much any kind of font online...

if you want to make your very own 09, either by drawing or vector lines, you can just use a simple alpha mask