ABSTRACT
Creating and animating text are among the most common tasks for motion graphics designers. Fortunately, After Effects allows to create vector-based typography directly in the Composition panel; mix and match font styles, size, and color on one layer; then animate individual characters, words, or lines in dynamic ways. This chapter covers the basics of creating and editing text, including text along a path. It shows how to use text animators to add sophisticated animation. High-quality commercial fonts usually include robust kerning pair specifications for automatically adjusting the spacing between two characters. The Fill & Stroke options in the Character panel determine whether, within each character, the fill should render over the stroke, or the stroke over the fill. For any text animation create, one can have the characters animate in a random order instead of from start to end. Textacy Blur looks great when applied to animating text, particularly if it is wiggling.
