The Ultimate Guide to Text Animators in After Effects

If you’re anything like I used to be, Text Animators in After Effects are a novelty tool completely ignored by you most of the time. Well this may come to you as a surprise, but text animators are one of the most complex, flexible and powerful animation tools After Effects has to offer. They just behave very differently than any other animation tools in After Effects, and the bundled text animator presets are, well, awful. Fortunately, you’ve found the Ultimate Guide to Text Animators in After Effects!

In this comprehensive course you’ll learn everything there is to know about text animators in After Effects and start building complex text animations in no time.

With each quick video we’ll cover a variety of topics, including:

Basics of text animators

All text animator controls & options

Range, Wiggly & Expression Selectors

Saving custom text animator presets

And much, much more.

At the end of this course you’ll have everything you need to speed up your animation workflow by taking advantage of this incredibly powerful animation tool. Along the way you’ll see how I approach specific animation examples, and even how to approach a single animation from multiple angles. Your classmates and I will be available for project feedback, answering questions, and sharing inspiration.

You should have a basic understanding of Adobe After Effects’ user interface and functionality. Every step will be clearly explained in each video, but we won’t be spending a lot of time learning how to do basic functions. If you’re new to After Effects, check out The Beginner’s Guide to Animating Custom GIFs or Hand Lettering In Motion first. See you in class!

Class Outline

Animating text. In his step-by-step animation tutorial, Jake will teach you how to use Adobe After Effects to bring your text to life. You’ll follow along as Jake shows you his creative process, sharing his keyboard shortcuts and other tips to make your animation simple or complex, efficient, and fun. This animator class is for anyone with an interest in the art form who wants to take their skills to the next level.

Creating your own. You’ll be encouraged to build a custom text animator and save it as a preset. You’ll post your animated text to your class project and share as many examples as you’d like. By posting multiple examples to your project you’ll have many opportunities to gain valuable feedback and boost your self-confidence!

Breaking down the text animator. Jake will walk you through all of the properties and controls text animators have to offer. He’ll then teach you how to use the controls in various ways to create completely customized text animations. You’ll start off slow and add complexity as you make it through the course material.

Saving a preset. With Jake’s guidance, you’ll learn to make your own text animator presets, giving you the skills you need to speed up your text animation workflow.