Greetings, fellow animators! Emily Meng here. Today, I'm excited to guide you through the process of adding that nostalgic typewriter effect to your text in After Effects. Follow along, and let's make your text come alive, letter by letter!
1. Begin with your Text:
Ensure you have your desired text placed on the timeline in After Effects.
Tip: Choose a font that resonates with the typewriter vibe. Fonts like "Courier New" or "American Typewriter" work wonderfully.
2. Dive into the Character Offset:
Locate the Animate option associated with your text layer. From the dropdown, select Character Offset.
3. Introduce Opacity:
Now, add an opacity property. To do this, ensure you're still in the Animate menu and select Opacity. Keep the opacity value at zero. You won't need to add a keyframe for this.
Tip: If you want to introduce a blinker or cursor at the end, you can animate a small vertical line or rectangle alongside the text.
4. Keyframe the Range Selector:
Expand the Range Selector option. Start by setting a keyframe with the value at zero. Now, move your playback indicator to the desired endpoint. For our tutorial, I'll set it at five seconds, but you can choose a duration that suits your project. At this endpoint, change the value to 100.
5. Adjust the Smoothness:
Delve into the Advanced settings within the range selector. Here, adjust the Smoothness value to zero. This ensures a crisp typewriter feel. Double-check to ensure you've selected all the relevant settings correctly.
Tip: Play with the Ease High and Ease Low settings under Advanced. These can add a slight variation to the speed at which each character appears, creating a more genuine typewriter feel.
6. Play and Review:
Hit the playback button. If followed correctly, your text should appear letter by letter, mimicking a typewriter.
Tip: Add sound effects! Find a typewriter sound clip and sync it to each letter's appearance for a more immersive experience.
And there you have it! Not only have you mastered the basic typewriter effect, but with these added tips, you can elevate your text animations to the next level. Remember, animation is as much about experimentation as it is about following guidelines. Get creative and see what other nuances you can add. Happy animating!