• Adobe After Effects

  Creating an animated line of text with special characters

  Posted by Chance Mcintyre on December 24, 2012 at 4:46 am

  Hi (first time posting after being a frequent browser) I’m trying to create an effect that’s seen in (mostly action/sci-fi) films a lot where a line of text scrolls onto the page. I was initially going to just use a linear wipe and be content, but there are two details I’d really like to add that I don’t know how without going frame by frame with keyframes or multiple layers:

  1. The characters follow a blinking cursor block, just like what you see onscreen while typing.
  2. (And this is more of an alternative to number 1, I don’t believe they’re really used together) The characters first appear as something else then cycle to the correct letter. Sometimes it’s depicted as just revolving letters, sometimes it’s other languages/symbols. Case in point for the latter would be Transformers films using “alien” language before English.

  I really hope I’m just over thinking it and that there’s a simple method. I’m fairly familiar with AE but if it does involve expressions, I’ll go ahead and say I know virtually nothing at those. Any help would be appreciated, thanks guys!

  Vishesh Arora replied 13 years, 8 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Joseph W. bourke

  December 24, 2012 at 4:53 am

  Most of what you’re talking about can be achieved with After Effects’ built in text animation presets. What can’t, can be done by looking over the Animation choices (a mini menu next to the text layer in the comp) that let you animate just about every aspect of the text.

  As for the alien text, do a search on the web for an “alien” font – there should be several freebies available. Then you just do a text animation which starts with the alien font, then cycles, character by character, to the desired end typeface.

  There are several alien fonts here:

  https://www.fontspace.com/category/alien?p=3

  Joe Bourke
  Owner/Creative Director
  Bourke Media
  http://www.bourkemedia.com
• 

  Vishesh Arora

  December 24, 2012 at 6:46 am

  Chance

  ” The characters follow a blinking cursor block, just like what you see onscreen while typing.”

  See this tutorial: Type-On Text Preset With Blinking Cursor

  Vishesh Arora
  3D and Motion Graphics Artist
  Films Rajendra

  Blog:
  https://digieffects.wordpress.com

  Demo Reel(3D):
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHPgIJU_BR8

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