Thanks for the quick reply, Ted!
And, my apologies, I should have ben more clear. I actually want the characters to still be “themselves” – with all the colors of their faces, clothing, items – but just contorted into the shapes of letters. This is why I’m thinking there’s just no way around having to individually animate many masks within each character comp.
Your suggestion would certainly work if I was going to quickly transition to straight-up letters but, as I have described, unfortunately that’s not the case. Thanks again very much for your thoughts, though!
Best,
Toby