Text animators are one of the most important but understated tools in both the entertainment and advertising industry.
As a general term, text animation is the process of manipulating text so that it moves in a specific pattern of motion or within a specific area.
Websites, mobile apps, email marketing campaigns, music videos, and commercials are all using text animators to engage their audiences. Moving text can, however, do more than just capture attention.
This simple technique can set the tone of your video and keep your viewers entertained for longer.
Kinetic typography has been around since the 1960s, and it is here to stay.
Why use Text Animators?
There are different text animation effects you can use on your video to make it more dynamic. These include 3D animation and 2D effects.
Animated text is used to attract and keep the attention of the viewers. You can also use the text in the following ways:
- Highlighting important information like a short promo or quote.
- Transitioning from one topic to the next
- Improving the viewers’ ability to recall the message
- Text animations are perfect for video intros and outros. Speaking of video intros, here is a guide on YouTube intros.
Text animation is a branch of the much wider field of motion graphics. People are very visual, and using kinetic typography on your videos can increase your return rate, customer loyalty, and level of engagement.
It doesn’t take much to create a solid text animation. We compiled some helpful tips to help you get started:
Text Animation; Best Practices
It takes both technical expertise and creativity to get text animation right. At the very least, however, your animated text should have a smooth and natural slow.
Make the transitions and the movement of your text seamless and realistic.
Keep these helpful tips in mind:
Play with the Size
Sometimes, text animation can be as simple as moving the text from one direction of the screen to another. When you want to create the illusion of weight and volume, you can squash and stretch the text as it moves around.
Shifting the size of the text is an excellent way to spark an emotional connection with the audience. You can make the text large to imply shouting or anger, and shrink the text to imply timidness.
This is also a good technique to use if you want to highlight some important information in your video.
You can manipulate the size, font, and color of the text depending on the message you want to send to the audience.
Exaggerating text is a great way to bring the attention of the viewers to a specific item on your video, but ensure the text is not distracting from other elements of the video.
Manipulate the Speed of the Text
Don’t make a boring text animation. Play with the speed of the moving text from beginning to end to further engage your audience.
Also, to keep the movements of the text smooth and soft, you might need to start and end at slow speeds.
Observe Timing
Usually, animated text exists relative to other elements in a video (like sound for instance). The rule of thumb here is that the more frames you use in your text animation, the slower it will play.
When using a text animator, ensure the motion graphics are precise relative to the rest of the video.
The text should stay on the screen long enough for the viewers to get the message, but it shouldn’t be too overwhelming.
If you don’t want to do it yourself, you can choose to outsource your work to text animation professionals online.
Should You Hire a Text Animation Pro?
A lot of brands prefer to do things themselves for two simple reasons:
- It is cheaper
- It allows them full control over the content
However, hiring a professional text animator might also have some benefits. First, these creatives have spent hours honing their craft. Unless you have the time to learn how to do it yourself, you are better off hiring a talented pro that already has the know-how.
You can also use free online software that have pre-designed drag-and-drop templates. This is a cheaper and faster solution, but insufficient when you want to create custom text animation.
To achieve smooth results with text animation, you need to work with a pro. Professionals know the text effects and patterns of motion that will yield the perfect results.
You can easily find someone to do the job for you on the internet, but it is advisable to hire freelancers from top quality outsourcing websites. This way, you get to work with highly-rated professionals and have a 100% money-back guarantee.
Tools to Use for Text Animation
One of the most important rules for text animation is to select the appropriate software to use depending on the project requirements.
These professionals will often work in coordination with other team members that are involved in video production. They also work together with sound engineers to ensure all the components of the project come together nicely.
You have several options when it comes to the software you can use for text animation. There are both paid and free versions; and of course, different software demand varying levels of expertise.
Using Adobe Illustrator and After Effects
The Adobe Creative Cloud is one of the most used software in motion graphics. If you can afford the software and have the technical expertise required to use it, you can create your vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator and animate them in After Effects.
Sound easy, right?
Well, there is a little more to it than that.
Remember that you will be using two different programs to perform different tasks. It helps if you have in-depth knowledge of Illustrator so you can create awesome vector graphics.
Start by learning about basic typography. You can use quick Adobe tutorials on the internet to learn some basic skills.
Using an Online Text Animation Maker
Online automated text animators save a lot of time and effort. These services often come with templates that make it easy to animate your text on your browser.
Even amateurs find it easy to use automated text animators. All you have to do is pick the template you like the most, type in the message into the text box, set a background, and finally generate a preview of your text animation.
Text animations are a perfect way to create visibly memorable video introductions, announcements, transitions, quotes, and even promotions.
Animaker is a great automated text animator. It is an online-based service that offers do-it-yourself software with a collection of animated characters, icons, and charts to help amateurs get the job done. Some of the pros of this software include its ability to change and exit animation effects separated.
Animaker also allows users to upload custom fonts.
You need to register on the website to use this software and keep in mind that there are limitations on the free use of Animaker.
With a text animation maker, you don’t need a lot of technical expertise to turn plain-looking information into enticing content.
So You Want to be a Text Animator?
Just like any other discipline, becoming a professional text animator requires hard work, talent, and dedication.
It helps if you have a natural love for graphic design and animation.
Text animators are part of the video production team, and part of their job description is to ensure any moving text is good enough to capture the attention of the intended audience.
Here are the three secrets to becoming a top text animator in the industry:
Versatility
To land good clients, text animators must be versatile and possess numerous technical and creative skills.
For starters, you need to know how to use the different types of text animation software. Some programs enable 3D modeling which allows animators to elevate their work with creative patterns and text effects.
You should be able to deliver what the client wants. For the best results, you need to keep up with the new and developing technologies in the field.
Versatility also means being able to interpret the needs of your client well. Try to deliver the message in a precise and clear way, avoiding too much clutter on the screen.
Always Deliver High-quality Work
Try to deliver the highest quality work to your clients.
The projects you do today will act as recommendations for future contracts and clients. Put up samples of your work on your portfolio, taking the time to explain the different text animation techniques you used to make the video more appealing.
Because text animators often work as part of a larger video production team, it’s important that these professionals deliver their work on time. In case you experience any delays or challenges, inform your team members about it before it becomes a problem.
You can also post samples of your work on social media to get the attention of potential clients.
Stay Learning
There is always something new to learn in text animation, which is why you have to keep developing your skills. Animation programs are constantly being updated, and new professionals rise in the industry every day.
The competition is tight out there, so develop complementary skills in motion graphics and animation to gain an advantage.
Here is a guide to the best motion graphics software and the latest industry trends.
You can find informative short and long courses online for free.
Conclusion
Text animation is a huge industry. Thanks to the advancements in technology, professionals in this industry can do so much more today.
Bloggers and vloggers use text animation to get the attention of their audience.
Brands use this technique to engage and entertain their customers, and video creators use animated text to highlight important information.
