Simple Kinetic Typography (Animated Text) in After Effects
Kinetic typography means animating a piece of text so it can be more engaging and memorable. This type of animation has multiple applications – it can be used for gifs, signs, banners or entire animated videos.
In this guide, Ina shows how you can create simple kinetic typography with After Effects.
Step 1
Ina starts by creating a new composition and a solid layer in red. Then she writes her word in Arial black so it’s clean and readable. She duplicates the text layer.
Step 2
She then imports the illustration between the two text layers and Alpha-mates the illustration to the layer below.
Step 3
Next, she converts the above text layer into a shape layer and adds a keyframe for each path option. Then, Ina moves each of the letters. She makes adjustments and uses the free AEJuice Tools plugin Copy Ease. What it does is it copies and pastes my value graph and my speed graph to all these other keyframes, so Ina doesn’t have to do it manually.
Step 4
Ina continues by adding extra shapes to the shadow in the back so that the letters have a 3d effect. Then she adds a keyframe for the path of each newly created shape. Next, she goes to the start of the composition to adjust the keyframes for the shapes.
Step 5
Finally, she offsets the letters and the smaller shapes. She uses the Copy Ease plugin again so she can make sure the movement is consistent.
Step 6
The last thing Ina does is add a position keyframe for the mask below the text and adjust the speed graph again.
That’s it! You’ve created your simple kinetic typography animation. You can apply the guide to create other fun and engaging text animations. We’d love to see them!
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