HOW TO ANIMATE YOUR HAND LETTERING (FOR BEGINNERS)! AFTER EFFECTS TUTORIAL - PART 1

[@alejandromolina01]

Finally someone who explains after effects properly

[@noah_films]

Dude thank you so much! I have been watching videos on this all day and not one of the videos recommended I make each letter its own layer. You're the best.

[@Ahmadsaafeen]

I am an animator, for ove 15 years, you have just teatch me an amazing trick that i dont know bro .... thanks alot ❤

[@alexfloquet4851]

THIS is the best tutorial on animating hand lettering! I was so annoyed with the overlapping problem, this is brilliant and helped me lots, thanks!

[@iamrossmason]

Alex Floquet Thank you Alex! I’m glad you enjoyed it :)

[@dawniebug784]

Ikr! I saw several other videos but this one covers the issue and also adds character to the swoops rather than letting the software do it for you

[@alanjohnson4541]

One of the best tutorials I have seen so far. Thank you.

[@princec.1001]

This video helped me in 2023 :) So still a amazing Tutorial, Thanks Brother

[@kapuzentierchen8793]

This video made me your subscriber. Even though it is on here for some time, it might be one of the best I found on this subject and it is concise, easy to follow. I think this can be adapted easily for lineart (as in whiteboard animation). The layer separation for all the strokes makes all the difference for me. Thank you very much for this, Ross Mason!

[@lorenamariott1929]

At the beginning was a bit hard to flow the workflow but I finally did my hand lettering animation, next stop part 2. Thanks for the tutorial!

[@ARY8919]

This tutorial save my life, thanks bro

[@iamrossmason]

Ariel Rodriguez You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@bangmeme6841]

this is tutorial what i looking for. thank you

[@heyflo1]

Underated channel, this is the BEST tutorial if you want to achieve something really qualitative. I've watched couple other tutorial but this one in THE one if you want to go over the small details to make it look really smooth & natural.

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you Florent, that really means a lot to me! I try my best to provide value! If you ever need any help don't hesitate to ask! :)

[@jcamacho4161]

And this video really helped me for my animation project at school

[@marizancoetser1176]

Thank you so much for this tutorial , you saved my butt for my animations class project ! and you explain it so well that I can follow you step for step . thank you thank you thank you

This is the first time i accomplish an AE tutorial, thanks !!!

[@andreigiura]

Really nice Video man. Thank you very much for that. Do you by any chanse have a video on how to ready the letters in AI? That would be realy grate too.

[@robertsam5244]

You should have a link to the end of your video because KZbin isn't guraranteed to have the part II play next. It's a safe guard to series continuity. And thanks for the tutorial!

[@tariks926]

Man,you literally saved my life with this video. You have a new subscriber. ❤️

[@iamrossmason]

Tariks Thank you, I really appreciate that! I’m glad you found it useful.

[@aspirante.a.vagabundo]

Thanks! Very practical and concise.

[@robertneacsu7119]

Great video. Looking forward to try this animation. I want to learn and practice hand lettering. Thanks for the video.

[@anantagaura]

Just when I almost gave up on this effect (overlapping thing was so annoying) :-) Thanks!

[@DianaJe17]

Awesome! Thanks, pretty helpful

[@Saniastic]

why you don't have enough subscribers? because you are super amazing. Impressive work

[@andrewstanford639]

Hi Ross, great video and very clear, for some reason when I'm going through the method my stroke brush size does not fillet and cover the mask shape. Any ideas please? Thank you so much great video. Best Andy

[@dahyekim2539]

this is the most helpful handwriting tut on earth. thank god!!!!!!

[@iamrossmason]

I'm glad you like it!

[@chavesp01]

Just beautiful, thank you so much for this

[@davemorgang]

MY BROTHA! Thank you so much for this tutorial! It was really helpful for me! I'm already subscribed! Keep it up! 🙏🙏

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you Dave, glad I could help! Appreciate your support :)

[@alicebubblegum7679]

Very good tutorial

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you Alice!

[@ScotCampbellwindowpainter]

very cool

[@ACJACQUETTE]

Wow. just wow!

[@freiddo3728]

Awesome! First tutorial I've seen that does it this way. I really enjoyed it so far. I noticed you're a bit new, so i hope you keep making videos. Subbed!

[@iamrossmason]

Freiddo Thank you! I really appreciate that 😄 And there's plenty more content on the way 🙌🏼

[@MadeinChinakiki]

Love this man, thank you very much.

[@sigolgui]

very easy tutorial! thanks!!!

[@ebteha9122]

it awesome thankx

[@DesignerYash]

Awesome Tutorial

[@bruceaisher]

Great effect and tutorial - the only issue is it doesn't work past 1080p. If you do above that the stroke path is not big enough to cover the shape. Trying to do this at 4k.

[@iamrossmason]

bruceaisher Ah I didn’t know that! You could try to create a path on a separate layer with the pen tool, use trim paths to animate it, and then use that as an alpha matte for the lettering :)

[@bruceaisher]

@@iamrossmason Thanks for the reply Ross! I gave that a shot but it looks like you have to be a lot more accurate with the pen tool, which is a bit harder on the curved letters. Do you know if it's possible to align the stroke to the center of the path instead of the inside as that may potentially solve the issue. Thanks again!

[@iamrossmason]

bruceaisher Hmm that’s a good question. I’m not too sure on that one, I might have to get back to you!

[@bruceaisher]

@@iamrossmason No worries, thanks again Ross!

[@cecylia_v]

Best tutorial, loveed it

[@jaseylove]

Great first video - thanks !

[@katerinaikalina]

Love it!

[@iamrossmason]

Katerina Dimitrova Thank you Katerina!

[@leopires3501]

Thanx dude! Saved my life!

[@kokomon_desu]

Nice video, easy to understand ^^. but i got a problem here, i wonder why i can't convert the ai layers to shape in one go. i have to convert them one by one... that's really take time

[@johnbuddyfelarca2720]

very helpful!

[@devandvan]

Good tutorials! Keep it up!

[@fieldsofbozos]

awesome! subscribed!

[@MrArtschannel]

Thanks, Just what I needed

[@pixelandbracket]

Sweet man! Welcome to KZbin, subscribed and looking forward to more from your channel. Been wondering how to do this with my logo, may try it sometime soon using the same techniques! You present really well, grab yourself a USB mic sometime soon and your tutorials will be top-notch. Also, I think if you cover up your start bar at the bottom with some kind of graphic (or black) that would really clean up the video. Cya 'round! -Spencer

[@iamrossmason]

Pixel & Bracket Hey! Thank you so much for the feedback, it's really helpful! I'll definitely have to invest in a better microphone when i'm able, and I didn't even think of the bar at the bottom, that's something i'll definitely get done for the next video! Thank you for subscribing and i hope to hear from you in future uploads :)

[@tiimm0002]

Hello hello Thank you for your great tutorial, was very helpful so far. I have a small question...I designed a tree in illustrator and imported it into after effects. My goal is to make it look like it's growing. I liked your method you used to imitate handwriting and thought I could implicate this into the growth of the tree. The difference with your letters and the tree is that all the branches should grow more or less simultaneously. So my question is; how can I draw along a branch with the pen tool (like you did in the middle of the letter), go back down the line and hook onto the pens path further down and draw along another branch. hope you understand my question...

[@vivianfreites328]

This was soooo helpfull also really easy! Thank you so much

[@christopherochoa4145]

Any Rx on what to do with lettering/shapes that have some drastic variations in line thickness? This example's great, if you're text stroke is pretty uniform like this example. My question is if you've got something that goes from thick to thin tapers, and your pen mask is a uniform weight, what's the best way to tailor make a mask to perform this same effect and more cleanly hug those variations without having to over/under mask with the pen tool?

[@iamrossmason]

This is a good question, you may be able to animate the brush thickness to be able to animate it smoothly or you would have to make separate layers in Illustrator so it then animates better in After Effects. Hope this helps :)

[@oskarwalin5634]

Thanks for this, really clear! Is there any way of duplicating the settings on the stroke so you don't have to set up the brush size etc each time?

[@iamrossmason]

Oskar Walin Yeah you can copy and paste the stroke effect from one layer to another! :)

[@asemalsuty4448]

Excellent please where is the other effects of work in tutorial

[@antonio26661]

Sick tutorial definitely earned a sub

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you Anthony!

[@jcamacho4161]

Yoo the little background music’s firee any way you can let me know which song it is or what beat it is

[@magdalenaczarnota7180]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHTbYYtojriXZ68

[@lorarodgers1443]

Thanks so much, Ross. This was a great tutorial! :D

[@iamrossmason]

You're welcome Lora, glad you found it helpful!

[@AlexCAnderson]

This is exactly what I was looking for - how to animate a handwritten cursive text logo, but how do you exactly turn the pieces of text into different layers in Illustrator?

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you for the kind words! If you're simply using a font, with the text selected, go up to Object>Expand, then right click on your text and press Ungroup. Your text will still be in one layer, so select that layer and press Release to Layers (Sequence) from the drop down box in the layers palette. Then drag all the new layers out of the group and you should be done! Hope this helps :)

[@josiahrodriguez9864]

Exactly my question! Good stuff man! Keep uploading videos!

[@dsmith8196]

Fantastic tutorial. Exactly what I wanted to achieve, and you explained it perfectly clearly. Particularly appreciate you showing how you had divided up the Illustrator paths. Really couldn't hope for a better explanation of this process. Could do without the background music. Quite unnecessary and a bit irritating, especially given your audio quality is not that great. But thanks for taking the time Ross. Much appreciated.

[@tuanphan5314]

We're talking about 3D animated backgrounds, text, lower thirds, intros and outtros, and yes even 3D animated spokespeople to overlay on your videos. There is no other software in the world that can do what this software >> videobuildersoftware7.blogspot.com can do for you...

[@RarePeach]

Hey! Congrats with a beautiful video!

[@iamrossmason]

Arory Wind Thank you! Hope you enjoy future videos just as much :)

[@corbandallas8644]

Huge thanks! Fire ass work!

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you Corban! Appreciate the kind words and the support on the channel :)

[@diawnaja]

Big thanks

[@SerpCreative]

Nice one mate, very clear and concise!

[@iamrossmason]

SerpGraff Thanks boss 😎

[@esteramelindabalan7878]

I find your tutorial very helpful. I've got only one question... what can I do when I choose Reveal Original Image (by Stroke effect) and it doesn't appear any outline of the original letter. I have the same options as you but I can't find the problem. Thanks!

[@iamrossmason]

Lamoly Estera Draw the path before you change to ‘Reveal Original Image’ so you can make sure the stroke is covering the whole letter! Hope this helps :)

[@siberian8812]

Hi, Ross! Thank you for your video! Can you tell me what shortcut you use at 7:05?

[@iamrossmason]

Siberian 88 Hey! Thank you for checking out the video. The shortcut is ‘U’. When selecting a layer and pressing U, you are able to see all keyframes for that layer. Hope this helps! :)

[@siberian8812]

@@iamrossmason Thank you so much!

[@mariev81]

Thank you!

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you for watching!

[@muhammadhaiqal3660]

Hello I'm just wondering if it also can be applied with Photoshop files

[@jazminzamora8036]

Heey! Awesome tutorial. I have problems because when i make the outlines, the blue lines never appear and have tried everythung, and nothng helps. :(

[@HammadBinMohammad]

make a video on the word STYLE u made from illustrator

[@neoney]

Mohammad Hammad yeah

[@andreaaar15]

Hello, this video is sweet and very helpful, would I be able to use the animation as a png (no background) I would like to add it to my website but it would be displayed on top of a picture.

[@iamrossmason]

Of course, when exporting, go into the Output Module and change the Channels from 'RGB' to 'RGB + Alpha'. Make sure you don't have a solid as a background in your project though! I hope this helps :)

[@andrewpadilla408]

Hey man! Would you by any chance have a tutorial on connecting the letters together in AI?

[@KieranBond]

put them close together and then use the first icon on the pathfinder tool

[@lornatheexplorer3051]

Great tutorial, thanks! The after effects part is all very clear but I'm struggling a little with getting my letters prepared in illustrator. The type I'm using has a lot of overlaps as it's script style. What is the best way of cutting up the letters into layers for this animation effect? Thanks in advance!

[@iamrossmason]

You can use the knife tool or the scissor tool with a little bit of adjustment using the pen tool to cut it or if you have the patience too, I would recommend re-vectoring it bearing in mind how it's going to need to be animated in After Effects. Hope this helps :)

[@savithkk8171]

Thanks Ross Mason.......

[@iamrossmason]

You're welcome!

[@makhdoom65]

Ooo Mannnnnnnnnnn Was waiting for this effect since my birth :) Thank u so much Subscribed !

[@iamrossmason]

Haha you're most welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@virginiagoddard1759]

Hi! Do you have any tutorials explaining how to add this as an email signature in Mailchimp? Thank you!

[@margheritalucchi9851]

can I ask if you did the text through a font or free hand?

[@caglariuskara3782]

Hi Ross, The video is exactly life saver. However, i am stuck in one step, as some others did, My problem is i used seperated text layers with a solid background, created outlines thingie, then added stroke to my first letter, filled "All masks" , made "Brush Hardness; 100%" and "Spacing 100%". Chose pen tool and clicked for "Tool Creates Mask". However, i dont why but i can't see the white line, but just the thin line showing pen tool's trace. When i changed the brush size, nothing changes.. I followed the same process several times. What can be my problem? If anybody can help me to figure it out, it will be marvelous. Thanks.

[@artist1712]

Thank you very much.

[@kaleywongg]

Do you have to use adobe illustrator? Can I use a drawing app called Procreate?

[@andersontwang6222]

Do you have a tutorial on how you separated those overlapped layers in Illustrator?

[@iamrossmason]

I have an updated version of this tutorial where I go over how to separate the layers :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKHJqaeslreLfKM

[@MrSebadecesare]

Hi, this guy explains how: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJzMmGedf8hrlbM&feature=emb_logo

[@judiihu]

For doing the individual layers did you use the pen tool?

[@bayrouth1]

OMG THANK YOU

[@iamrossmason]

You're most welcome!

[@ajingrh4795]

awesome! how do you make the letters?

[@iamrossmason]

All done by hand, scanned in and then vectorised! Thank you :)

[@TheDex302]

Great Tut! What font do you use??

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you! I hand-lettered it myself :)

[@Dkny2001]

Hey Ross, great work, i have a text logo, can you to the same thing on this? ;)

[@iamrossmason]

Thank you! And yeah sure, for the right price ;)

[@stage1musicllc.870]

How did you "break" the letters in illustrator? thanks

[@melfeliciano8449]

What version of After Effects did you use for this tutorial? I am using CS6 (11.0.4.2) and can only create shapes from vector layer one layer at a time. If I select more than one layer then that option is grayed out.

[@gazimushfikurrahman3671]

hello! how can i animate text shape stroke in sharp corners in your style? i don't want round corners animate. can you tell me please?

[@CreativeLeadershipwithDaniel]

So it only works on the first path I drew. Am I missing something? If I do several paths it only works on one so If I do one continuous path it will work but not if I draw more than two.

[@henrypreminger4542]

Sweet man! What pc specs you using for work in after effects? Thanks ahead

[@iamrossmason]

I use an iMac with an i7, 32GB of RAM, 3TB Storage, NVIDIa GeForce GTX 780M 4GB!

[@AbdulAziz-co8rm]

how do i make my brush rectangular? so it reveals with a box corner

[@geckospectrum1488]

Can you do this with drawing in photoshop drawn with the brush tool if not what would I have to use ?

[@iamrossmason]

You can but you'd have to cut all the letters up into different layers! Adobe Illustrator would be better :)

[@trimakazem9226]

What’s the name of this program wich u made the signetur inside please?

[@Merjhal]

Can you do this without illustrator text? Like using a font in Photoshop (i don't know how to make a text in illustrator as i only use Photoshop)?

[@iamrossmason]

You can yes!

[@Haylac]

Would you just make it one layer? or make it 1 layer per word? If you were to use a Photoshop font?

[@marcusk9483]

thanks

[@iamrossmason]

That's okay! I hope you found it helpful :)

[@MadiReem]

Hello Ross, Thank you for the video. But I'm stuck on one step. When I'm adding the stroke effect to my letter shape, I changed the effects panel according to your video and changed the pen tool to create mask not shape. However, my pen just doesn't give me the thick white line as it does in your video. Im not sure what I'm doing wrong :/. Any help please?

[@iamrossmason]

Reem Madi Check the parameters on your ‘Stroke’ effect and make sure your brush size has been increased and that your ‘End’ parameter is at 100% 😄 Let me know if this helps

[@MadiReem]

i went back a few steps and did everything as you said. It worked out. I don't know which part i F-ed up at first but its all good now. Thanks for your prompt reply Ross!

[@AldenBunagCDAD]

Hi, I did the same exact thing but the stroke isn't showing at all.

[@HYOKI1991]

I'm having the same issue!

[@yuanlingxi3263]

same problem!!!! but I figured out! it's under stroke and then path. there's a box that says all masks and you need to tick that!

[@sarahmatthew6658]

can't find the 'tool create mask' on the 2022 AE! so this tutorial doesn't work for me

[@HavelTheStoned-]

Can you Export this as lottie file?

[@ebteha9122]

what kind font you use?

[@leite1431]

Ste Bradbury liked this! hahahahahaha

[@iamrossmason]

Nathan Leite How do you know? 😄

[@sololeveling5553]

Hi, I'd like to ask, how do you split letters into layers if you use font text (not hand-written like yours)??

[@iamrossmason]

There isn't actually a single method to achieve this in after effects, so the best way to do this is probably type your text out in Illustrator and use the 'release to layers (sequence)' method and import it into after effects. Hope this helps :)

[@sololeveling5553]

thank you very much

[@alayciaaa]

The color of my handwritten type is not the same in After Effects than Illustrator. It looks like a brighter yellow. Did I do something wrong?

[@iamrossmason]

You can change the colour of the text in After Effects by applying the effect 'fill' from the effects and presets panel. Just copy the hex code from Adobe Illustrator and paste it into the 'fill' effect in After Effects. Apply this effect to all of your handwritten layers. Hope this helps :)

[@deleoson]

Hello! Thank you for the tutorial. I am stuck on the part where you press "create shapes from vector layer" that button is grayed out and I cannot press it. Please help!

[@deleoson]

Also, only "composition" is available when importing the file, rather than "composition - retain layer sizes". Maybe that has something to do with it.

[@iamrossmason]

That may possibly be it, are you trying to import an illustrator file? If so, there shouldn't be a problem

[@Yesletsjess]

Is it because I'm on AE CC? I tried looking through all the menus, I'm thinking it's buried somewhere else and the term might have changed? please help.