Write-on effect

Hi all,
I'm sure this must be easy but I'm very new to Motion.
How do I do a write-on effect using the Handwriting-Dakota font?
Thank you.

Thanks Andy,
That's really surprising.
I know I can use a write-on behavior on a paint stroke but now I realize I can't do it with text. I can use the "hand" option in Live Fonts but the font is just ugly and can't be changed.
I'm trying to keep the font similar to the branding of the client but I guess Motion just can't do it without a lot of labour and expertise I don't have.
I thought for the simplicity it would have been easier.
I guess I'll tell him the Live Font font is sexier and he should go with that.
Ha ha.
Thanks again Andy for your input.
Grant

Similar Messages

Using the write on effect and motion sketch - how to cross T's and dot i's

I'm trying to use motion sketch and write on to create a signature (using the position values from Motion Sketch layer to control the position of paint brush on Write On layer).
What's the best way to cross the letter T or dot an i?
With motion sketch, as soon as you release the mouse button, things are terminated.
If I simply restart the motion sketch capture to cross my t, the horizontal line happens at the beginning (time 0), even if I advance the playhead /CTI to the appropriate spot (after rest of word drawn).
Is the best workaround simply to repeat the process on fresh layers to complete any discontiguous strokes and then manually position those in the timeline?
Not a big deal if I just want a re-usable signature. But if I wanted to use this on longer writing samples more routinely, it could get a bit cumbersome.
Thanks for any suggestions.

When animating a person's signature, I use masks to define a path, then apply the Write-On effect: one instance of Write-On for each contiguous piece of writing. This means that at natural pen lift points, there's a new instance of Write-On.
Animating real signatures takes some doing because it's not an automatic process at all, but it's worth doing in the end.

Write On effects causes freeze every time

Hi, I have adobe after effects 7.0. I have a an imac here are the specs
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
It has OS 10.4
I have been trying to make flourishes with the write on effect. Every time I apply the write on effect and try to move along the time line the
I get the swirly rainbow on my mac and the whole thing is frozen. I can press play and the timeline will play the animation and it looks great,
but if I try and manually with my mouse try and move along the timeline the computer freezes. I have been using psd files but tried it jpg and
same thing. I tried changing the composition settings but same thing. Any help would be awesome.

You are aware that your whole system is running in quirks mode, are you? AE7 is PPC and on intel machines only runs in emulation. In addition, you are severly low on memory - 1GB is the bare minimum requirement for al llater versions of AE, but that usually refers to running it "native" without any extra room for emulation. Your problem is most likely, that the Write-On effect has not enough memory to cache the result while you scrub. When you RAM preview or render, that issue does not occur, as naturally the brush strokes are correctly accumulated sequentially. I don't think there is a really good way to fix this except for buying more RAM, but you could try to lower AE's overall RAM usage and perhaps disable the layer cahce in the secret prefs (hold down Shift when you enter the prefs and an extra menu entry will appear)...
Mylenium

How do I create a 'write on' effect?

Hello,
Say I had an image of some text that spelt 'TOM' - is there anyway I could animate a mask that makes it look like the image is written on?
My logic is coming from doing the same thing in after effects but I'm aware edge animate is very different.
Please let me know if there are anyways of creating a 'write on' effect.
Thanks!
Tom

Hello Kelly,
Here is a method that I use:
First place a photo of a wall or floor and use "Live Trace" default
You will end up with a black and white texture like this:
Then Select all the white areas and delete them. If you have a lot of black texture, feel free to delete as much as you want. You can always copy and paste pieces wherever you want.
Now Place your design on top of the texture you have created. Then send the design to the back.
The last step is to select the outlined text and the compound shapes and apply "Subtract From Shape Area" with Pathfinder. Please note that this option does not work on CS3 from the menu (one of the hundred of bugs of this lousy version), so please use the Pathfinder Window.
And this is the end result:
This was a quick sample, but I am sure you can do something a lot better than this sample. I think the difficult part is to get a good photo. Maybe next time I will use a damaged concrete floor or wall photo.
I hope this helps!

Scan line write-on effect like this...

I am looking to create a scan-line "write on" effect like this.
Patrick Sheffield originally posted the thread [here|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=634451&#634451].
I downloaded the projects but they didn't do exactly what the movie did.
This is the effect I am after:
[Scan line Movie|http://www.pistolerapost.com/viewing/analysis1.mov]
Thanks,,

On the movie, the scanlines come down line by line, whereas in the project file, each line comes on randomly.
Also, on the movie there's a very nice brief glow going from side to side as each line is laid down.
When the scan lines go down they reveal an image. I guess you're using an image mask for that?
I looked for the project file that corresponds to the movie, but I couldn't find it.
There were two in the zip file: scanlinescreen , scanlinetext
^(ps: thanks for the "fun with" series - they've been helpful)^

Why do shadows appear before the letters when using the write-on effect

I am using the write-on effect. I am casting shadows on a wall but the shadows of the letters are appearing whole prior to the letters being written. How can I get the shadows to appear in sync?

I apologize for not supplying enough information. I am using AE CS6 and I am using 3D layers with lights. I have also used a single layer for each letter in the message that is slowly appearing. The lights are creating the shadows but are rendering the shadow before the effect write-on, as the shadow letter appears first. Then the letter is drawn second. I thought it must be something in the render order, but I couldn't figure out how to make it happen correctly.
After I posted my question, I found an Adobe video tutorial on render-order. Although the video didn't address my problem, it did remind me that an effect that I could use - drop shadows. I inserted the drop shadow effect above the write-on effect on each letter and the world is good. The shadow appears at the same time as the letter. And with a whole lot less effort.
I appreciate you taking the time to think about the problem. If there is a simple solution I would still be interested in knowing what it might be.
Steve

Can text be used for write-on effect

I've watched Mark's tutorials on using a path to make text look like its writing onto the screen. But in those tutorials, its always a pen or mouse making a path which results in "dirty" text.
Can you use clean text created with the text tool as paths for the write-on effect?

Sure. Just type you text, draw paint strokes to cover it, then use the paint strokes group as an image mask to reveal the text underneath.

Problem With Write-On Effect

Hi. Help.
I want to use the Write-On effect to animation some script text.
I use the Pen Tool to draw the mask. I Copy the Mask Path, apply the Write On Effect, then I Paste the Mask Path to the Write On's Brusk Position.
The Brush Position keeps winding up to the left of the original path, and a little upwards. The Brush Position is off the Comp, and it seems to animate correctl, just in the wrong place.
I have tried this more than once. What am I doing wrong?
(This is CS3, by the way.)

There are several ways.
One, first paste the mask in a solid which is comp size, and free transform the mask (not the transform properties for tha layer) until it has the same size and location as the original, then copy the mask path and paste into Write-on's Brush Position. Of course, make sure the solid you're using for Write-On is comp size (Set Write-On's Paint Syle menu as "On transparent", so that it composites over layers below).

How do you increase the Brush Size past 50 on the Stroke Effect?

Hey Everyone,
I created a photo in Photoshop and I imported it to AE, and I've been trying to create a Spray Paint effect by using the Stroke effect and Reveal Original Image to look look like as if I'm spray painting the the picture on the wall. All is going well until I get to the brush size, and it only goes up to 50. Does anyone know how to increase it past 50? 50 is to small, it won't cover what I want it to cover for the stoke. I can't seem to figure out a way to get it higher than 50, and I don't know any other way to create the effect I'm trying to go for. Anyone know how to either get past this or know a different way to get make it look like I'm spray painting the picture on the wall? Any help at all would be great.
Thanks in advance!
-Raven

The After Effects CC (12.2) update increases the maximum size of the brush for the Write-on effect and Stroke effect to 200 pixels (from the previous maximum of 50 pixels).

How do I set text from an effect?

How do I write an effect to set the text on a text layer? The text functions appear to be part of the AEGP suites. I've tried to access these from my effect, in both the 'FrameSetup()' and 'Render()' functions, the text doesn't appear.
Since there are text effects that come with After Effects, it must be possible. I must be overlooking something fundamental.
Thanks,
Bob Bales

Thanks,
I basically copied from the "Trxt Twiddler" sample. My sequence of calls (with appeopriate suite pointers and arguments) is:
AEGP_GetEffectLayer();
AEGP_GetNewLayerStream();
GetNewStreamValue();
AEGP_SetText();
AEGP_DisposeStreamValue();
AEGP_DisposeStream();
If this is correct, I;ll start checking the values of the arguments.
Thanks,
Bob Bales

Write On ffx with continuous rasterize???

Hey Smart Folks,
So I have this project constructed entirely with .ai vector only files, and most of the layers have the Write On effect applied. When I turn on continuously rasterize it freaks out what is visible on the layer, and creates an almost scribble-y mask effect. Turn it off, back to normal, but of course the output looks too soft...
Any suggestions? I could really use a hand!
Thanks!!

So you applied the Write-On effect to vector layers? Is that correct?
Write-On is a BITMAPPED effect, even on a vector layer. If you're scaling up the vector layers, things are going to look bad.
I'd scale up the layers in Illustrator to make them a little bigger than what you need, and THEN use Write-On.

Delaying the erase with the Write On behavior

Hey everyone.
Does anyone know how to delay the "erase" with the write on behavior.
When I apply the write on effect to my outline the behavior and set it to draw and erase. Motion draws the shape and as soon as it's drawn motion starts the erase the shape. I want to delay that erase and have the entire shape stay drawn for a few seconds.
I thought I could play with it in the keyframe editor but there are no options to adjust that specific ability of the write on effect.
Thanks.

Hi,
this had me stumped for a bit too. All you have to do though is drag the start point of the shape to an earlier point in the time line. This will automatically drag the start point of the write-on behaviour with it (annoying!). Then drag the start point of the behaviour to a later point on the time line. (It will allow you to this independently of the start point of the shape as long as you drag it forward in time.) Now just reposition the shape on the timeline accordingly. Hey presto! - A delayed writeon/erase effect. Hope this is clear enough.
M.

Writing plug-in for After Effects

I wish to write a character generator kind of a plug-in for After Effects.
We have written similar plug-in for premiere which used to be created using the Import option in Adobe Premiere Pro.We managed to import our format and that was put on timeline, and then supplied content using our engine, when imImportImage callback was called.
In PremeirPro there was only one entry point.
What I got from reading the After effects SDK help was that there shall one entry point if we wish to write an effect.But we dont wish to write an effect but an importer.
Will it be a AEGP plug-in?
How should we go about it? Can we have a sample plug-in of such type, wherein a custom file format is implemented?
regards
Jasleen Kaur

there are two sample projects in the sdk that would be of interest to you.
1. IO (deals with importing and exporting of custom file types)
2. FBIO (the same as the above, but deals with frame sequences and not with movies)
there is one thing you should consider when doing this as an import plug-in:
as opposed to premier, that seeks the original file every time to display it, AE caches frames.
so even if you change the source, AE will not necessarily show that, until the "footage" is re loaded or AE starts recycling ram.
you can change the preferences of AE so that it doesn't cache anything, but then you seriously impair AE's performance.

Can't see the anchor point or bezier handles when editing an effect

Please help! This may be an easy fix, but when editing an effect I can no longer see the anchor point, keyframes, or bezier handles on the timeline image. Specifically, I am keyframing the Brush Position in the Write-on effect, and while I can move the brush position, there is no visual cross-hair on the image nor bezier handles to adjust the curve... every adjustment is therefore a guess as to where the adjustment handle is.
Is there a button that toggles anchor point and keyframe path display? Obviously, not being able to see what you're working on is very frustrating. I tried to click the icon to the left of the Write-on effect bar (4-point square with the selection tool in the upper right), but nothing happens. The write-on effect bar is selected and the Brush Position is in keyframe mode.
Thank you in advance for your help.

I worked with this the other day. Bezier handles and the hot spots are tough to see and the write-on effect is a bit wierd for me. You may have more success placing keyframes at beginning and end of a clip as I had trouble keyframing only part of a clip and still controlling the writing effect. You can then slide the keyframes later to change the duration.
Also, you may want to disable all the other effects while editing this one, as the others keep getting selected instead for me and I end up e.g. moving the image instead of the brush.

Conflict between write-on and continuously rasterize

After importing the components for a growing element from illustrator I used a series of notion paths with the write-on effect to create the growth animation. I realized after I was done that I had forgotten to turn on continuously rasterize for the layers. Turning it on at this point however makes the motion path tweak badly. I realize this has to due with the change in render order for the effects on the layer, but I can't seem to find an effective way to fix it. Even re-pasting the original motion path seems to fail. My key frames get spatially spread all over. Any suggestions would be very welcome!
Thanks!
Ben

You can copy&paste position data to masks, the properties must just be selected in the timeline. That part should be no problem. The only caveat might be that the keyframes need to be re-arranged in tiem (pasting from a mask always comes in as a 2 second duration), but that's why you should duplicate the layer to keep the original keyframes around, which likewise can be easily copy&pasted. Especially if you use "good" values, i.e. even multiples when scaling the masks (hence a properly sized solid as guide) that should be pretty quick to do. Likewise, you can pre-compse your vector art from the timeline (Ctrl+Shift+C) and choose to leave all attributes in the current comp. No effects and other stuff will get lost. Once created, you can simply resize the pre-comp to your needs in the Composition Settings and CR your vector artwork, resizing it to fit. Again, use controllable values liek making it twice as big as before. Then in your main comp, all you need to do is scale it back to 50%. All that probaly takes 15 minutes to do. Unless of course, there is something you haven't told us yet that complicates things...
Mylenium

Write-on effect

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for