How to make handwriting effect in After Effects

Creating a "write-on" effect or "handwriting" effect in After Effects is actually very simple, but it can be time-consuming depending on the text.

First, select your text in the timeline window, then click the "Pen Tool" in the toolbar.

Now, create a path with the pen tool by clicking on the text in the "Composition" window, in the order you want to reveal the lines of the text.
Try to follow the center of each character.

After your path is created, go to the "Effects" window, search for "Stroke" and then double click on that effect.

Now, when you go to the "Effect Controls" window and change the "Brush size" of the stroke, it will slowly cover the text.
Increase it just enough to cover the text but not more.

Now you move the playhead to where you want your "write-on effect" to end, and then click on the stopwatch next to "End" in the "Effect Controls" window to set the ending keyframe there. It should say 100%.

Now you move the playhead to where you want it to start and then change the value of "End" to 0. This will create a starting keyframe where the path goes from 0% to 0%, which basically means that at this point in the timeline, the path is invisible.

Your stroke is now covering the text, but if you change the "Paint style" from "On Original Image" to "Reveal Original Image" it will now reveal the text instead.

If you have to, you can always finetune the keyframes afterwards to improve your effect.

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#AfterEffects #Tutorials #HowTo #Handwriting #WriteOn

[DavidLindgren]

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[jamieregan]

Had to like and comment because of how quick and to the point this tutorial is. Thanks David!

[mattbroughton]

Brilliant. No messing around talking shit and getting straight to the point! Thanks David.

[BenchMatthew]

A like and a comment for the algo. Quick, simple, effective and a nice touch for our couples' names at the end of our wedding films. Thanks David!

[pahliac]

Thank you so much, I will be trying this today!

[deannaalee]

Just adding a step! You have to right click on the path and create a mask, then set the stroke to that mask. It seems yours did this automatically while mine didn't, in case anyone is having trouble!

[johnmilovic]

Qhat if I have bunch of text, how to avoid individual letter masking

[RYVENANT]

What if the text is already vectorized (and therefore an image layer in AE, not text layer)?

[davidblock]

Not working when the letters do cross each other (as in an handwritten typo), since the mask will already reveal a part of a letter that is not being written. Otherwise, it works ok. Thanks.