Mastering Text Animations with 40+ Expression Codes in After Effects

Master Text Animations in After Effects: The Ultimate Guide with 40 Expression Codes

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Text animations are a powerful tool in the world of motion graphics, allowing designers to breathe life into their projects and captivate viewers. Among the various software available, After Effects stands out as a leading platform for creating stunning text animations. With a wide range of expression codes at your disposal, you can take your animations to the next level. In this article, we will dive deep into the realm of After Effects and uncover more than 40 expression codes that will empower you to master text animations.

Understanding the Basics of Text Animations

Before we delve into the intricate world of expression codes, it's important to have a solid understanding of the basics of text animations in After Effects. Text animations involve manipulating text elements to create dynamic and visually appealing effects. With After Effects, you have full control over properties like position, scale, rotation, opacity, and more. By animating these properties over time, you can bring your text to life and create eye-catching effects.

Exploring the Power of Expression Codes

Expression codes are snippets of scripts that enable you to create complex animations and interactions in After Effects. By using mathematical calculations, logical statements, and various functions, you can automate animation processes and achieve precise control over your text animations. Let's explore over 40 expression codes that will unlock the true potential of After Effects:

 

Fade In/Fade Out Text :

if (time < 3) { value*(time/3); } else if (time > 6) { value*((9-time)/3); } else { value; }

This expression fades the text in over the first 3 seconds, holds it for 3 seconds, and then fades it out over the next 3 seconds.

Typewriter Effect:

n = 0; if (time > 0.5) { n = Math.floor(time/0.05); } text.substring(0,n);

This expression creates a typewriter effect, where the text appears one character at a time, with a delay of 0.05 seconds between each character.

Scrolling Text:

n = text.sourceText.length; m = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Speed")("Slider"); p = n*(time*m); text.sourceText.substring(p-n,p);

This expression scrolls the text horizontally, and the speed of the scroll can be controlled with a "Speed" slider control layer.

Random Flicker Effect:

seedRandom(index); w = wiggle(5,20); [w[0],value[1]]

This expression creates a flicker effect on the text's position property by adding random movement to the x-axis.

Text Pop-In:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = time; value*n;

This expression creates a pop-in effect where the text scales up from 0 to its original size over the course of 1 second..

Text Shake:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = wiggle(10,20); value+n;

This expression creates a shake effect on the text's position property. You can adjust the values inside the expression to control the magnitude and frequency of the shake.

Text Spin:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = time*360; value+n;

This expression creates a spinning effect on the text's rotation property. You can adjust the value inside the expression to control the speed of the spin.

Text Wave:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = Math.sin(time*2)*20; value+[n,0];

This expression creates a wave effect on the text's position property. You can adjust the values inside the expression to control the frequency and amplitude of the wave.

Text Bounce:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = value + Math.sin(time*10)*10; n;

This expression creates a bounce effect on the text's position property. You can adjust the value inside the expression to control the frequency and amplitude of the bounce.

Text Jitter:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = wiggle(5,10); value + n;

This expression creates a jitter effect on the text's position property. You can adjust the values inside the expression to control the frequency and magnitude of the jitter.

Text Zoom-In:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = value + (time*0.1); n;

This expression creates a zoom-in effect on the text's scale property. You can adjust the value inside the expression to control the speed of the zoom-in.

Text Glitch:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = random(2); value + [n,n];

This expression creates a glitch effect on the text's position property. You can adjust the values inside the expression to control the frequency and magnitude of the glitch.

Text Wipe-In:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = (time-1)*thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Wipe")("Slider"); value*n;

This expression creates a wipe-in effect, where the text appears gradually from left to right. The wipe speed can be adjusted with a "Wipe" slider control layer.

Text Shake:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = wiggle(10,50); value + n;

This expression creates a shake effect on the text's position property. You can adjust the values inside the expression to control the frequency and magnitude of the shake.

Text Fade-Out:

n = 0; if (time > 5) n = (time-5)/5; value - (value*n);

This expression creates a fade-out effect, where the text becomes more transparent over the course of 5 seconds.

Text Scramble:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = random(text.sourceText.length); text.sourceText.charAt(n);

This expression creates a scramble effect on the text, where the letters appear randomly.

Text Position Randomize:

seedRandom(index); w = wiggle(5,20); [w[0],value[1]]

This expression creates random movement on the x-axis of the text's position property.

Text Scale Flicker:

seedRandom(index); w = wiggle(0.5, 5); [value[0]+w,value[1]+w]

This expression creates random flickering on the text's scale property.

Text Rotation Jitter:

seedRandom(index); w = wiggle(5,10); value + w

This expression creates random jitter on the text's rotation property.

Text Tracking:

value + thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Tracking")("Slider");

This expression increases or decreases the text's tracking property, depending on the value of the "Tracking" slider control layer.

Text Fade-In and Out:

n = 0; if (time < 3) n = time/3; else if (time > 6) n = (9 - time)/3; value*n;

This expression creates a fade-in effect over the first 3 seconds, holds the text visible for 3 seconds, and then creates a fade-out effect over the next 3 seconds.

Text Blur:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Blur")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a blur effect on the text, the amount of blur can be adjusted using a "Blur" slider control layer.

Text Stroke:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Stroke")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a stroke effect on the text, the width of the stroke can be adjusted using a "Stroke" slider control layer.

Text Skew:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Skew")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a skew effect on the text, the amount of skew can be adjusted using a "Skew" slider control layer.

Text Opacity Flicker:

seedRandom(index); w = wiggle(0.5, 5); value + w

This expression creates random flickering on the text's opacity property.

Text Layer Color:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Color")("Color"); n;

This expression changes the color of the text, the color can be adjusted using a "Color" color control layer.

Text Layer Fill:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Fill")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression changes the fill of the text, the fill amount can be adjusted using a "Fill" slider control layer.

Text Layer Layer Style :

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Layer Style")("Layer Style"); n;

This expression applies a Layer Style to the text, the Layer Style can be adjusted using a "Layer Style" Layer Style control layer.

Text Layer Position:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Position")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates an offset on the text's position property, the offset can be adjusted using a "Position" slider control layer.

Text Layer Scale:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Scale")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a scaling effect on the text's scale property, the scale can be adjusted using a "Scale" slider control layer.

Text Layer Rotation:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Rotation")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a rotation effect on the text's rotation property, the rotation can be adjusted using a "Rotation" slider control layer.

Text Layer Shear:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Shear")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a shear effect on the text's Shear property, the shear can be adjusted using a "Shear" slider control layer.

Text Layer Character Offset:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Character Offset")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates an offset between the characters of the text, the offset can be adjusted using a "Character Offset" slider control layer.

Text Layer Line Spacing:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Line Spacing")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a change in the line spacing of the text, the line spacing can be adjusted using a "Line Spacing" slider control layer.

Text Layer Baseline Shift:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Baseline Shift")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a shift in the baseline of the text, the baseline shift can be adjusted using a "Baseline Shift" slider control layer.

Text Layer Text Range:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Text Range")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a change in the range of the text, the range can be adjusted using a "Text Range" slider control layer.

Text Layer Anchor Point:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Anchor Point")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates an offset on the text's anchor point property, the offset can be adjusted using an "Anchor Point" slider control layer.

Text Layer Character Spacing:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Character Spacing")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a change in the character spacing of the text, the character spacing can be adjusted using a "Character Spacing" slider control layer.

Text Layer Text Orientation:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Text Orientation")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a change in the orientation of the text, the text orientation can be adjusted using a "Text Orientation" slider control layer.

Text Layer Text Path:

n = 0; if (time > 1) n = thisComp.layer("Control").effect("Text Path")("Slider"); value + n;

This expression creates a change in the text path, the text path can be adjusted using a "Text Path" slider control layer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Expressions in After Effects are code snippets used to create dynamic animations and automate properties. They provide precise control over parameters like position, scale, and opacity.

To reveal expressions, open the "Timeline" panel, click the stopwatch icon next to a property, and enter the expression in the field that appears.

Expression in After Effects time involves using time-based calculations and functions to control animation timing, speed, and synchronization with audio.

Expressions are property-specific code snippets for dynamic animations, while scripts are broader in scope, automating tasks and extending functionality in After Effects.

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