
(Check out my stand-alone tutorial on “ How to Animate a Text Stroke in Adobe After Effects. Once I’m happy with the look of my stroke, I can add Trim Paths and animate the range to get the look I want. To change the stoke of all the characters at once, select the layer, and use the Stroke option at the top of the interface. For this, I’ll first take my text and select Layer > Create > Create Shapes from Text. As opposed to creating a simple box or line element, adding and animating a text stroke can be a bit more tricky. (This also works great with simple underline elements.)Īnother popular look is the animated text stroke. Now, I can animate the end in conjunction with the Offset for some truly desirable results. Then, I’ll create a rectangle and align it with my text.

To create one, I’ll simply grab the Rectangle Shape tool and set the stroke to 10 pixels, with no fill. A popular look for lower thirds, and other graphics, is the animated bounding box. You can use Trim Paths to quickly add detail to a lower third - or another text element. For a full tutorial on how to animate a map route, check out my “ Create a Map Path Inspired by Indiana Jones in After Effects“ tutorial. Once I’m happy with the look, I’ll add the Trim Path animator and animate the end position. For this example, I’ll add some dashes and change the Line Cap property. I can customize and stylize my map route via the properties of the stroke element. First, I’ll add points and a path to a map via the Pen tool, with the stroke at 5 pixels and no fill. Maps are fun, and you can quickly create an animated route with Trim Paths. ( Check out my full tutorial on how to create infographics in After Effects here.) Lastly, I’ll add a simple value expression to round the numbers out to absolute values. To have a number dynamically change as the graph grows, I’ll add a text layer and parent the source text to the end property of the Trim Path. Finally, I’ll add a Trim Path animator via the Add dropdown menu and animate the End property from 0% to 100%.

Next, I’ll turn off the fill, and set the stroke to 150 pixels. For a basic bar graph, I’ll first create a two-point path via the Pen tool, placing the first point at the bottom of the frame. So, what can you accomplish with this handy, little animator? Let’s have a look at five fun, useful projects.Ĭreating an infographic can seem complex however, it only takes a few simple steps. However, new users may not know about it because it is hidden away under a shape layer submenu.

Trim Paths is a tool in Adobe After Effects that allows you to make precise adjustments to shape layer paths. In this video tutorial, we cover how to harness the power of this simple, hidden feature in Adobe After Effects - Trim Paths.
