Overshadowing is one of the most common mistakes people make. Let’s say it together: Not all type needs a text effect. If all we see is a drop shadow, then you need to rein it in a little.Īnd please, for the love of all things typography, only use text effects on type that you want to highlight. One of the biggest dangers with text effects is to over-do them. Please include attribution to with this graphic. Here’s an example of cringe-worthy color contrast: Your text effect should also contrast with the background. So, over and above thinking about brand colors, you need to think about which ones are the most important.Ĭontrast can be achieved with light and dark, color, shape, texture, size… and of course text effects.Įnsure that your type color contrasts with the effect you use (shadow or glow). Text effects are no different and require you to decide who’s boss! It tells your design “who’s boss!”īy that, we mean it tells us where we want someone to focus when they look at an image. When it comes to design, contrast is pretty important. Do’s and Don’ts for Creating Drop Shadow Text Effects that Don’t Suck 1 Do – Use Contrasting Colors Oh and there’s an Infographic and a super cool video if you prefer the visual way (scroll down). Let’s take a look at some Do’s and Don’ts for using text effects (in particular drop shadows and glow effects) in your designs. But unfortunately, many DIY designers missed the memo about how to use them correctly… to create text effects that don’t suck. There are so many DIY tools letting us drop shadows. This includes the clever use of light and dark, and text effects like drop shadows and glow.īut those same effects, rendered badly, can instantaneously make your design unpleasant to the eye, overbearing, or even worse… cheesy. When text effects are used well, they can draw people into your design, give it depth, and help to lift it. Let’s create text effects that don’t suck. Text effects like Drop Shadow can easily fall into the latter category when used badly. This tutorial has demonstrated a quick and efficient method to create a shadow effect in After Effects, without the need for any plugins.Are you sending your brand into the cringe-zone with bad drop shadows and text effects?ĭesign trends can be fickle – considered cool one year and cringe-worthy the next. Start with 0% opacity, increase it to 100%, and optionally, reverse the process towards the end of your animation. Adding Transparency Animationįor an added touch, animate the opacity of the shadow. Move the center point of the ‘CC Radial Fast Blur’ effect and set keyframes to animate the shadow’s movement and intensity. Adjust the effect settings to create the desired shadow.īy changing the direction and amount, you can simulate light coming from different angles, thus creating a dynamic shadow. Now, apply the ‘CC Radial Fast Blur’ effect to the duplicated (black) text layer. Change the color of the bottom text layer to black in the character panel. Duplicate your text layer by selecting it in the timeline and pressing Ctrl+D. The main focus of this tutorial is creating the shadow. Creating the Shadow Effect Duplicating the Text Layer Optionally, apply a ramp effect to your text for an enhanced look. Once done, use the ‘Align’ panel to center the text both horizontally and vertically. Remember to hold the ‘Shift’ key to maintain the text’s proportions. You can adjust the font size either from the character panel or by dragging the corners of the text box. Using the text tool, type your text in the center of the scene. READ ALSO: Rolling Any Type of Geometry in After Effects Working with Text Change the gradient from linear to radial, and adjust the center and colors to create a transition from light red to dark red. By default, this creates a black and white gradient, which you can modify. To create a gradient, use the ‘Gradient Ramp’ effect.ĭrag this effect onto your solid layer. If the ‘Effects’ panel isn’t visible, ensure that ‘Effects and Presets’ is checked under the ‘Window’ menu. Adding a Gradient Effectįor a more aesthetically pleasing look, we’ll add a gradient to the background. The color of this layer is not important at the moment as we will soon change it to a gradient. This will automatically create a solid layer in the size of your composition. To start, right-click on the timeline, click ‘New’, then ‘Solid’. You might remember the background from a previous video. The duration isn’t crucial for this effect, so feel free to adjust it based on your project needs. For this example, we’ll use a composition size of 1920×1080 with a duration of 10 seconds. In the project panel, right-click and select ‘New Composition’. First, let’s start by creating a new composition.
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