In this tutorial, you will learn how to speed up the creation of animated text using the actions you created.
Step 1. Create a new document with the size of 600 * 300 peak. Call him “background“. And make him a starry sky. How to do this, I will not tell, because This point is described in detail in this lesson. As another option, you can use the finished image of the starry sky or create any other background.
Step 2. Create a new horizontal guide below the middle of your document. Menu View – New guide. Set the value Horizontal – position8cm
Hint: The easiest way to create a new guide is to call rulers keystroke Ctrl+Rand holding LMB to pull the guide from the ruler.
In the same menu View check the box Binding to – Guide.
Step 3. Take the text tool by clicking on the corresponding icon on the toolbar.
Open the palette Characters (the picture shows: 1).
Choose a font and any color except black, so that our text does not merge with the background. I took red. Enter text size 250 (picture shows: 2)
hint: besides the main sizes, changing the values in the windows shown in the figure with numbers 3 and 4, you can change the font size as you need.
Start writing your text by placing the cursor on the guide, each letter must be on a new layer. To do this, put one letter, click on the toolbar button perform,
After that, put the second one, etc. You should have this layer palette:
If the letters become not exactly somewhere, or you didn’t hit the guide directly, then using the tool, you can move any letter and it will stick to the guide.
Rasterize all text layers. To do this quickly: in the layers palette, select the lower text layer, hold down Shift and click on the upper layer. Then on any selected layer, click RMB and select the command Rasterize the text.
Step 4. Pack each letter layer in a separate folder. To do this, select one layer in the palette and click the combination Ctrl+G. Repeat this with each layer. You will have this palette.
Turn off the visibility of all layers, leave enabled only in the first (lower) folder. (And of course the layer background, after all, as I said at the beginning, we don’t touch him anymore). For convenience, you can rename the Folders (groups) into letters that are in them, and collapse them by clicking on the triangle next to the folder icon, but leave the visibility of the folders turned on.
Step 5. Let’s start creating an action. Check that you have an active layer in the first folder.
Hint: It is important that the layer be activated before recording starts, otherwise the action will record the name of the layer and in the future problems may arise with its use.
Open the window Operations and click create a new set (picture shows: 1) . Call it Animation (or because it will be easier for you to remember). Press the button Create a new operation (the picture shows: 2) Call it Approximation.
And press the RECORD button.
Step 6. Duplicate your active layer by pressing the key combination Ctrl+J . Call Free transformation going to the menu Editing – Free Transform, either simply pressing the combination Ctrl+T . On the toolbar, click keeping proportions (the picture shows: 1).
hint: this is necessary in order for the width and height to change simultaneously and proportionally during the transformation.
Out the window width (the picture shows: 2) enter 85. Out the window angle (the picture shows: 3) enter 15. Press the button perform (how it looks you can see in the third step of this lesson).
Step 7. Stop recording clicking on the corresponding icon in the window Operations (the picture shows 1). Pay attention to the picture.
You should see exactly the same actions recorded in the operation at your place. Select both actions (just hold down Ctrl and click on the one you want to select). Hold them with the LMB and drag them to the button. Create a new operation (the picture shows: 2) it will copy yours. Repeat this copying 10 times, and roll up the operation by clicking on the triangle near Approximation. The first action is ready!
Step 8. Return to the layers palette. Delete the copy of the layer that we created during the action recording. In each Folder (group) copy the layer with the letter, and pack it into a separate folder, as you did in step 4 of this lesson, and rename these folders to “Contour”. You will get this palette.
Step 9. Now we need to configure the tools to create the next action. Take the tool brush ask Size 10, Density 0. Choose light color (I took #fdfcaa). Make any layer visible and active. Go to Filter – Blur – Blur on the frame set the size 8 pixels Click OK. Click combination Ctrl+Z to undo the last action (so you will have the filter settings, but the blur applied to the active layer will be canceled). Take any selection tool (lasso, magic wand, etc.).
Step 10. Create a new action.
Important! Check that your copy layer is active in any Contour folder.
In the palette Operations choose Create a new operation. Let’s call it CONTOUR.
Next I will give a step by step creation of action.
one) Menu Selection – Load Selected Area – OK
2) In the layers palette, click Create New Layer
3) Right-click on your image in the middle of the selected area, and select the command Run a stroke.
You will see this brush settings window.
But since our brush is already set up, just click OK.
4) Cancel the selection by going to the menu. Selection – Deselect Selection or just press the key combination Ctrl+D.
5) Click Ctrl+F to apply the filter we set up earlier.
6) Create a copy of this layer by pressing the key combination Ctrl+J.
7) Call the free transformation by going to the menu Editing – Free Transform. Or just click Ctrl+T. Press the button keeping proportions out the window width enter 120 (height will also change to 120). All others leave unchanged. And press the button perform. (How this panel looks like can be seen in Step 6 of this lesson.)
Return to the window Operations Stop recording.
Now you have in the window Operations Here is a panel that shows your actions recorded in the action.
Select the last 3 actions and copy them as in Step 7 this lesson 5 times. Roll up the operation.
Step 11. Our set of actions is ready, and now we will use them. Return to the layers palette and delete the 2 layers of the action you received while recording. Now we have 5 Main Folders (groups) in the layers palette. Each has a main layer and a folder “contour”.
1) Make the main layer in the first folder active and visible (folders are considered from bottom to top). Go to window Operations, click on the operation Approximation and press the button perform an operation at the bottom of the window. After execution, return to the palette and turn off the visibility of all layers.
2) Go to the folder “contour” in this group, make active and visible layer with the letter. Back out the window Operations, activate the operation Circuit and run its execution. Go back to the layers palette, turn off the visibility of all layers and delete the very first layer (this is the letter layer). Now your palette looks like this:
Step 12. Repeat Step 11 in each main folder. And you can while all collapse so that they do not interfere.
Step 13. Let’s start creating the animation. Turn on Window – Animation.
In the layers palette you only see the Background layer, in the Animations panel it is displayed in the first frame.
1) Set the execution time to 0.5 seconds. By clicking on the small triangle shown in figure 1.
2) Make frame copy, (I specifically singled out this combination, so that you do not confuse it with a copy of the layer) by clicking on the button shown by the number 2. Change the execution time to Without delay.
Hint: You can change the execution time of any frame, or a whole group of frames at any time..
3) In the main folder with the first letter, turn on the visibility of the upper layer, this is the layer with the smallest copy of the letter. You will see how it appeared on your image (folder circuit while it remains collapsed!).
4) Do it again frame copy turn on the visibility of the next layer, and turn off the visibility of this.
5) Repeat this action. ” copy frame> turn on the bottom> turn off the top. Until you reach the bottom layer with the largest letter. Leave the visibility of this layer on! During the execution of these operations, you will observe on your image as a letter, turns over and approaches.
6) Make a copy of the last frame, now you have in the palette 2 frames with a capital letter.
Step 14. Go to folder “circuit”, make the first layer in this folder visible (note, here it is the bottom layer.) Make frame copy turn on the visibility of the next and turn off the visibility of this. Now your action will look like this “copy frame> turn on the top> turn off the bottom. ” Watch what is happening on the screen and you can’t go wrong. The last frame of this folder, visibility will need to be turned off. Having reached the end of this folder, make frame copy and give it a lead time of 0.5.
Hint: all subsequent frames, take the time from the previous one so the first frame in the next step change the time to – without delay.
Step 15. Repeat Step 13 and Step 14 in each main Folder (group).
Step 16. When you have the animation collected from all layers in all folders. And the whole text will be visible on the screen, change its execution time to 1 or 2 seconds, this is up to you. Roll up the folders so that in the palette you only see the folders and the background layer. Make a copy of the frame, change the time to 0.5 disable the visibility of the first lower folder. Click the button add intermediate layers.
Put the number of layers 3. Intermediate frames: Previous frame. Click OK. Change their time to without delay.
Last time frame change to 0.5
Step 17. Repeat Step 16 until you turn off all the text. The very last frame of your animation, set the time 1-2 seconds. at your discretion.
The animation is ready!
Some more tips:
1) If you have created an animation, viewed it and you are not satisfied with something, you can change it simply by selecting the desired frame (or even a group of frames by selecting them: click on the first frame you need, hold Shift and click on the last) in the animation panel. And make changes to the layers palette.
2) If you want to add some new layer with the animation already collected, be sure to go to the settings (click on the small triangle in the upper right corner of the animation panel) and disable the item New layers are visible in all frames.
3) Since you now have an action ready, which you can apply to your other works, but sometimes it may not quite fit the parameters. You can add stop points between actions. To do this, open and select the desired action in the Operations window, open the settings (a triangle in the corner) and add an item: Insert stop or Insert menu item.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I want to say that you should understand that any lesson is not a command to strictly copy the actions of the author, but just a hint of the direction in which you can act. I specifically used the text without any effects, the simplest transformation and the simplest filter, so that you can think of what you can do. Change the settings, apply other filters, do not be afraid to experiment. By understanding the principle of the lesson and applying your imagination and knowledge gained on this wonderful site, you can achieve results that are much better than in any lesson.
