Resize Text from Bold to Thin | Text Animation in After Effects

Let’s get into the tutorial!

  If you want to follow a video tutorial, use this link.  

Resize Text from Bold to Thin

Create a new composition.

Now, create a new text layer and write down the text you want. Center the text.

Set the thickest style of the font, in our case it’s Black.

Duplicate the text layer and set the thinnest font style, in our font it’s Light.

Now we have two text layers, one is Black and the other is Light. Name them for convenience.

Now, click on the Create Shape from text for both layers.

We can delete our text layers since we no longer need them.

Get into the Contents of our text shape. Here we can see each letter separately with its personal Path.

We’ll work with the bottom layer. Set the keyframes on the Path of the first letter R on the 0 frame.

Move to the 30-th frame, copy the Path of the same letter from the upper layer Light and paste it to the 30-th frame of on Black layer.

We’re starting to see the result as we animated the path from the Light to Black style.

Copy the keyframes from the 0 frame and paste them to the 60th frame, so the letter will get back to its initial state.

Repeat all the same with other letters.

We can remove our upper Light shape since we no longer need it.

Now we need to animate the scale separately for each letter, to do this we go to Transform of the letter.

Set the first keyframe on the 0 frame in the very beginning, the second keyframe we’ll place on the 30th frame. Set the scale here to 120%. Just like the Path animation, the third keyframe for the Scale we’ll set on the 60th frame, it will be the initial state of the letter, 100% scale.

Copy the keyframes and paste them to other letters.

Now we need to copy the last two keyframes for the Path and Scale and duplicate them a couple of times.

Repeat the same for other letters.

Select all of the keyframes and EasyEase them with Fn+ F9. Set the speed graphs.

Now we need to offset each letter 5 frames forward. Just offset all of the keyframes of every next letter.

Precompose the result and call it Text.

Add a Posterize Time effect to our precompose. Set the framerate to 12 frames per second.

Create a new shape layer and with the Ellipse tool, draw an ellipse on the text - approximately with this size ratio.

Add a Gaussian Blur effect to our ellipse and in the Blurriness parameter set the value to 180.

Add a Solid Composite effect to our ellipse. Call the ellipse Blur Mask and disable it.

Now, create a new Adjustment Layer.

Add a Camera Lens Blur effect to it. In the Blur Radius parameter, set the value to 25. In the Blur Map parameter, link Blur Mask and select Effects & Masks from the source list.

Now we can see some blurred areas around the ellipse we’ve created before.

Add an Optics Compensation effect to our Adjustment Layer. Drag it on top over other effects we’ve added and in the Field of View parameter set the value to 12. Enable Reverse Lens Distortion.

Now, we’ll add a 3D Glasses effect and drag it up under the Optics Compensation effect. Link the Left View parameter to the same Adjustment Layer. In the 3D View parameter, pick the Balanced Colored Red Blue. Set the value to 29 in the Balance parameter.

If we need, we can make some adjustments with the Field of View parameter inside of the Optics Compensation effect.

Now, we can see really nice aberrations.

Now, duplicate our precompose and call the lower copy a Text Blur.

Add a Fast Box Blur effect to it. Set the Blur Radius to 15.

Add a Fill effect to it and pick the color. Set the opacity of this layer to 70%.

Get back to the Adjustment Layer and add a Noise effect to it. Set the Amount of Noise to 15%. And finally, disable the Use Color Noise.

And just like that, we’ve created this resized text animation from bold to thin!

Finally

If you've enjoyed this tutorial, don't forget to check more guides - here you can check our recent After Effects guides.

You can also watch full tutorial on Youtube.