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Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Add and place your text
Use the Type Tool (shortcut T) to add your text in the Program Monitor. Pick a handwriting or script font, since the effect looks best with letters that flow. Resize the text and move it into position. The video uses cursive text on a paper background, but any background works.
Step 2: Apply the Write-on effect
Open the Effects panel (Window > Effects) and search for Write-on. You will find it in Video Effects > Obsolete. Drag it onto the text layer in the timeline.
Faster with BetterFX: skip the Effects panel. Press your BetterFX shortcut, type the first letters of Write-on and press Enter to apply it to the selected clip. Get BetterFX
Step 3: Set up the brush
Select the text layer and open Effect Controls. Under Write-on, raise the Brush Size until the brush is slightly bigger than the thickness of your text strokes. A white brush dot appears on the text. To see it better while you work, change the Color to red.
For the animation to work properly, set Brush Spacing (secs) to 0.001 and Stroke Length (secs) to 10. The tiny spacing makes the brush paint a continuous line instead of a row of dots, and the long stroke length stops the paint from fading away while you write.
Step 4: Keyframe the brush position
Move the playhead to the start of the clip and click the stopwatch next to Brush Position to create the first keyframe. Then click the Write-on effect name in Effect Controls so the brush shows in the Program Monitor with a blue handle icon you can drag.
Drag the brush over the first character of your text. Press the Right Arrow key to go forward one frame, then drag the brush so it covers the next bit of the letter. If you need to, use the small handles around the brush for fine adjustments, and change the Brush Size if the brush is too small for part of a letter. Keep stepping one frame forward and moving the brush, following the shape of each letter, until you have covered all the characters in your text.
It takes patience, but this is what makes it look like real handwriting. Follow the same direction a person would use when writing each letter.
Step 5: Reveal the original text and slow it down
Right now the red brush strokes are painted over the text. Change Paint Style to Reveal Original Image, so the brush uncovers your text instead of painting on top of it. The red disappears and your text appears as if it is being written.
The animation is probably too fast because it only lasts a few frames per letter. To slow it down, press R to switch to the Rate Stretch Tool, or pick it in the toolbar, and drag the end of the text layer longer. The longer the clip, the slower the writing. Keep stretching until the pace feels natural. For smoother motion between keyframes, see our guide to easing keyframes in Premiere Pro.
Step 6: Add a distorted wiggle effect
For a hand-drawn, boiling-line look, search for Turbulent Displace in the Effects panel and apply it to the same text layer. In Effect Controls, set Amount to 6 and Size to 20. You can experiment with these values to get a different feel.
Make sure the playhead is at the start of the clip, expand Evolution Options and click the stopwatch next to Random Seed. Go to the end of the clip and increase the value. The text now wobbles over time. The bigger the number at the end, the faster the distortion moves.
Tips
- Use a clean, single-line font. Script fonts with connected letters look the most natural when they are written on.
- Follow the pen path. Move the brush the way a pen would, from the start of each stroke to the end.
- Turn the brush red while you work. The colour only matters until you switch to Reveal Original Image, and it makes mistakes easy to spot.
FAQ
Where is the Write-on effect in Premiere Pro?
It is in the Effects panel under Video Effects > Obsolete. Search for Write-on and it will show up.
Why is my handwriting animation so fast?
The animation lasts as long as your keyframes. Use the Rate Stretch Tool (R) to lengthen the clip and slow the writing down.
Why does the brush leave dots instead of a line?
The Brush Spacing is too high. Set it to 0.001 so the brush paints a continuous stroke.
Need the Write-on effect and other classic effects back? Get the free restored obsolete effects pack.
