Eliminating Stroke Artifacts On Text In After Effects

Adding a stroke to text in After Effects can be a powerful design element, but you may want to remove it for a variety of reasons. To get rid of the stroke on text in After Effects, you can follow these steps:

First, create your text layer in After Effects. Then, find the Character Panel. In the top-right corner of the Character Panel, you will see two overlapping squares. The left square selects the colour of the text, and the square with the hole inside selects the colour of the stroke. To remove the stroke, click on the left square, which will bring the text colour box on top of the stroke colour box. Then, click the small white square with a red line through it that is touching these two boxes. This will remove the stroke from your text layer.

Use the Character Panel to set the stroke colour to the same as the text colour

To get rid of the stroke on text in After Effects, you can use the Character Panel to set the stroke colour to the same as the text colour. This will make the stroke invisible, effectively removing it from your text layer. Here's a step-by-step guide:

• Create your text layer in After Effects. You can activate the Text Tool by using the keyboard shortcut Command+T on a Mac or Control+T on Windows. Then, click in the Composition Panel to create a new text layer and type in your desired text. You can also change the font of the text as needed.
• Find the Character Panel by going to the Window Menu and choosing Character. If you don't see the Window Menu, you can press Control-T on your keyboard to access it.
• In the Character Panel, you will see two overlapping squares in the top-right corner. The solid square on the left is for selecting the text colour, and the square with a hole in it is for choosing the stroke colour.
• Click on the stroke colour square and select the same colour as your text. This will make the stroke invisible against the text colour.
• If you want to remove the stroke completely, you can do so by clicking on the small white square with a red line going through it, which is located next to the colour squares. This will remove the stroke from the text layer.
• Additionally, you can adjust the thickness of the stroke by clicking on the icon with three horizontal lines in the Character Panel and typing in a new value.
• Play around with the "Fill Over Stroke" and "Stroke Over Fill" options to see which one better suits your needs. "Fill Over Stroke" places the stroke on the outside of the text and grows it outward, while "Stroke Over Fill" does the opposite.

By following these steps, you can effectively remove the stroke from your text layer in After Effects by setting the stroke colour to match the text colour.

Use the Character Panel to set the stroke width to 0

To get rid of the stroke on text in After Effects, you can use the Character Panel to set the stroke width to 0. Here's a step-by-step guide:

• Create your text layer in After Effects by activating the Text Tool using the keyboard shortcut Command+T on a Mac or Control+T on Windows. Then, click in the Composition Panel to create a new text layer and type in your text.
• Find the Character Panel by going to the Window Menu and choosing Character if it's not already visible.
• In the Character Panel, you will see the Stroke Color box in the top-right corner. This is indicated by two overlapping squares, with the one on the left being solid, and the one on the right having a hole in it.
• To remove the stroke, click on the Stroke Color box to bring it to the front. Then, click the small white square with a red line going through it, which is located next to the color boxes. This will remove the stroke from the text layer.
• Alternatively, you can also set the stroke width to 0 by clicking on the number next to the icon with three horizontal lines in the Character Panel. This number determines the thickness of the stroke. Click on the number and type in 0, or use the arrows to decrease the value until it reaches 0.

By following these steps, you can effectively remove the stroke from your text in After Effects using the Character Panel.

Convert text to shapes and control stroke attributes

To convert text to shapes and control stroke attributes in After Effects, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the Text Layer

Use the Type tool and start typing your desired text. Alternatively, you can highlight the Timeline panel and select Layer > New > Text. An After Effects text layer is a simple vector file, allowing you to change the scale or font size while preserving the sharp edges of your text.

Step 2: Convert to Shapes

While After Effects has a variety of text tools, shape layers offer more versatility. Converting your text to shape layers unlocks several animation features. To do this, select your text layer and go to Layer > Create Shapes from Text. You can differentiate between Shapes and Text layers by the symbol next to the layer's name in the Timeline panel—shapes have a star, while text layers have a "T."

Step 3: Add the Stroke

Each letter in your new shape layer is now an individual shape element with its own path, stroke, fill, and transform properties. To control all the letters simultaneously, add a new stroke attribute by going to the Add button and selecting Stroke. This adds a stroke to the entire word. If you only want to animate the stroke, turn off the fill property for each letter.

Step 4: Animate the Stroke

The new stroke attribute has several keyframable properties, including color, opacity, and width. To animate the path of the stroke, add a Trim Paths attribute via the Add button in the Timeline panel. This tool lets you animate the Start, End, and Offset properties of the stroke path for dynamic results.

Step 5: Customize Design

Fine-tune the animation and adjust various stroke attributes to your liking, such as color, width, stroke cap, and joints for a smoother and curvier look. You can even change the stroke to dashes and keyframe the offset property for added creativity.

By following these steps, you can effectively convert text to shapes and control stroke attributes in After Effects, allowing you to create unique and visually appealing designs.

Use the Trim Paths tool to animate the stroke

To animate the stroke using the Trim Paths tool, follow these steps:

First, create a composition and a shape layer. On the timeline, expand your shape layer, then click on "Add" in front of "Content". From the drop-down menu, select "Trim Paths". This will display the trim path properties.

Next, create a rectangle around the text using the shape rectangle tool. Ensure that the fill is empty and the stroke is set to the desired width. Now, draw the rectangle around the text.

Go to the timeline area and click on the arrow next to "Add", then select "Trim Paths". Expand "Trim Paths 1" and create two keyframes. This will create a basic animation.

If you want to change the direction of the trim path, click on the "Reverse Path Direction" icon. You can also offset the starting point of the trim path if needed.

With the Trim Paths tool, you can create various animated infographics and stroke animations. For example, you can create a bar chart with multi-coloured bars that increase in size while simultaneously revealing the legend for each bar. Alternatively, you can create a horizontal bar graph to represent a set of data horizontally, with each multi-coloured bar increasing from a customizable date.

The Trim Paths tool also enables you to create pie charts that incrementally reveal each piece of data. You can customize the pieces to show percentages or total amounts, and each piece can have its own title or legend that appears as it is revealed.

Additionally, the Trim Paths tool is useful for creating a progress bar, which can be used to show data increases in your infographics.

Use the Gaussian Blur effect to blur out the background and make the text more prominent

To remove the stroke from text in After Effects and make the text more prominent against the background, you can use the Gaussian Blur effect to blur out the background.

Gaussian blur is a widely used graphics effect that reduces image noise and detail by applying a Gaussian function to the image. This results in a smooth blur that resembles viewing the image through a translucent screen. The visual effect is distinctly different from the bokeh effect produced by an out-of-focus lens.

The Gaussian blur can be applied to a two-dimensional image as two independent one-dimensional calculations, making it a linearly separable filter. This means that the effect of applying the two-dimensional matrix can be achieved by first applying a series of single-dimensional Gaussian matrices in the horizontal direction and then repeating the process in the vertical direction.

When applying the Gaussian blur, the value of σ (the standard deviation of the Gaussian distribution) controls the variance around a mean value of the distribution, which determines the extent of the blurring effect around a pixel. A larger value of σ will result in a more blurred image.

To use the Gaussian Blur effect in After Effects to blur the background and make the text more prominent, follow these steps:

• Create your text layer in After Effects by activating the Text Tool using the keyboard shortcut Command+T on a Mac or Control+T on Windows.
• Click in the Composition Panel to create a new text layer and type in your text. Change the font of the text as needed.
• Find the Character Panel by going to the Window Menu and choosing Character.
• In the Character Panel, set the stroke color by clicking on the square with a hole in the top-right corner. Choose the desired color and click OK.
• To make the text hollow or see-through, click the small white square with a red line going through it that's touching the color boxes. This will make the text invisible, leaving only the stroke visible.
• Now, apply the Gaussian Blur effect to the background layer you want to blur. In After Effects, go to the Effects menu and choose Blur & Sharpen. Then select Gaussian Blur.
• Adjust the blur amount by changing the Blur Radius value in the Effect Controls panel. Play around with the value until you achieve the desired blur effect on the background.
• You can also adjust the blur intensity by changing the Blur Dimensions. For a stronger blur, increase the value for Blur Dimensions.
• Once you're happy with the blur effect, position the text layer on top of the blurred background layer in the timeline.
• Preview your composition to see the final result.

By using the Gaussian Blur effect, you can effectively blur out the background, reducing noise and detail, and making the text more prominent in your After Effects project.

Frequently asked questions