Fastest way to create the writing text effect?

[TylerEdwards]

Help!?

thanks, im pretty familiar with AE so anything you tell me should help out

[kai]

I usually create a new black layer above the text layer (set to 50% opacity to see through it, onion skin style) and use the "write on" plug-in to trace the layer below (white pen color). Then, set that layer as a track matte to reveal the layer below. Quick & easy.

[TylerEdwards]

Sweet thanks alot man

[kai]

Let us know if it works out for you, and post some clips if ya can :)

[TylerEdwards]

Im kinda stuck on the Tracing part, if you could give me more details on that it would be great, i think i could do it alot easier if you could tell me how to do each step. Its been awhile since ive used AE, so kinda iffy on it.

[TylerEdwards]

But yeah, once i get that done i will show you a clip or two of how i used it.

[lebroz]

say what kai? sounded like it works, is this apple/avid talk? what plug in do you speak of

[thisiswells]

I'll point out a very different perspective on doing the "telestrator" type of effect.

Get a Wacom tablet (like the $99 Graphire3 from Best Buy) open up Photoshop or something like it.. Take the (well, my powerbook had this feature) S-Video analog output of your computer and run it to a deck or a camera. Hit record. Then, you have a live recording of whatever you draw on screen. So, play the tape back into your editing software, remove the excess menu's from around the screen by cropping the image, then do a luma key to remove the white background, and voila: black text with *authentic* handwriting movement with a whole lot less work than doing this entirely in after effects with a very *authentic* handwriting movement.

There is a really awful-looking music video I was involved with that used this effect:
www.nevaehmusic.com I hate the way the video turned out, but check out the "telestrator"

Hope this helps,
brian wells

[El Gato Negro]

I usually create a new black layer above the text layer (set to 50% opacity to see through it, onion skin style) and use the "write on" plug-in to trace the layer below (white pen color). Then, set that layer as a track matte to reveal the layer below. Quick & easy.
Actually I am trying this effect with AE 7. But for so reason it won't give me the opition of selecting Track Matte. Any suggestions? Here is a pic just tell me if I am doing something wrong. Thank you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v380/elgatonegro13/handwriting.jpg

[El Gato Negro]

Does anybody else have another way of creating this effect? p.s. for some reason my reply did not post up on the forum.

[oneinfiniteloop]

Check it...

http://www.andrewjfallon.com/handwriting.jpg

[Jeff Anderson]

http://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=1&page=http://www.creativecow.net/articles/kantorski_kevin/signature/index.html

should get you there