*Please enable “Menu / Edit / Preferences / Scripting & Expressions / Allow scripts to write file and access network” for activation.
*”Menu / File / Project Settings / Expressions / Expressions Engine” must be set to “JavaScript”. This is because the Plug-in is temporarily using expression as part of the process. Normally, the default setting is “JavaScript”.
CuttanaNir3
Quick Start
Fully Automatic
Just select some text and press the “Write-on” button to create a “Write-on” animation.
If you click the “Repair” button, the layer will revert to a shape layer without animation.
Manual
Select the text and follow the steps below to click the button.
Ta / Split
Pa / Cut
La / Divide
An / Make
Se / Sequence
For each button, if the automatic process doesn’t work, make corrections using the functions on that tab before moving on to the next tab.
Please see the details for each feature on the tabs.
To revert the changes, select the “Write-on” animation layers and follow the steps below.
Se / The “ [ ” key on the keyboard
An / Restore
La / Unify
Pa / Patch
Details
Select Paths:
Set the path points to be selected. Select the shape layer and click.
*:
The settings UI will appear.
?:
A UI for entering the license key will appear.
Write-on:
Creates “Write-on” animations fully automatically. Just select the text and click.
Repair:
Convert the Write-on animation layers back to shape layers. If the strokes belong to the same character, those layers will merge. Select the layers and click.
Replace:
Replace layers on a character-by-character basis.
Select two stroke layers—the source and the destination—in that order. Then click.
Te Tab: Text Splitter
| Buttons | |
| Split | Split the text into shape layers, one character at a time. Select the text and click. |
| Masks to Shapes | Convert layer with masks into shape layers. Select the layer and click. |
| Options | |
| Merge Points | Merge the nearby points into a single point. |
| Split Into Parts | Split the text into shape layers based on paths rather than characters. |
*Sometimes, when performing a Cut operation, the Cut may not work properly because “you thought you selected one point, but actually selected two points that are too close together.”
For this reason, we recommend checking the “Merge Points” box.
Pa Tab: Path Cutter
| Buttons | |
| Cut | Cut off the path. Select layers: Automatic. Select 2 points: Cut along the line. Select 4 points: Cut the intersection points – such as X, Q. 2 Fill paths & 1 Holl path: Divide them into circle and bar shapes – such as b, d. |
| Slice( < > ^ v ) | Slice the path in the specified direction. Select one point and click. |
| Reap | Split the three-way junction into two sections – such as “->”. Select two points and click. |
| Patch | Restores the cut path. Select layers: Automatic. Select points: The selected area. |
| Connect | Connect the path. Select two or more points on each path and click. *You must select all the points on the side you want to connect. |
| Merge | Merge the points into one. The conditions for merging depend on whether the “Merge by Distance” checkbox is selected. No check mark: Selected points. Checked: All nearest points. |
| Options | |
| Merge Points in Advance | Before performing the cut operation, if there are adjacent points to the selected point, they will be merged into a single point. *This prevents situations where “you think you’ve selected one point, but you’ve actually selected two points that are too close together.” However, although this situation is rare, if one side of the cut consists entirely of handles, the cut will not work properly, so please uncheck this box. |
| Smooth Edges | Smooth the cut surface. |
| Merge by Distance | For the Merge button. Set the distance as the condition for merging points. |
La Tab: Layer Divider
| Buttons | |
| Divide | Divide the paths into stroke shape layers. Select shape layers and click. |
| Extract | Extract a portion of the path and turn it into a stroke shape layer. Select the path you want to extract and click. |
| Unify | Unify the shape layers that were divided. Select the shape layers and click. |
An Tab: Animation Maker
| Buttons | |
| Make | Set the layers to “Write-on” animation layers. When there are no Pins (described below): Automatic. When pins are present: Create by referencing the positions of the pins. The following slider control parameters are applied to the layer. CN_Value: Keyframes for animation. CN_Offset: The direction of the tip. The starting and ending points must be zero. CN_Tip_Scale: The size of the rounded tip. CN_Tip_Decay_Start: At what point is the roundness complete (%)? CN_Tip_Decay_End: At what point does the roundness begin to decrease (%)? *Decay_End is the percentage as seen from the rear. In other words, if you want the decay to start when the animation has reached 80%, for example, enter 20. |
| Restore | Restore the “Write-on” animation. Select the layers and click. |
| Reverse | Reverse the “Write-on” animation. Select the layers and click. |
| Options | |
| 1,2Pins | Specify the number of start and end points. Select 2 for sans-serif fonts, 1 for fonts with pointed tips, and any other value as appropriate. |
| Ease Out | Apply an ease-out to the animation. |
| Duration | Set the duration of the keyframe. |
| Buttons (Pins) | |
| Start | Determine the starting points. Select 1 or 2 points and click. |
| End | Determine the end points. Select 1 or 2 points and click. |
| Lock | Determine which points are valid as route points. Select two points as a set and click. |
| Mute | Determine which points are invalid as route points. Select the points and click. |
| Separate Overlapping Points | This temporarily moves points that are overlapping and cannot be selected. Characters such as “e” and “o” that have been cut. Select the overlapping points and click. *Since the original shape is saved, you can simply click the “Make” button. |
| Remove | Remove pins. Select Pins and click. |
| Restore | Restore the animation created with the Make button. Select the “Write-on” animation layers and click. |
Se Tab: Sequencer
| Buttons | |
| Sequence | Arrange the Write-on animation layers in a staggered pattern. Select the layers and click. The numerical field indicates the number of frames of delay. Left: Delay per character. Left: Delay per stroke. |
| Adjust Keys | Change the duration of the keyframe. Select the layers and click. The numerical field represents the number of frames in the duration. |
| Tips: On/Off | Turn the tip rounding on or off. Select the layers and click. |
| Fx: Copy Paste | Copy or paste the slider control parameters related to Tip. Select Layer: Copy All Parameters. Select a specific parameter: Copies only that parameter. To paste, select the layers and click. |
Ex Tab: Extra Functions
| Precomp | |
| Buttons | |
| Precomp | Convert the layers into compositions, one for each character. Select the layers and click. |
| Decomp | Decompose the Precomp layers. Select the composition layers and click it. |
| Animate Out | |
| Buttons | |
| Animate Out | Animate out the “Write-on” animation layer. Select the layers and click. *This cannot be used in conjunction with Make Trail. *The delay and duration are determined by the values entered in the “Adjust Delay” and “Adjust Duration” fields below. However, whether or not to apply a ease-out depends on the “Ease-out” checkbox on the An tab. |
| Remove | Remove the animate-out. Select the layers and click. |
| Adjust Delay | Adjust the start of the animate-out. Select the layers and click. The numeric field indicates the number of frames of delay from the start of the “Write-on” animation. |
| Adjust Duration | Adjust the duration of the animate-out. Select the layers and click. The numerical field represents the number of frames in the duration. |
| Make Trail | |
| Buttons | |
| Make Trail | Create a Trail Path Layer. Select the “Write-on” animation layers and click. *It cannot be used in conjunction with Animate Out. *After creating the trail path, adjust the timing of the Write-on animation layer’s appearance using CN_Trail_Tracker/CN_Value. In addition to the Trail Path Layer (CN_Trail), the following layers will be created. CN_Trail_Tracker: A null object that follows CN_Trail. CN_Trail_Particle: A CC Particle World that follows the CN_Trail_Tracker. CN_Trail_Trim: The trim layer for the copy path in CN_Trail. *If you want to make a custom particle plugin follow a trail path on your own, one approach is to use an expression to link the particle emitter to the CN_Trail_Tracker. CN_Trail_Tracker Effect Parameters CN_Value: Keyframes for the animations of the Write-on animation layers (as well as CN_Trail_Particle and CN_Trail_Trim). CN_Trail_Trim Effect Parameters CN_Trail_Trim_Delay: Trim length. CN_Trail_Trim_Width: Trim width. CN_Trail_Trim_Decay: The timing (in %) at which the trim begins to decay. |
| Remove | Remove the Trail Path layer. Also, remove CN_Trail_Tracker, CN_Trail_Particle, and CN_Trail_Trim. Also, remove the expressions that link the Write-on animation layers to CN_Trail_Tracker. Select all the layers you want to remove and click. |
| Refresh | Refresh the timing of the trail animation. Select the Trail Path Layer (CN_Trail) and click. Use this when you’ve adjusted the shape of the trail path and the animation timing has become off. You can freely modify the shape of the trail path and add path points as needed. However, if you move the points marking the start and end of the strokes significantly, the update may not work properly. |
| Options | |
| Motion Only | Create only CN_Trail_Tracker without creating a trail path. Use this when you want to create a linear “Write-on” animation, rather than one with “offset per character or per stroke.” |
| Smoothness (%) | This determines the smoothness of the Trail Path handles. The length of the handle (in percent), with the distance from the end of one stroke to the beginning of the next set at 100%. |
| Surplus Length | Surplus Length of the Trail Path. It attaches to the start point and the end point. |
*: Settings
| Priority | |
| Auto, Horizontal, Vertical | Which should take precedence: Horizontal (Left, Right) or Vertical (Top, Bottom)? For “Auto,” select ‘Horizontal’ if the shape is wide, and “Vertical” if it is tall. |
| Left, Right | Which side should take priority? |
| Top, Bottom | Which should take precedence, the top or the bottom? |
| < Path Cutter > | |
| Slice Point for Auto-Cutting | When using automatic cutting, determine the cutting positions for strokes that have no start or end points (such as “o” or “8”). |
| < Layer Divider & Text Splitter > | |
| Layer Order on Timeline | When splitting layers and placing them on the timeline, this setting determines which direction to use as the reference for ascending order. |
| < Animation Maker > | |
| Hide Rounded Tips | Do not display the rounded tip when creating Write-on animations. |
| Set keyframe at indicator | Create a keyframe starting at the indicator time. |
| Stroke Order | Set the starting point for the animation. |
Verified Fonts
English font
Futura PT Medium
Verified characters: Upper and lower case alphabetical characters
(ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz)
Japanese font
Source Han Sans Regular
Verified characters: Adobe font sample sentence
*This does not mean that it will not work with other than verified fonts.
FAQ
When I click the “Divide” button to split the cut paths into shape layers, the hole paths turn into fill paths.
For stroke paths without a start or end point, such as “o” or “8,” please cut them at one point to create a single, continuous path.
Unable to create a “Write-on” animation.
Before creating a Write-on animation, the shape layer must contain only one continuous path.
If a layer appears to be a single path—such as an “o” or an “8”—but actually consists of two paths (a fill path and a hole path), please cut and divide it.
The points where the cut sections of characters like “o” and “8” overlap cannot be selected as start and end points.
Please use “Separate Overlapping Points.” The original shape will be preserved, so you can simply click “Make.”
It’s hard to tell where the cut was made.
If you temporarily disable the fill and enable the outline for the shape layer, it will be easier to see.
To enable or disable strokes and fills, simply Alt (Option) + click the color section in the “Fill Options” or “Stroke Options” that appear at the top of the viewer when you select a shape layer.
When I use the “Divide” command on a cut layer, the layers overlap, making them hard to select.
Since layer selection in After Effects is based on bounding boxes—which is just how the software works—there’s not much we can do about it, but here’s one method, though it’s not very efficient:
If you’ve selected the wrong layer, press Ctrl (Command) + L to lock that layer.
You’ll be able to select the layer below it.
When you’re done, press Ctrl (Command) + Shift + L to unlock everything.
My PC freezes while I’m creating animations.
When creating animations in Windows, if the number of characters is too high, the message “Not Responding” may appear. In most cases, the process is running normally, so please wait a moment.
In addition, the processing status is displayed in the information panel.
Regarding the serif font, the rounded tips stick out during animation.
Please set the track mattes for all Write-on animation layers to the original text layer.
I can’t seem to create animations properly with brush fonts.
Brush fonts are the most difficult to cut out or animate.
It can be a time-consuming process, but sometimes you can make it work using the following method.
1.Simplify text layers using Auto Trace.
2.Use “Masks to Shapes” to convert the Auto Trace layer into shape layers.
3.Adjust the shapes of the paths. In particular, eliminate the jagged edges at the beginning and end of each stroke.
4.Manually cut the paths. Create an animation.
5.Set the track mattes for all of those “Write-on” animation layers to the original text layer.
Here are the recommended Auto Trace settings for simplification.
- Channel: Alpha
- Blur: No check
- Tolerance: 2 px
- Threshold: 0.1 px
- Minimum Area: As appropriate (increasing this value will remove small paths)
- Corner Roundness: 0 %
The color changes when “Animate Out” is applied.
If the fill for a Write-on animation layer is set to “Gradient Fill,” the color will not be applied.
Tips & Notes
Write-on Button Options
The “Write-on” button references all the options on each tab.
Please explicitly select which of Pins 1 or 2 on the An tab to use before pressing the button.
Also, since the process of “merging adjacent points into a single point”—which would normally occur during manual cutting—is not performed, we recommend checking the “Merge Points” box on the Ta tab.
Names of the Layers
If a character appears multiple times in the text, “(Number)” will be appended to the end of the split layer name.
Since (Number) is used to determine which character the stroke layer belongs to, please do not delete (Number).
However, it’s fine if text is added after the (Number). In other words, it’s okay if a number is added when the text is duplicated or if the user adds text.
3D Layers, Parent, Effects
You can create animations even if a text layer is 3D or has a parent layer. However, this is not recommended.
The following method is more reliable.
Once the animation is complete, treat the composition as a composition layer, then convert it to 3D or set a parent layer.
Also, depending on the effect, some may cause errors when splitting text.
Fonts That Are Easy to Animate vs. Fonts That Are Difficult to Animate
They are listed in order of ease of creating animations.
1.Sans-serif
2.Handwriting
3.Traditional Serif
4.Modern Serif
5.Extra-Bold
6.Brush
Pins’ Strokes and Fill Colors
If you change the fill color of a shape layer while pins are added to it, the color of the pins will also change.
Using Extra Functions Together
Extra Functions cannot be used together. However, after “Precomp,” you can still use “Animate Out” or “Make Trail” within each composition.
How do I combine the shape layers created with “Mask to Path” into a single layer?
If you set all those shape layers to have the same name, you can unify them using La / Unify.
Using CuttanaNir for purposes other than text animation.
As long as the paths on a shape layer are grouped into a single shape group, you can use CuttanaNir to cut paths or create “Write-on” animations even from layers other than text layers. This can be useful for animating icons etc.
