[Mary Waitrovich] "I have about fifty different words in a random cloud shape that I want to have appear one by one in about 3 seconds. Is there a text animation preset for this?"
This page gives you links to a comprehensive list of the text animation presets as well as a gallery. It also links to some tutorials you will find useful.
[Mary Waitrovich] "Do I have to put each word on a different layer?"
Depending on how you're doing the animation.
[Mary Waitrovich] "Can I make my shape with words on separate layers (or the same layer) in either Illustrator or photoshop and then import into AE for the animation?"
Yes. You could also use Wordle.net and save it as a pdf, open it in illustrator and separate it into layers. (
This tutorial sorta mentions it)
[Mary Waitrovich] "If so, what method would I then use to do the animation?"
Keyframe it by hand, use expressions, or use a particle generator and the words as particles.
There are a lot of possibilites here. I hope I've pointed you in some interesting directions that will get you going on the path.
- The Great Szalam
(The 'Great' stands for 'Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble')
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