Dropping Text

 
 
1.  Open a new image 300x100.  Select the text tool.  Set your foreground and background to colors of choice and using a bold/thick font type out your text.  (I used foreground-null, background-black, font-market.)  You want your text to fill the canvas, so if it is too short use the nodes to stretch it out.  Convert to raster.

2.  Now, chose a second font.  Pick a contrasting color/gradient/pattern for this font and type out the same text.  Position it centered at the base of your larger text.  Convert to raster.

3.  Duplicate the small text layer.  Make the original small text layer active and lower the opacity to 50.  This will be a guide for your letter placement.

4.  Go to the copy layer and using your selection tool make a selection around the first letter. 

CTRL+X to cut.  Add a new raster layer.  Edit>Paste into Selection.  Deselect.
5.  Go back to the copy of the small text layer.  Select and cut the next letter.  Go to the previous letter's layer and add a new raster.  Be sure to do this so that the new raster will be the top layer.  Paste into selection.  Deselect.    Keep doing this until you have each letter on a separate layer.  (You may want to rename each of your layers to match the letter that is on it just to help keep track.)

6.  Now, hide all the letters except the first one, in my case the A.  Select your mover tool and click once on the "A" without moving it.  Now, use the up arrow on your keyboard to move the letter where the bottom of it is just showing at the top of the canvas.  The reason for moving it with the arrow is to be sure the letter goes straight up and doesn't accidentally get moved a little left or right.  Rename this layer "A."

(the part at the top is what I just moved.  Remember we have the original text with lowered opacity to help with letter placement as we bring the letters down.)
 
7.  Duplicate the "A" layer.  Using the mover tool and the down arrow, lower the "A" down a little bit.

8.  Duplicate this "A" layer and lower again.  Keep doing this until you get to where you place the last "A" directly onto the faded "A" guide.  When you get lined up with the guide duplicate that layer so that there are 2 lined up "A" layers.  I ended up with 6 "A's."

9.  On to the next letter.  Unhide your 2nd letter.  Mine is "n."  In the layer palette click on that layer and move it directly above the first copy of "A."  Be sure you do not accidentally move it above the original "A" layer.  The reason being we will be merging letter layers as we go and the letters are dropping so the first letter will drop first which means there will be a layer with just that first letter on it.  Take the mover tool and move the "n" where it is just showing at the top of the canvas just like we did with the "A." 

10.  Duplicate the "n"  layer.  Go back to the first "n" layer and go to Layers>Merge>Merge Down.  Rename the new merged layer according to the 2 letters that appear on the layer.  Mine is "An."  When you start the next letter be sure not to merge it with this layer because these 2 letters fall before the next. 

11.  Move the copy of "n" layer above the next "A" layer.  Using the mover tool and keyboard arrows, lower the "n" as before.  Duplicate.  Go back to the copy of "n" layer and merge down with the copy of "A" layer that is directly below it.  Continue doing this until your "n" is lined up with the faded "n" guide.  Be sure that you always duplicate the layer with the letter you are lowering before merging it with the corresponding previous letter.

Here is a close up of what my layers look like after I get the final "n" into place. 

Copy (6) of A (copy 6 and 5 are the exact same because we duplicate the lined up layer so that we have 2 copies to work with the next letter)

  Copy (5) of A

  Copy (4) of A

Copy (3) of A

Copy (2) of A

  An

A

12.  Keep doing this with each of your letters.  Be sure that when you first merge the next letter down you do not merge to your renamed ("An") layer.  Remember to rename your this first merge according to the letters on the layer.  Here is what my layers look like when completed.

13.  Now, delete you faded guide layer.  Hide all layers except your bold AniFan layer.  Copy merged and past into AS as a new image.
 
14.  Keeping the Bold AniFan layer open, unhide your first letter layer.  Copy merged and paste into AS after current frame. 
 
15.  Hide the first letter layer again.  Now, unhide the 2nd one and copy merged and paste into AS after current frame.  Continue hiding and unhiding and copy merging and pasting until you get all of your letter frames over to AS.  I ended up with 11 frames, but that will vary depending on the # of letters you have
 
16.  In AS, select all>Frame Properties>20.  Now, Click on Frame 1 and set frame properties to 50.  Then, click on the last frame and set frame properties to 100.  Next, preview you animation and it should look something like this.

 

Have fun!
Mae