Create effects in the Inspector

Learn how to create effects in the Inspector, without having to code anything.

In Text Animator, other than having built-in effects ready to use, you can also create your own directly from the Inspector, without having to write any script.

P.S. If you want to write custom effects via C# instead, please have a look at Writing Custom Effects (C#)

When creating a new Effect ScriptableObject, you can head over the “Special” section from Project view -> Create -> Text Animator -> Special Effects.

These effects let you create custom combinations of already existing effects, or create your own ones from scratch.

To use an effect, remember to add it to a Database and reference it in a TextAnimator component, as explained here Databases

Common Modules

Inspector Effects might have some in common, which let you control your animation in different ways.

Time Mode

In some effects' Scriptable Objects, you might see a "Time Mode" section/module.

A time mode handles how an effect animates letters through time (and character), including speed and characters' delay.

Field Name	Explanation
Start Delay	The time to wait before starting the entire effect animation
Use Uniform Time	If enabled, the animation will use the same time for all characters. If disabled, the animation will play based on a character “alive” time.
Wave Size	A time offset to apply to every character progressively. This is useful to create a wave-like effect, where the first character is slightly below the second one and so on.
Time Speed	The base speed of the animation

Emission

Controls the influence and duration of the entire effect.

Field Name	Explanation
Cycles	The number of times the animation will be repeated. ‘-1’ means infinite
Duration	How long a cycle should last
Weigth Over Time	The intensity of the effect during a cycle. You can have it be always 1, thus having an animation that is always on, or you can have it fade in or out.

To create a Disapperance Effects, simply have "Weigth Over Time" go from 1 to 0 as you would with an Appearance, and Text Animator will play it in reverse when needed.

Animation Curves

Whenever you see an Animation Curve (Unity Docs) in any module in the inspector (like the “Weight Over TIme”), remember that you can edit the “Post Wrapping Mode” to make it loop, ping-pong or be clamped once a cycle finishes.

text animator unity post wrap mode

(For example, if you’re creating an animation that repeats or loops X times, you might want to set the Post Wrap Mode to “Loop” so that the animation doesn’t stop after the first cycle finishes.)

Effect Types

There are two type of "Custom Inspector Effects" that you can create and play with

• Curve Effects: let you choose different movement, scale, rotation curves and more over time

• Composite Effects: let you combine existing effects together