Creating Text in the Canvas

Creating text in Motion is as easy as creating a circle or a square. To create text, you first need to select the Text tool. There are two easy ways to select the Text tool:

• Click the Text tool in the toolbar.

• Press T.

Since you already know how to click to select a tool in the toolbar, let's use the keyboard shortcut.

1.	Press T to select the Text tool. The selection arrow changes to the text cursor.
2.	Move the text cursor to the upper left of the frame and click once. A flashing-line cursor appears where you clicked the Canvas. This is where you will type your text.
3.	Type TEXT. The word TEXT appears on the Canvas.
4.	Press Esc to change from the Text tool to the Select/Transform tool. You will now change the text size, color, and style in the Dashboard.
5.	Press D to open the Dashboard. Move the Dashboard so you can see the text as you change it.
6.	In the Dashboard, click the Font pop-up menu to open it. Select Arial Black as the font. You can scroll through the fonts and see a live update of the different fonts on your selected text object.
7.	Drag the Size slider to change the font size to 68 points. The width of the text should be about the same as that of the white square below.
8.	On the Canvas, drag the text object to align its center with the center of the yellow circle and white square. Use the Dynamic Guide to center the text object on the shapes. A vertical Dynamic Guide will show you when the text and shapes are aligned properly. Keep the text object above the white square. Your text is in position. Now change the color.
9.	Click the color well on the right side of the Dashboard to open the Colors window. Choose a bright red from the color wheel.
10.	Close the Colors window and the Dashboard.
11.	Press Shift-Z to make your project fit the Canvas window.
12.	Press Cmd-S to save your finished project.

Congratulations! You just completed your first composite graphic in Motion. This is also the last static composite you'll ever create in this book. From now on, your projects will include motion graphics.