What It Does
TextDelay applies time offsets to text transformations on a per-character, per-word, or per-line basis. Unlike After Effects’ built-in text animator, it preserves your original animation’s easing curves and expressions. Animate position once, apply the plugin, and watch each character follow the same motion path with a staggered delay.
The plugin handles position (X and Y), anchor point, scale, opacity, hue, and blur. This makes it useful for title animations, kinetic typography, or creating depth effects by delaying blur across characters.
Key Features
Five order modifiers control how the delay spreads across your text: classic (reverse, random, increment) plus inside-out and outside-in modes. The inside-out mode starts from the center and works toward the edges. Outside-in does the reverse.
Range selector lets you target specific characters, words, or lines. Apply delay to only part of your text while leaving the rest untouched.
Blur delay creates faux depth-of-field effects. Combine it with order modifiers to shift focus across your text in creative ways.
Hue delay shifts colors across characters over time. Pair it with glow or blur plugins for stylized rainbow effects.
The plugin respects parented transforms (CC2018+), works with motion blur, supports paragraph text, and handles stroke outlines, bold, and italic styles.
Who It’s For
Motion designers working with text-heavy projects will find this most useful. If you’re building title sequences, lower thirds, or kinetic type treatments, TextDelay handles the tedious offset work while you focus on the core animation. It pairs well with expressions tools like Ease & Wizz or Flow.
Pricing
$19.95 for a single-user license. One-time purchase, no subscription. Trial version available on the product page.