Ok, we're now going to use a gradient stroke colour and a gradient fill colour

Open  new canvas, same size as before

Click on your text tool and click anywhere on your new canvas

When your text entry box opens, type in your text.

Choose your size and font

Now click on the arrow on the stroke box and choose gradient

Click in the middle of the stroke box and a new window will open

Click on the drop down arrow (see arrow on screenshot) and a menu will open up

Click on the gradient you want to use

Do the same for the Fill box, you can use the same gradient or a different one, the choice is yours!

When you've chosen the gradients you want to use click OK on your text entry box

Your text will now be on your canvas

As before, you can stretch your text to any size you like

Merge Visible your layers by going to layers > Merge > Merge Visible or right clicking on layer 2 in your layer palette and choosing merge visible

Click on your Copy icon 

Open Animation shop and click on the Paste As New Animation icon

Save your text

Now we're going to use a pattern

Remember, you don't have to have both the stroke and fill box set to pattern, you can have mixtures of solid colours, gradients and patterns

You can also change the width of the stroke line, go to your tool options box and change the width 

For the next text I'm going to do a solid stroke and a pattern fill

Choose your stroke and fill colours

Now, instead of creating the text as a vector layer we're going to check the floating box

Click on and your text will now be on your canvas. It will have marching ants around it

If you move your mouse over your text it will change from the text tool to the mover tool, as soon as move your mouse off of your text it will be the text tool again

Move your text where you want it and go to Selections > Select None

Now copy and paste the text into animation as we did before and save

Here is the text with a thicker stroke line

OK we're going to do one more

This time we're not going to have a stroke colour

Open a new canvas and with your text tool, click on the canvas

When the text entry box opens choose your text size and font

Click on the arrow on the stroke box and choose Null

It's up to you whether you want floating or vector checked. It depends on whether you want to stretch your text or not.

Choose a colour, pattern or gradient in your fill box and click ok

Your text will now be on your canvas

I find it's better to use just the fill on script font's because the result is a lot nicer

Copy and paste your text into Animation Shop and save

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial

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Tutorial written by Shell © 2003