Doodly Intermediate Tutorial

Working with Text

Intermediate Tutorial #9
Doodly text controls settings.

Demonstration of good and bad uses of text in Doodly.

Working with Text

This document provides the basics for different methods of practice working with Text within the Doodly software or video design. It demonstrates good and bad practices when working with text and images in a video design.

Note: Readable text is very important to a doodle or other video production. Ensuring viewers can read and understand the message inside a video production is a key point for viewers to stick around and finish watching the entire video and hearing the entire message.

Too Much Text

Unless we are reaching out to the hearing impaired, having too much text on a doodle makes the viewer work for the content. Be clear and concise in your point. Put yourself in the viewers shoes. After working a full day and being extremely tired from work, would you rather read this:

Color and Size

Backgrounds

It is okay to use an opaque background behind your text to make your text pop but also keep in mind that this will immediately draw the viewer’s eye to it and away from where the focus may be desired so overuse is not recommended.

Focus

Use colored text, backgrounds and text size sparingly to draw your viewer’s attention to a specific area in your doodle for that scene but if there is too much of this then we will lose the viewer’s focus within the doodle and potentially lose the viewer altogether.

Alignment Controls within Doodly

These controls only appear if you have more than 1 line of text within your text box area. If the text is not long enough then we will not see these controls.

Stretching Bounding Text Box

The only time Doodly allows a disproportionate control is stretching the bounding box text area on the canvas left and right. This motion will not affect the text size but allow for a longer text box in order to fit more text on 1 line. Dragging the bounding box up, down or diagonal will result in increasing or decreasing the size of the text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions regarding this topic.

Keeping your message brief and clear prevents viewers from having to work hard to understand your content. If you include long paragraphs of text, tired audiences might lose interest and stop watching. Short and direct statements are much more effective for keeping people engaged.

You should select colors that contrast well with your background so the words are easy to read. For example, avoid placing dark words on a black background or over a dark image. It is also best to avoid harsh shades like neon green that might strain the eyes of your audience.

Using a solid background behind your words can help them stand out, but you should use this technique carefully. Because it instantly grabs the attention of the audience, using it too often can distract people from the main focus of your scene.

The alignment settings will only show up if your text box contains multiple lines of words. If your phrase is short and fits on a single line, the software hides these specific formatting options.

You can stretch the text box sideways to the left or right to make it wider. This specific action gives you a longer area for your words without making the font larger or smaller. However, if you drag the box up, down, or diagonally, the actual size of the letters will change.

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Wayne Leiser
Wayne Leiser
Editor & Contributor
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