Text Animations in Zella: In, Loop & Out
Quick answer: Every title in Zella can take one of 85 text animations in 12 families (Fade, Blur, Scale, Rotate, 3D, Slide, Bounce, Tracking, Decode, Wave, Glitch, Fill/Stroke). Each title has three phases you set separately: In (how the words arrive), Loop (how they move while on screen) and Out (how they leave), and an animation can move the text letter by letter, word by word or line by line. On the Mac it is the TEXT ANIMATIONS section of the Text tab: hover a tile to preview it, click to apply. On iPhone, select a title and open Text Animations. The same 85 are on both, and they are free.
On this page: where to find it · in, loop and out · the 12 families · letter, word or line · speed and intensity · classic and highlight · by chat · on iPhone · FAQ
For which family to use when, timing on short-form and motion that does not make viewers feel ill, read how to animate text in a video.
Where to find text animations
On the Mac:
- Open a project and click the Text tab in the editor.
- Scroll to the TEXT ANIMATIONS section.
- Select a title on the canvas or in PLACED TITLES. The section says which title it is animating.
- Pick In, Loop or Out, then hover a tile to watch it move and click to apply it.
No title selected? Your pick is held for the next title you add, and the section says so (“Your pick goes on the next title you add”). Press Clear to drop it.
The section has a search box that finds an animation by name or family (“Bounce”, “Glitch”), and the same picker also sits under TEXT MOTION when you open a title to edit it.
On iPhone, see On iPhone below.
In, Loop and Out
A title’s motion has three parts, and you can set any of them, all of them, or none:
- In - how the text arrives: letters fading up one by one, a word that decodes from scrambled characters, a 3D flip.
- Loop - optional movement while the title is on screen: a gentle wave, a breathing fade, a heartbeat pulse.
- Out - how it leaves, so the title exits with intent instead of just vanishing.
On the Mac, a small dot on In, Loop or Out shows which phases are set. Not every animation offers all three: the picker only shows the ones that fit the phase you are on, and None clears that phase.
The 12 animation families
| Family | What it does | A few of the presets |
|---|---|---|
| Fade | Opacity, softly or letter by letter | Whisper, Letter Drift, Ripple Fade, Firefly, Breathe |
| Blur | Text comes into focus | Focus Pull, Mist Letters, Smoke Rise, Dream Word, Lens Breath |
| Scale | Grows, shrinks or pops | Pop Up, Inflate, Zoom Letters, Squash, Heartbeat |
| Rotate | Spins, tilts and swings | Whirl In, Tilt Settle, Pinwheel, Hinge Drop, Rocking |
| 3D | Flips and turns in depth | Flip Up, Card Turn, Door Swing, Carousel, Billboard Spin |
| Slide | Rises, drops and glides | Rise, Rise from Line, Drop, Glide, Shutter Lines, Escalator |
| Bounce | Springy, elastic arrivals | Ball Drop, Jelly, Spring Pop, Boing, Rubber Band |
| Tracking | Letter spacing opens or closes | Gather, Exhale, Wide Focus, Slam Tight, Cinematic Creep |
| Decode | Typed, scrambled or rolled on | Keystrike, Keystrike + Caret, Cipher Resolve, Slot Roll, Terminal Boot |
| Wave | Ripples through the line | Swell, Ribbon, Ripple In, Windblown, Flag, Heat Haze |
| Glitch | Digital jolts and splits | Jolt, Prism Split, Signal Drop, Slicer, Flipboard, Stutter |
| Fill/Stroke | Colour and outline effects | Inkline, Neon Ignite, Color Sweep, Halo, Flashbulb, Shimmer |
That is 85 presets in all. A few quick picks:
- Hook in a short: Spring Pop or Pop Up in, Heartbeat loop.
- Tutorial heading: Whisper or Rise in, Whisper out.
- Tech or code video: Keystrike + Caret or Terminal Boot.
- Cinematic title: Focus Pull in, or a slow Cinematic Creep loop.
Letter, word or line
Each preset has a natural unit. Letter Drift fades one letter at a time, Word Beat goes word by word, Line Cascade brings in one line after another, and some (like Whisper) move the whole title at once. You can change it: under Advanced, set Unit on the Mac (Moves by on iPhone) to letter, word or line where the preset supports it.
Speed, intensity and Advanced
Under the tiles:
- Speed - from a quarter of the speed up to three times faster.
- Intensity - how far the motion goes, from none to double.
- Advanced - Stagger (how much each letter or word waits for the one before), Order (forward, reverse, from the centre, from the edges, or random) and the unit above. Reset to preset defaults puts it all back.
On the Mac, speed and intensity carry over when you switch to another preset, so you can tune the feel once and then browse.
Classic and Highlight
Two extra tabs sit after the 12 families:
- Classic - the original whole-title entrances (on the Mac, for example Typewriter, Fade In, Slide In and 3D Flip). Picking one turns off the In animation, because a title has one entrance.
- Highlight - the three animated highlights, Marker Highlight, Underline Draw and Box Trace. They draw behind your words and work together with any In, Loop or Out motion. They are separate from the 85.
A few title designs have no separate text layer to split into letters, so the picker says letter motion is not available for them and offers the Classic effects instead.
Set an animation by chat
The free AI Assistant can set a title’s animation for you. Type “make that title decode in and fade out” or “give the title a wave loop” and it sets the phases, plus speed and intensity if you ask.
On iPhone
The same 85 animations, the same 12 families and the same In / Loop / Out phases:
- Tap Text in the editor’s tool strip (Studio opens on Text/Titles).
- For a new title: open Text Animations in the add form, pick your animation, then add the title.
- For a title you already placed: select it, then open the Text Animations group under it.
- Choose In, Loop or Out, pick a family tab and tap a tile. The selected tile animates so you can see it move.
Speed, Intensity and Advanced (Stagger, Order and Moves by: letter, word, line or whole title) work as on the Mac, and Classic and Highlight are there too. Each pick is one undo step. Badges and full-frame cards keep their own motion, so letter animation is off for them.
Text animations FAQ
How many text animations does Zella have? 85, in 12 families, on both Mac and iPhone. The Classic entrances and the 3 Highlight effects are extra.
Are text animations a Pro feature? No. All 85 are free on every plan.
Can I animate the words one at a time? Yes. Pick a word-by-word preset such as Word Beat or Dream Word, or change the unit under Advanced.
Can a title animate in, loop, and animate out? Yes. Set In, Loop and Out separately on the same title.
Do animated titles work over photos? Yes. On the Mac, titles animate over still images as well as video.
Where did the old entrances go? Under the picker’s Classic tab.
Pro tips & gotchas
- Hover to audition on the Mac. Each tile plays its motion while the pointer is over it, so you can compare without applying.
- Pick before you add. With no title selected, the Mac holds your choice for the next title. On iPhone, set it in the add form.
- Keep loops subtle on titles that stay up for a long time. A slow Breathe or Ribbon reads better than a fast Stutter.
- Pair In and Out from the same family for a consistent feel, such as Rise in and Rise out.
Related: Titles & kinetic text → · Use your own fonts → · AI Assistant → · Captions, titles & callouts on iPhone →