Text 3D Node

Text 3D is one of Fusion's most versatile nodes for motion design. It produces true 3D text (not a textured plane), with controllable extrusion depth and customizable beveled edges.

The text content itself and the font are set in the Text tab. The extrusion/bevel options are in the same tab, further down. The layout (where and how the text is placed) is in the Layout tab. And the per character/word/line transforms are in the Transform tab.

• Effects Library: Tools > 3D > Text 3D
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > 3D > Text 3D

Three limitations to know from the start:

1. No direct material input - Text 3D has a basic internal material (Color, Specular…) but no MaterialInput port. To apply a real shader (Blinn, Cook Torrance, a complex texture), you need a Replace Material 3D downstream.
2. No Visibility/Lighting/Matte/ID controls - these properties must be overridden through an Override 3D.
3. Fonts = system dependency - for a farm render (network render), each machine must have the fonts installed. Fusion doesn't copy fonts to the render slaves.

Typical pipeline with all these fixes:

Text 3D → Override 3D (Do Lighting + Shadow Caster)
       → Replace Material 3D (← Blinn with a texture)
       → Merge 3D ← Camera 3D
       → Renderer 3D

• SceneInput (orange) - optional. Combines an existing 3D scene with the generated text.
• ColorImage (green) - optional. A 2D image used as a texture when Material Type is set to Image (internal shading).
• BevelTexture (magenta) - optional. Texture applied to the beveled edges when Bevel Type = Image.

Minimal setup:

Text 3D → Merge 3D ← Camera 3D → Renderer 3D

For a production render with shadows and proper materials, see the full pipeline in the Limitations section.

Text section

Styled Text

Multi-line edit field. Supports copy/paste from other applications and a rich contextual menu (modifiers, special insertion).

Font

Font family and style selection (Regular, Bold, Italic). The list only shows the fonts installed on your system.

Color

Base tint of the text (through the internal material).

Size

Size relative to the width of the comp image. Keeps proportions consistent whatever the resolution.

Tracking

Uniform spacing between characters.

Line Spacing

Spacing between lines of text.

Vertical / Horizontal Anchor & Justify

Top/middle/bottom and left/center/right alignment, with a slider for custom in-between justification.

Direction & Line Direction

Writing direction (left→right, right→left for Arabic/Hebrew) and the direction of line breaks.

Write On

Animatable range to make the text appear/disappear progressively. Two sliders, start and end, to animate a "reveal".

Advanced kerning

Force Monospaced (0 - 1, default: 0)

0 = the font's standard kerning. 1 = all characters evenly spaced (forced monospacing, useful for technical/code effects).

Use Font Defined Kerning (default: on)

Uses the font's TrueType kerning tables. Turn it off for more neutral spacing.

Manual Font Kerning

Lets you copy/paste kerning from a 2D Text+ through Paste Settings. Handy to transfer a fine-tuned layout.

This is the part that sets Text 3D apart from the 2D Text+. These parameters are also in the Text tab.

Extrusion Depth (default: 0)

Extrusion depth in Fusion units. 0 = flat text (equivalent to a 2D Text+). > 0 = 3D text with depth.

Bevel Depth

Depth of the bevel (chamfer on the edges). The higher the value, the more pronounced the bevel.

Bevel Width

Width of the bevel. Bevel Depth × Bevel Width together control the size of the chamfer.

Smoothing Angle

Threshold angle to smooth adjacent edges (same principle as on Replace Normals 3D). Raise it for a rounder render, lower it for sharp edges.

Front Bevel / Back Bevel

Turn beveling on or off on the front and/or back of the text, independently.

Custom Extrusion

Extrusion profile controlled by an editable spline - instead of a simple linear bevel, you draw the profile yourself (chiseled or decorative styles). Adjustable number of subdivisions.

Four layouts determine how the text is arranged in space:

Point

Text arranged around an adjustable center point (X/Y/Z). The simplest - a single position.

Frame

Text constrained inside a rectangular frame with vertical/horizontal justification controls. For a paragraph or a block of text that must fit in an area.

Circle

Text along a circle or oval, with diameter and width controls (to turn it into an oval).

Path

Text that follows the edges of a spline. The Position on Path is animatable (0.0 to 1.0) → the text slides along the path. Perfect for complex logos or text that follows a custom curve.

Shared parameters: Center X/Y/Z, Size, Width/Height, Rotation Order, X/Y/Z Angles, Position on Path.

Lets you animate transforms per character, word or line - the most powerful animation feature of Text 3D.

Transform Level

Applies the transforms by Characters, Words or Lines. Changes the granularity of the animation.

Spacing

Spacing between elements (character/word/line). Values < 1 = overlap.

Pivot X/Y/Z

Pivot offset for rotations/scales. Lets you rotate the characters around their bottom or their center.

Rotation Order

Order in which the XYZ rotations are applied.

X/Y/Z Angles

Per-axis rotation applied to each element.

Shear X/Y

Slant of the elements (forced italics, for example).

Size X/Y

Per-axis scale applied to each element.

Text 3D has a basic built-in material. For a real Fusion shader, use Replace Material 3D. But for a simple render, these internal controls are enough.

Opacity

Overall transparency of the text (affects diffuse and specular the same way).

Use One Material

Toggle: a single material everywhere, or a separate material for the bevel (for a "gold bevel on white text" look, for example).

Type

Solid color or Image. In Image mode, the text is textured by the connected ColorImage.

Specular Color

Highlight color. White for a plastic look, tinted gold/copper for metal.

Specular Intensity

Highlight strength.

Specular Exponent

Highlight sharpness. Higher = a more concentrated, "glossy" highlight.

Image Source

Tool input, disk Clip or Brush as the source.

Bevel Material

Separate controls for the bevel when Use One Material is unchecked.

Right-click the Styled Text field to access modifiers that add dynamic behaviors:

• Animate - keyframes the text over time (different text on different frames).
• Character Level Styling - through Text+, copy/paste settings per character.
• Comp Name - inserts the name of the current comp. Handy for automated slates.
• Follower - ripples an animation from one character to the next. The go-to for smooth text animation.
• Publish - makes the text available to other nodes through Connect To.
• Text Scramble - scrambles the characters based on an ID. A classic "hack/coding" effect in motion design.
• Text Timer - countdown or automatic date/time display.
• Time Code - shows the current timecode (the comp's current frame).
• Connect To - receives the content of another published text.

Crucial prerequisite: every machine on the render farm must have the fonts you use installed. Otherwise the render silently fails or uses a fallback font.

Fusion doesn't copy fonts to the slaves. A good practice: limit your font list to those installed by default on Windows/macOS, or manage a shared font folder deployed on every machine.

• Cinematic logo / title - Text 3D + Extrusion Depth 0.3 + Bevel Depth 0.02 + Replace Material with a gold Blinn. Classic but effective.
• Per-character reveal animation - a Follower modifier on Y (each character rises in turn). No per-character keyframes, 100% automatic.
• Text following a spline - Path layout + Position on Path animated from 0 to 1 → text that slides along a drawn curve.
• Live countdown / timer - a Text Timer modifier set to countdown mode. The text updates automatically every frame.
• "Glitch / hack" effect - a Text Scramble modifier with a good scramble frequency for a Matrix-style look.
• Reflective / metal text - Text 3D → Replace Material with a Reflect shader + an HDRI environment. A realistic chrome render.
• Text that casts shadows - Text 3D → Override 3D (Do Lighting + Shadow Caster). Without this chain, the text casts no shadow at all.

• A truly custom material - always go through Replace Material 3D. Text 3D's internal material is limited.
• Shadow caster / Unseen by Camera - always go through Override 3D. There is no other way.
• Extrusion Depth = 0 - if you want flat text, prefer the 2D Text+, which is faster and has more controls.
• Fonts on a render farm - check that every font you use exists on every machine. Test a 1-frame render on the farm before launching a long render.
• The Follower modifier is a gem - it automates 90% of "After Effects style" text animations. Explore it.
• Bevel too wide - if the bevel "eats" the text, lower Bevel Width or Bevel Depth.
• For a successful custom extrusion profile, start with at least 10-15 subdivisions, otherwise the bevel looks stepped.
• Modifiers (Follower, Scramble, Timer) appear in the Node Editor as separate nodes linked to the Text 3D - handy to adjust them independently.