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Change the appearance of text and shapes

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Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro

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  1. Adobe Premiere Pro User Guide
  2. Beta releases
    1. Beta Program Overview
    2. Premiere Pro Beta Home
    3. Beta features
      1. Media intelligence and Search panel
      2. Media intelligence and Search panel FAQs
      3. Translate captions
      4. Generative extend overview 
      5. Generative extend FAQs
      6. Color management system
  3. Getting started
    1. Get started with Adobe Premiere Pro
    2. What's new in Premiere Pro
    3. Best practices for updating Premiere Pro
    4. Keyboard shortcuts in Premiere Pro
    5. Accessibility in Premiere Pro
    6. Frequently asked questions
    7. Release notes
  4. Hardware and operating system requirements
    1. Hardware recommendations
    2. System requirements
    3. GPU and GPU Driver requirements
    4. GPU Accelerated Rendering & Hardware Encoding/Decoding
  5. Creating projects
    1. Start a new project
    2. Open projects
    3. Move and delete projects
    4. Work with multiple open projects
    5. Work with Project Shortcuts
    6. Backward compatibility of Premiere Pro projects
    7. Open and edit Premiere Rush projects in Premiere Pro
    8. Best Practices: Create your own project templates
  6. Workspaces and workflows
    1. Workspaces
    2. Import and export FAQs
    3. Working with Panels
    4. Windows touch and gesture controls
    5. Use Premiere Pro in a dual-monitor setup
  7. Frame.io
    1. Install and activate Frame.io
    2. Use Frame.io with Premiere Pro and After Effects
    3. Integrate Adobe Workfront and Frame.io
    4. Invite collaborators to co-edit a project
    5. Frequently asked questions
  8. Import media
    1. Importing
      1. Transfer files
      2. Importing still images
      3. Importing digital audio
    2. Importing from Avid or Final Cut
      1. Importing AAF project files from Avid Media Composer
      2. Importing XML project files from Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X
    3. File formats
      1. Supported file formats
      2. Support for Blackmagic RAW
    4. Working with timecode
  9. Editing
    1. Edit video
    2. Sequences
      1. Create and change sequences
      2. Set In and Out points in the Source Monitor
      3. Add clips to sequences
      4. Rearrange and move clips
      5. Find, select, and group clips in a sequence
      6. Remove clips from a sequence
      7. Change sequence settings
      8. Edit from sequences loaded into the Source Monitor
      9. Simplify sequences
      10. Rendering and previewing sequences
      11. Working with markers
      12. Add markers to clips
      13. Create markers in Effect Controls panel
      14. Set default marker colors
      15. Find, move, and delete markers
      16. Show or hide markers by color
      17. View marker comments
      18. Copy and paste sequence markers
      19. Sharing markers with After Effects
      20. Source patching and track targeting
      21. Scene edit detection
    3. Cut and trim clips
      1. Split or cut clips
      2. Trim clips
      3. Edit in Trim mode
      4. Perform J cuts and L cuts
      5. Create and play clips
      6. Adjust Trimming and Playback preferences
    4. Video
      1. Synchronizing audio and video with Merge Clips
      2. Render and replace media
      3. Undo, history, and events
      4. Freeze and hold frames
      5. Working with aspect ratios
    5. Audio
      1. Overview of audio in Premiere Pro
      2. Edit audio clips in the Source Monitor
      3. Audio Track Mixer
      4. Adjusting volume levels
      5. Edit, repair, and improve audio using Essential Sound panel
      6. Enhance Speech
      7. Enhance Speech FAQs
      8. Audio Category Tagging
      9. Automatically duck audio
      10. Remix audio
      11. Monitor clip volume and pan using Audio Clip Mixer
      12. Audio balancing and panning
      13. Advanced Audio - Submixes, downmixing, and routing
      14. Audio effects and transitions
      15. Working with audio transitions
      16. Apply effects to audio
      17. Measure audio using the Loudness Radar effect
      18. Recording audio mixes
      19. Editing audio in the timeline
      20. Audio channel mapping in Premiere Pro
      21. Use Adobe Stock audio in Premiere Pro
    6. Text-Based Editing
      1. Text-Based Editing
      2. Text-Based Editing FAQs
    7. Advanced editing
      1. Multi-camera editing workflow
      2. Editing VR
    8. Best Practices
      1. Best Practices: Mix audio faster
      2. Best Practices: Editing efficiently
      3. Editing workflows for feature films
  10. Video Effects and Transitions
    1. Overview of video effects and transitions
    2. Effects
      1. Types of effects in Premiere Pro
      2. Apply and remove effects
      3. Use FX badges
      4. Effect presets
      5. Metadata effect in Premiere Pro
      6. Automatically reframe video for different social media channels
      7. Color correction effects
      8. Effects Manager
      9. Change duration and speed of clips
      10. Adjustment Layers
      11. Stabilize footage
    3. Transitions
      1. Applying transitions in Premiere Pro
      2. Modifying and customizing transitions
      3. Morph Cut
  11. Titles, Graphics, and Captions
    1. Properties panel
      1. About Properties panel
      2. Edit text
      3. Edit shapes
      4. Edit audio
      5. Edit video
      6. Mask with shape
      7. Create, apply, and redefine text styles
    2. Essential Graphics panel (24.x and earlier) 
      1. Overview of the Essential Graphics panel
      2. Create a title
      3. Linked and Track Styles
      4. Working with style browser
      5. Create a shape
      6. Draw with the Pen tool
      7. Align and distribute objects
      8. Change the appearance of text and shapes
      9. Apply gradients
      10. Add Responsive Design features to your graphics
      11. Speech to Text
      12. Download language packs for transcription
      13. Working with captions
      14. Check spelling and Find and Replace
      15. Export text
      16. Speech to Text FAQs
    3. Motion Graphics Templates
      1. Install and use Motion Graphics templates
      2. Replace images or videos in Motion Graphics templates
      3. Use data-driven Motion Graphics templates
    4. Best Practices: Faster graphics workflows
    5. Retiring the Legacy Titler FAQs
    6. Upgrade Legacy titles to Source Graphics
  12. Fonts and emojis
    1. Color fonts
    2. Emojis
  13. Animation and Keyframing
    1. Adding, navigating, and setting keyframes
    2. Animating effects
    3. Use Motion effect to edit and animate clips
    4. Optimize keyframe automation
    5. Moving and copying keyframes
    6. Viewing and adjusting effects and keyframes
  14. Compositing
    1. Compositing, alpha channels, and adjusting clip opacity
    2. Masking and tracking
    3. Blending modes
  15. Color Correction and Grading
    1. Overview: Color workflows in Premiere Pro
    2. Color Settings
    3. Auto Color
    4. Get creative with color using Lumetri looks
    5. Adjust color using RGB and Hue Saturation Curves
    6. Correct and match colors between shots
    7. Using HSL Secondary controls in the Lumetri Color panel
    8. Create vignettes
    9. Looks and LUTs
    10. Lumetri scopes
    11. Display Color Management
    12. Timeline tone mapping
    13. HDR for broadcasters
    14. Enable DirectX HDR support
  16. Exporting media
    1. Export video
    2. Export Preset Manager
    3. Workflow and overview for exporting
    4. Quick export
    5. Exporting for the Web and mobile devices
    6. Export a still image
    7. Exporting projects for other applications
    8. Exporting OMF files for Pro Tools
    9. Export to Panasonic P2 format
    10. Export settings
      1. Export settings reference
      2. Basic Video Settings
      3. Encoding Settings
    11. Best Practices: Export faster
  17. Collaborative editing
    1. Collaboration in Premiere Pro
    2. Get started with collaborative video editing
    3. Create Team Projects
    4. Add and manage media in Team Projects
    5. Invite and manage collaborators
    6. Share and manage changes with collaborators
    7. View auto saves and versions of Team Projects
    8. Manage Team Projects
    9. Linked Team Projects
    10. Frequently asked questions
  18. Long form and Episodic workflows
    1. Long Form and Episodic Workflow Guide
    2. Using Productions
    3. How clips work across projects in a Production
    4. Best Practices: Working with Productions
  19. Working with other Adobe applications
    1. After Effects and Photoshop
    2. Dynamic Link
    3. Audition
    4. Prelude
  20. Organizing and Managing Assets
    1. Working in the Project panel
    2. Organize assets in the Project panel
    3. Playing assets
    4. Search assets
    5. Creative Cloud Libraries
    6. Sync Settings in Premiere Pro
    7. Consolidate, transcode, and archive projects
    8. Managing metadata
    9. Best Practices
      1. Best Practices: Learning from broadcast production
      2. Best Practices: Working with native formats
  21. Improving Performance and Troubleshooting
    1. Set preferences
    2. Reset and restore preferences
    3. Recovery Mode
    4. Working with Proxies
      1. Proxy overview
      2. Ingest and Proxy Workflow
    5. Check if your system is compatible with Premiere Pro
    6. Premiere Pro for Apple silicon
    7. Eliminate flicker
    8. Interlacing and field order
    9. Smart rendering
    10. Control surface support
    11. Best Practices: Working with native formats
    12. Knowledge Base
      1. Known issues
      2. Fixed issues
      3. Fix Premiere Pro crash issues
      4. Unable to migrate settings after updating Premiere Pro
      5. Green and pink video in Premiere Pro or Premiere Rush
      6. How do I manage the Media Cache in Premiere Pro?
      7. Fix errors when rendering or exporting
      8. Troubleshoot issues related to playback and performance in Premiere Pro
  22. Extensions and plugins
    1. Installing plugins and extensions in Premiere Pro
    2. Latest plugins from third-party developers
  23. Video and audio streaming
    1. Secure Reliable Transport (SRT)
  24. Monitoring Assets and Offline Media
    1. Monitoring assets
      1. Using the Source Monitor and Program Monitor
      2. Using the Reference Monitor
    2. Offline media
      1. Working with offline clips
      2. Creating clips for offline editing
      3. Relinking offline media

The Essential Graphics panel in Premiere Pro provides a powerful workflow that allows you to change the appearance of text and shapes using fills, strokes, backgrounds, shadows, and masks.

Note:

Starting with Premiere Pro version 25.0, the Essential Graphics panel is no longer included. You can now edit titles, captions, audio, video, and graphics more efficiently using the new Properties panel and browse Motion Graphics and Stock Audio using the Graphics Templates panel.

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Add fill

You can fill your text or shape with any desired color.

  1. Use the Pen, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Polygon tools to create shapes.

  2. In the Edit tab of the Essential Graphics panel, select Fill under Appearance.

  3. Choose the color from the Color Picker panel.

  4. Select OK.

Edit the appearance of your title or graphic
Edit the appearance of your title or graphic

You can also choose to

  • Specify the HSB, RGB, or hexadecimal values if you know the exact color values.
  • Adjust the color using the color field and color slider. When you do so, the numeric HSBA, RGB, and hexadecimal values are adjusted accordingly.
  • Use the Eyedropper tool to select a color from the screen.
  • Select Linear Gradient or Radial Gradient from the top of the Color Picker panel and apply gradient fills to the object. Learn more about how to apply gradients.

Try it in-app

Practice and learn how to quickly create and customize titles in Premiere Pro.

Open tutorial

Add strokes

You can add Outer, Inner, or Center strokes to text and shapes in the Essential Graphics panel, or can add multiple strokes to build a unique look.

  1. Select a layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Set the color. Then choose if you want to use an Outer, Inner, or Center stroke.

    Outer Stroke

    An Outer stroke begins at the shape's edge and goes outward as the width is increased. The stroke is drawn behind the fill.

    Inner Stroke

    The Inner stroke starts at the shape's edge and goes inward as its width is expanded. It draws the stroke over the fill.

    Center Stroke

    With Center stroke, the stroke is over the fill for shapes, but under the fill for text.

  3. Select the + icon in the Appearance section if you want to create multiple strokes. Then, set the color and width properties of each stroke.

    Creating cool titles using multiple strokes
    Creating titles using multiple strokes

Change stroke styles

You can use different stroke styles to make the text or shape more attractive.

Create Stroke Styles

  1. Select a layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the wrench icon under Appearance. If you want to change stroke settings globally, select the hamburger icon next to the Essential Graphics panel.

  3. Select one of the following options to select the stroke style from the Graphics Properties dialog box. Then, select OK.

Graphic Properties
Graphic Properties

Line Join

Sets the lines to miter, round, or bevel.

Line Cap

Sets the caps of lines to butt, round, or square.

Miter

Miter limit defines the maximum length before a miter join turns into a bevel. The default miter limit is 2.5.

Note:

Miter is only enabled if the Line Join attribute is set to miter. It's the distance between the inner corner and the outer corner where two lines meet.

Add shadows

You can add shadows to text or a shape, or add multiple shadows to create numerous interesting effects. For example, create a second, narrower shadow on top of a wide shadow to give the text or shape more depth.
 

  1. Select your text or shape layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the Shadow checkbox.

  3. Adjust the opacity, angle, distance, size, and blur of the shadow.

  4. Select your shadow type from the Color Picker panel. You can choose Solid, Linear, Gradient, or Radial Gradient.

  5. Add multiple shadows by clicking the + icon in the Appearance section.

    Add shadows
    Add shadows

Note:

Shadows are a per-layer setting. It's not possible to add a shadow to individual characters of a text layer.

Add text backgrounds

Add a background to any text to enhance your design. You can add rounded edges to the background of your text or change the fill color, opacity, and size. Your preferences can also be saved for future edits.

  1. Select a text layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the Background checkbox in the Appearance section.

  3. Change the fill color, Opacity, Size, and Corner Radius as needed.

    Add text background
    Add text background

Create a background with rounded corners

  1. Select a text layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the Background checkbox in the Appearance section.

  3. Use the Corner Radius slider or hot text to round the corners as needed.

Note:

The slider has a corner radius range of 0-100. The hot text ranges from 0-500 for fully rounded ends on large text layers.

Change the Background Fill Mode

Use backgrounds with titles and captions to make your text more readable. You can choose between All Lines and Per-Line backgrounds to suit your needs.

  1. Select a text layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the Graphics Properties button in the Appearance section.

  3. In the Graphics Properties dialog, in Background Styles, set Fill Mode to Per-Line, and select OK.

Set the Fill Mode preference for future Text layers

  1. Select a text layer in the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the hamburger menu  of the Essential Graphics panel and choose Text Layer Preferences.

  3. Set Fill Mode to Per-Line or All Lines, and select OK. The setting will be applied as the default Text Layer.

Create mask layers

Use masks to create dynamic transitions, reveals, and wipe animations in Premiere Pro titles by converting text and shapes to mask layers. Masks hide portions of a layer and reveal other portions of the layers below the graphic in the Essential Graphic panel layer stack.

  1. Select a text or graphics layer in the Edit tab of the Essential Graphics panel.

  2. Select the Mask with Text or Mask with Shape checkbox in the Appearance section of the Essential Graphics panel. 

    Premiere Pro creates a mask of that layer and renders everything outside the layer transparently, revealing the layers below it. 

    If you have created layer groups, then when you select a layer to mask, the mask is applied only to the other layers in that group. The mask does not extend to layers outside the group.

    Mask with Text
    Mask with Text

    Mask with Shape
    Mask with Shape

    Example of the type of effect you can create using masked layers
    Example of the type of effect you can create using masked layers

  3. If you would like to ensure that any strokes or shadows in the layer are excluded from the mask, select Mask Only Fill.

  4. If you want everything outside the layer to be visible and everything inside the layer to be transparent, select Invert.

Masking Tutorial: Create reveal animations using masking techniques

Use the example below to learn how to create cool reveal animations using a shape layer and a text layer. 

  1. Create a shape layer and a text layer.

  2. To convert the shape layer to a mask, select the shape and click Mask with Shape. 

    Mask text with shape
    Mask text with shape

  3. In the Effect Controls panel, animate the position of the text. 

    Animating the position of the title using the Effect Controls panel
    Animating the position of the title using the Effect Controls panel

  4. To position the text outside the masking shape layer for frame 0, click the Keyframe tool  in the Effect Controls panel.

  5. Move the playhead in the Effect Controls panel to the right and change the Position value of the text until it is revealed in the shape mask. 

  6. Move the playhead back to frame 0 and press Play. Check and tweak the animation if necessary.

Related resources

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If you have a question about working with text, shapes, or graphics, reach out to us in our Premiere Pro community. We would love to help.

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