Autodesk 62205-051408-9001 User Guide - Page 564

20 Animating Text Rotating Text You can rotate characters or text blocks. Change a text object's pivot point to change the way the object rotates. To rotate a text block: 1. In the Toolbar, click the Arrow tool . 2. Click anywhere on the text. The text block is highlighted with scale handles, the pivot point and a rotation handle. 3. To rotate a character, CTRL-click the character. Note: To rotate each text character around its base, use the Rotation slider in the Advanced text controls. 4. Move the cursor to the rotation handle. The cursor changes to a curved arrow. 5. Drag the rotation handle. The text rotates around its pivot point (which is, by default, the center of the text block). Rotation handle 2. Drag the pivot point to the new location. Working with Text Control Points You can edit and animate the control points that define the shape of text characters. However, you must first convert the text object to an outline before you can access the Edit Control Points tool . You can convert all the characters in a word to outlines, or just an individual character. To edit the shape of characters in a word: 1. In the Toolbar, click the Arrow tool and click in the viewport, away from the object, to deselect it. 2. CTRL-click the character you want to edit. Note: To select more than one character in the viewport to convert to outline, press CTRL+SHIFT and click the characters, press CTRL and drag a selection box around the characters, or click the word to select all the characters in the word. 3. Choose Object | Make Curve. The object is converted to outline. The selected character is highlighted with scale handles, the pivot point and a rotation handle. To edit the pivot point of a text block: 1. Select the text. The text block is highlighted with scale handles, the pivot point and a rotation handle. 4. In the Toolbar (F2), click the Edit Control Points tool . Control points appear around the object. Pivot point 548