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sh4rk's 3D Text Animator documentation

sh4rk's 3D Text Animator is a keyframeless 3D text animation plugin for DaVinci Resolve.

Product pageUpdated 25 August 2026

How it works

The 3D Text Animator animates with a two point system. You set an In value and an Out value, and it animates between them, letter by letter, with no keyframes to place.

That makes A to B easy and A to B to C hard, because there are only two states. To get a move that goes out and returns, use the built in spline editor to reshape the path between the two values: for text that rises and settles back down, set the spline to start at 0, reach 1 in the middle, and end at 0. The included presets are built this way and are the quickest way to understand how the curve maps to the motion.

On performance, be realistic about what this plugin is. It is heavy, and that is a known limitation rather than a setting you can fix. It exposes DaVinci Resolve's real Text3D so you keep full customization, which means a genuine letter by letter animation engine cannot be written from scratch underneath it. What it does instead relies on a large number of nodes and expressions, which is where Resolve slows down, and the current implementation is already optimized as far as that approach allows.

In practice: preview it once and it plays back in real time on the Fusion page afterwards. On the Edit page, use render cache.

Key facts

DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve 19.1 to 21.0. Works on free and Studio.
How you get it
You can download it from your library at sh4rkk.com/library after logging in with the email tied to your order. If you prefer not to log in, a download page appears right after checkout where you enter the email you used and download the product instantly.
Updates
Updates are free. To update, simply download the latest version again and reinstall it.
License
There is no license key and no online activation. The product is just files you install, so there is no machine limit and nothing that can deactivate.
Performance
The tools are designed first for visual quality and output rather than raw speed. The Pro renderer uses the Hardware Renderer and 3x supersampling for clean, antialiased edges, so heavy lighting and shadow setups are best previewed at a lower quality and rendered at full quality on export.
Support
Support is handled on the Paradise Community Discord. Replies usually come within an hour or two, and at most within 8 hours.
Pricing
The free version is completely free and works as a Fusion node inside your node tree, replacing the Text3D node and adding the full keyframeless animation engine, material and extrude controls, the spline easing editor. sh4rk's 3D Text Animator Pro is a one time purchase of $18.90 (no subscription) and adds the complete rendered look: an Edit page generator you drop straight onto the timeline, 20 animation presets, 16 lighting presets, eight individual lights, ambient occlusion soft shadows, motion blur, camera controls, antialiasing with 3x supersampling, and automatic resolution. All future updates are free for both versions. You may install it on multiple computers, but sharing or distributing the plugin is prohibited.

Installation

Preparation

  1. 1.Download and extract the 'sh4rk's 3D Text Animator' package.
  2. 2.Open DaVinci Resolve.
  3. 3.Create a new timeline and navigate to the Fusion page (ensure a composition is active).

Automatic install

  1. 1.Drag and drop the Installer.lua file from the package into the Fusion nodes area and click 'OK'.
  2. 2.Restart DaVinci Resolve.
  3. 3.To verify installation, open the Fusion page and search for '3D Text Animator' using Shift + Space.
  4. 4.On the Pro version, also go to the Edit Page and look under Titles (Or Generators) -> sh4rk -> 3D Text Animator for the Edit Page version.

Manual install

  1. 1.Open the 'Content' folder in your extracted package.
  2. 2.Copy the 'sh4rk's 3D Text Animator.setting' file and paste it into your Resolve Macros folder.
  3. 3.Copy the 'Time 3D.fuse' file and paste it into your Resolve Fuses folder.
  4. 4.On the Pro version, double click the .drfx file to install the Edit Page generator.
  5. 5.If DaVinci Resolve was open, restart it. If it was closed, you are ready to go.
  6. 6.To verify installation, open the Fusion page and search for '3D Text Animator' using Shift + Space.

Notes

Using it

The free version outputs an animated 3D scene, so you connect it to your own lights and Renderer3D exactly like you would a normal Text3D node. The Pro version outputs a finished, fully lit and rendered image and can be used as a Fusion macro or as an Edit page generator. Use the Start, End, and Final preview toggle to see the beginning, the end, or the full animation while you work. The animation engine handles up to 20 characters uniquely. Beyond that, characters begin to share animations, so at 40 characters every second character reuses the previous one and it animates two letters at a time. Preset tweaks are remembered within the same node when you switch presets; a brand new node uses the defaults unless you save the macro file over the original or reset the node to default. If your text does not animate, make sure the View is set to Final and that you changed the animation values. If the animation looks wrong, set the playback resolution to Full, since Half or Quarter interferes with the animation engine.

Moving from free to paid

If you build a project using the free version and later upgrade to Pro, you can keep animating in Fusion with the same controls. The Pro version adds the lighting, shadows, motion blur, and Edit page generator on top, so the finished look is produced for you instead of being built by hand.

If something goes wrong

If it does not show up after installing, double check the installation method and try the manual installation steps. Make sure the Time 3D fuse is placed in your Fuses folder, since the animation engine depends on it. If it still does not appear, contact sh4rk on Discord or by email.

Frequently asked questions

The free version is a Fusion node that replaces the standard Text3D node and adds the full keyframeless animation engine. It outputs your animated 3D text on its own, so you bring your own camera, lights, shadows, motion blur, and renderer. Pro bakes that entire look in for you: 16 lighting presets, eight individual lights, ambient occlusion shadows, motion blur, camera controls, and a full renderer, and ships as an Edit page generator so you get finished, good looking 3D text in a couple of clicks.

Yes. sh4rk's 3D Text Animator works fully in the free version of DaVinci Resolve. DaVinci Resolve Studio is not required.

Yes. It works on DaVinci Resolve 19.1 and later, including 21. If you run into bugs on 21, make sure you are on an official release and not a beta build. It works on the free version too.

It is built for DaVinci Resolve 19.1 and later, and works on both the free and Studio versions.

Yes. It is compatible with every operating system DaVinci Resolve supports, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.

No. The Pro version works right on the Edit page as a generator, so you type your text and set your options without touching Fusion. The free version lives in the Fusion node tree and simply replaces your Text3D node, so basic Fusion familiarity helps but is not required.

You set a start state and an end state, then choose a duration and a per character stagger. The plugin animates every character on by itself and automatically spaces the motion across your clip. You can fine tune the feel with independent easing curves for position, rotation, size, and tracking.

Pro is a one time purchase of $18.90. There are no subscriptions, hidden fees, or recurring charges of any kind.

Yes. All future updates are free for both the free version and Pro.

Yes, you may install it on multiple computers. However, sharing or distributing the plugin to others is strictly prohibited. Please read the license agreement included in the download package before use.

Your download is available instantly after purchase. No waiting and no manual delivery.

Yes. You can set the font, weight, extrusion depth, bevel depth and width, and the surface material, including diffuse color, specular, and transmittance, exactly like a native 3D text node.

Make sure the View is set to Final and that you have actually changed the animation values in the Animation tab.

Set your Start values to how you want the text to enter and your End values to how you want it to finish, then in the spline editor use a reverse S curve. If you are not sure, open one of the included presets and see how it is built.

Make sure your playback resolution is set to Full. Half or Quarter resolution interferes with the plugin's animation engine.

The animation engine handles up to 20 characters uniquely. Beyond that, characters begin to share animations. For example, with 40 characters every 2nd character reuses the animation of the one before it, so it animates two letters at a time. You are also warned inside the plugin when you exceed the limit, so you do not have to keep track of it yourself.

Yes, within the same node. If you tweak a preset and switch to another, your changes are remembered on that node. A brand new node will not have them unless you save the macro file over the original, which overrides the defaults, or you right click the node and reset it to default.

Yes. Pro ships with 16 lighting presets and an Apply Preset button, but you also get eight individual lights you can position and color yourself, plus a Custom preset for full manual control.

Yes. For full details, scroll to the bottom of this page and open the Refund Policy.

Yes. You can join the Paradise Community Discord server for support, tips, and updates.

Make sure motion blur is turned off, especially when the text is very close to the camera. Heavy motion blur on text near the lens is the most common cause of a freeze or a very slow render.

The lighting presets are inside the plugin itself, so you can play around with them without having to redo your text settings and animations.

Pro renders your 3D text with a transparent (alpha) background, so it drops straight over your footage or other layers with nothing to key out. Because it runs a full 3D render, turn on render cache to play the animation back in real time while you work.

Yes. It supports every language DaVinci Resolve supports, as long as the font you choose includes those characters. You can change both the font and the font weight.

We have not pinned down the cause of this one yet. The one fix we have confirmed came from a user who updated their DaVinci Resolve version, after which it rendered normally. If updating does not clear it, message us on Discord with your Resolve version and we will dig into it with you.

Update DaVinci Resolve to the latest version. The plugin is supported on 19.1 and later, but some users still see media offline on older releases. If you see it, updating to the latest version (21) resolves it.

That is sh4rk's 3D Text Animator.

If something is still unclear, ask in the Discord and you will get an answer from the people who build with this daily.

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