Letter Collage

7 min read

Create stylized text with per-letter customization using the Letter Collage system.

Letter Collage examples
Various letter collage styles: Tile, Magazine, Paper Cut, Fold, and Gradient

What is Letter Collage?

Letter Collage transforms plain text into visually striking designs where each letter can have its own style, color, and effects. Perfect for:

  • Social Media Posts — Eye-catching headlines
  • Posters & Flyers — Creative typography
  • Educational Content — Spelling games, word art
  • Marketing Materials — Brand-aligned text designs

Available Styles

Tile Style (Wordle/Scrabble)

Tile style example
Tile style with Wordle palette

Letters appear on colored square backgrounds, like Wordle or Scrabble tiles.

Best for: Word games, educational content, playful designs

Palettes: Wordle, Scrabble, Candy, Neon, Pastel, Earth, Ocean, Corporate, Christmas, Rainbow, and more

Magazine Style

Magazine style example
Magazine collage style with mixed fonts and colors

Each letter uses random fonts, sizes, rotations, and colors — like cutouts from magazine pages.

Best for: Ransom note aesthetic, creative posters, artistic designs

Features:

  • Random font variation
  • Random size variation (0.8x to 1.2x)
  • Random rotation (-15° to +15°)
  • Mixed background colors

Paper Cut Style

Paper Cut style example
Paper Cut style with shadow depth

Letters appear as cut paper with subtle shadows, creating a layered depth effect.

Best for: Craft aesthetics, scrapbook designs, warm friendly vibes

Features:

  • Paper-colored backgrounds (white, cream, off-white)
  • Subtle drop shadows for depth
  • Clean, crisp edges

Fold Style

Fold style example
Fold style with origami-like effect

Letters have an origami-style folded appearance with gradient shading.

Best for: Modern designs, geometric aesthetics, creative typography

Features:

  • Folded paper effect
  • Gradient shading for depth
  • Professional appearance

Gradient Style

Gradient style example
Gradient style with sunset palette

Each letter is filled with a beautiful gradient color.

Best for: Modern designs, vibrant social media, eye-catching headers

Palettes: Rainbow, Sunset, Ocean, Fire, Ice, Gold, Chrome, Cyberpunk, Neon Glow, Purple Pink, and more

Directions: Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal, Radial

Creating a Letter Collage

  1. Activate the Text Tool (T)
  2. In the Text Settings panel (right side), find Text Style
  3. Select your desired style (Tile, Magazine, Paper Cut, Fold, or Gradient)
  4. Choose a Color Palette from the dropdown
  5. Click on the canvas and enter your text
  6. Click Create Collage to apply the style

The Text Style options appear in the right panel when the Text Tool is active. Each style has its own set of color palettes optimized for that visual effect.

Color Palettes

Tile Palettes

Category Palettes
Game Wordle, Scrabble
Vibrant Candy, Neon, Rainbow
Soft Pastel, Vintage
Natural Earth, Ocean, Forest
Professional Corporate, Monochrome
Seasonal Christmas, Autumn, Spring
Magazine Magazine, Newspaper, Papercraft

Gradient Palettes

Category Palettes
Warm Rainbow, Sunset, Fire, Gold, Rose
Cool Ocean, Ocean Deep, Ice, Forest, Midnight
Vibrant Cyberpunk, Neon Glow, Purple Pink, Chrome

Animating Letter Collages

Letter collages support powerful staggered animations where each letter can animate in sequence.

Sequence Patterns

Pattern Description
Linear Letters animate left-to-right (default)
Reverse Letters animate right-to-left
Random Letters animate in random order
Center Animation starts from center, expands outward
Fibonacci Timing follows Fibonacci sequence for natural feel
Wave Sine wave timing creates flowing effect

Animation Effects

Effect Description
fadeSlideUp Letters fade in while sliding up
fadeSlideDown Letters fade in while sliding down
popIn Letters pop in with overshoot bounce
typewriter Letters appear instantly (typewriter effect)
wave Letters bob up and down

How to Animate

  1. Create your letter collage
  2. Select the collage group
  3. In the Animations panel, choose a staggered animation
  4. Adjust timing parameters (stagger delay, duration)
  5. Preview with the Play button

Working with Individual Letters

Each letter in a collage is a registered item that can be selected and animated independently.

Viewing in Groups Panel

  1. Create a letter collage
  2. Open the Groups panel (click the Groups tab)
  3. Your collage appears as an expandable group
  4. Click the arrow to see individual letters listed as “Letter: A”, “Letter: B”, etc.

Breaking Apart a Collage

To convert a collage into independent letters:

  1. Select the collage group
  2. Use Ungroup (right-click menu or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G)
  3. Each letter becomes a separate item
  4. Letters can now be moved, styled, and animated independently

Selecting Individual Letters

  • Click on a letter while the collage is selected to select just that letter
  • Shift+Click to add/remove letters from selection
  • Use the Groups panel to click on specific letters by name

Tips

Design Tips:

  • Use Tile style for word games and educational content
  • Use Magazine style for artistic, creative posters
  • Use Paper Cut for warm, crafty aesthetics
  • Use Gradient for modern, vibrant social media posts
  • Keep text short (3-8 letters) for best visual impact

Animation Tips:

  • Use Fibonacci sequence for natural, organic-feeling reveals
  • Use Center sequence for dramatic emphasis
  • Start with 0.1s stagger delay and adjust to taste
  • Combine with keyframe animations for complex effects

Performance Note: Letter collages with many characters (20+) may impact performance. For long text, consider using standard text styling instead.

Export Compatibility

Style MP4 GIF SVG PNG
Tile ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Magazine ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Paper Cut ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Fold ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Gradient ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

All letter collage styles export correctly to all formats.

RTL Language Support

Letter Collage automatically detects and supports right-to-left (RTL) languages including:

  • Arabic (العربية)
  • Hebrew (עברית)
  • Farsi/Persian (فارسی)
  • Urdu (اردو)

When RTL text is entered:

  • Letters are positioned right-to-left automatically
  • Staggered animations play in the correct reading direction (right to left)
  • All styles (Tile, Magazine, Paper Cut, Fold, Gradient) work with RTL text

The direction is detected automatically from the text content, so you don’t need to configure anything special.

For mixed-direction text, the direction is determined by the first strong directional character (first RTL character makes the whole collage RTL).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
T Activate Text Tool
Enter Confirm text entry
V Switch to Selection Tool