Hey, doodlers!

Have you ever noticed how text messaging has completely taken over the way we communicate?

It’s quick, it’s personal, and let’s be honest—it’s where most of our daily conversations happen.

From catching up with friends to handling work chats, messaging keeps us connected in a way that feels effortless.

What if you could bring that same engaging, real-life energy into your videos?

A text messaging sequence in animation can make interactions feel authentic, dynamic, and fun.

​Doodly makes this process simple, giving creators the tools to animate conversations with ease.

Before we jump into the how-to, let’s take a moment to appreciate why whiteboard animation is such a powerful storytelling tool.

Think about it—when you watch a hand sketch something on a whiteboard, doesn’t it pull you in?

It’s like watching a thought come to life, one stroke at a time.

But why does it work so well?

Now, let’s mix this engaging format with a modern communication staple—text messaging—to create something unique, relatable, and fun!

Alright, let’s get into the fun part—bringing a text conversation to life! The first scene sets the stage, so let’s make sure we get it right.

Open Doodly and click on Create New Video to launch the Edit Video screen. This is where you’ll create and edit all of your scenes. By default, a blank scene will be present on the timeline.

Next, navigate to the Scenes tab on the left panel. In the search bar, type “text” to quickly locate the available pre-made text messaging scenes. These templates already include elements such as a smartphone, speech bubbles, and a hand holding the phone.

​Since we are creating a text message exchange, select a scene that contains a smartphone and drag it onto the blank scene. Once placed, this will become the first scene of your animation.

The default animation settings in Doodly assign 3 seconds per asset, meaning each element will be drawn over time. Since the selected preset contains four assets, this would result in a 12-second delay before the scene is fully revealed. To speed up the animation, go to the Layers menu on the right-hand side of the screen.

​For an instant reveal, adjust the animation duration for all assets to 0 seconds, except for the speech bubbles. Keeping the speech bubble animation at 1 second ensures that the messages appear naturally rather than all at once.

If you don’t need all the preset assets, you can remove the ones that aren’t required. Even though the scene comes preloaded with several elements, each one remains an individual asset, meaning you can modify or delete them as needed.

​For this example, we’ll keep the smartphone, the hand, and one speech bubble, while removing the oval speech bubble to keep the design simple. Click on the oval speech bubble, press Delete, and reposition the remaining elements if necessary.

Now that the scene is set up, it’s time to add text. Navigate to the Text menu and choose a font from the available preset styles. If you want to use a specific font—such as a brand-specific one—click the blue “+” icon to upload a custom font.

Type in the first message and position it inside the rectangle speech bubble. If needed, rotate the text slightly so that it aligns naturally within the shape.

For text inside the smartphone screen, use a scribble-style font to make it look like an actual text message. A good choice for this is “Redacted Script”, which is available through Google Fonts. Enable word wrap so that the text fits into 2–3 lines, making it resemble a real conversation.

To simulate a back-and-forth text exchange, copy the first scribble text and paste it below on the opposite side to represent the next message in the conversation.

To ensure a seamless transition, disable the Erase Mode feature. Go to Video Settings, locate the Erase Mode dropdown menu, and select OFF. Click Apply to save the changes. This prevents the animation from erasing and redrawing elements unnecessarily.

To keep the scene visible as it transitions into the next, disable the Exit Animation. Open Scene Settings, find the Exit Animation option, and turn it OFF. Click Apply to confirm the changes. This ensures that the conversation stays visible without fading or being removed before the next scene appears.

With the first scene now complete, the next step is to duplicate it and build the second scene to continue the conversation seamlessly.

Now that the first scene is in place, it’s time to build on the conversation and make it feel more natural. The second scene will introduce the next message, creating a smooth flow between exchanges.

Rather than creating the next scene from scratch, duplicate the first one to maintain consistency. Right-click on the first scene in the timeline and select Duplicate. This will create an identical copy, keeping all assets in place.

In the duplicated scene, remove the text inside the speech bubble to make space for the next message. Type in the new message and reposition the text if necessary.

For the text inside the smartphone, update the scribble text to show the next part of the conversation. To make the exchange more visually engaging, change the color of the response to indicate that it’s from a different speaker.

To make the conversation feel even more realistic, insert a typing indicator (three dots …) before the next message appears. This can be done by adding three dots as a text element below the last message.

Set the animation duration for the typing indicator to 1.5 seconds before disappearing, making it look like the other person is about to respond.

The last scene will conclude the conversation while adding a final animated effect for emphasis. This will make the sequence feel complete and visually engaging.

To keep a consistent look, duplicate the second scene by right-clicking it in the timeline and selecting Duplicate. This will create an exact copy, making it easier to modify only the necessary elements.

In the duplicated scene, remove the three dots (…) that served as the typing indicator in the previous frame. Replace it with the final message: “And the tutorials are FIRE!”

From the Layers menu, set the animation duration of this message to 1.5 seconds to create a smooth, natural effect.

To enhance the impact of the final message, insert a fire emoji next to the word “FIRE.” Navigate to the Props tab, search for a flame icon, and place it beside the message.

If you have Doodly Rainbow, you can enable colors by clicking on the Gear icon after selecting the flame icon, then toggling Doodly Rainbow ON.

To create a final visual impact, zoom into the flame icon. Open Camera Panning & Zoom, click the plus sign, and then click FX to open the Pan and Zoom Settings.

Adjust the zoom effect so that it gradually focuses on the flame as the animation concludes.

With this final touch, the animated text messaging sequence is complete! 🚀

Text messaging animations aren’t just for fun—they can be powerful tools for storytelling, marketing, education, and engagement. By tweaking a few settings, you can adapt this animation style to suit a variety of content types.

By tailoring your animation style to match your purpose, you can create highly effective and engaging videos that connect with your audience. The possibilities are endless—just experiment and see what works best for your content! 🚀

With Doodly, creating a text messaging animation is more than just adding words to a screen—it’s about making conversations feel real and engaging. This effect can enhance marketing, education, storytelling, or social media videos, bringing a unique visual dynamic that keeps viewers interested.

Now that you’ve learned how to build an animated conversation step by step, it’s time to put these ideas into action! Experiment with different fonts, colors, timing, and effects to create a text animation that fits your unique style.

​So go ahead—open Doodly, start creating, and watch your animated conversations take shape. Your audience is waiting! 🚀