NODES / MOTION · DAVINCI RESOLVE

3D Text in Fusion: Lighting, Animation and a Reusable Edit-Page Macro

Text3D → Merge3D → Renderer3D, materials, camera, Follower animation and publishing useful controls.

Intermediate8–10 min readUpdated:
WORKING REFERENCE08sections

The explanation and the details you can return to.

Build a reusable 3D title rather than a one-off composition, then expose only the controls that make sense when the title is used from the Edit page.

Build the basic 3D graph

Fusion 3D objects do not plug directly into a normal 2D Merge. A basic chain is Text3D into Merge3D, then Renderer3D converts the scene back to 2D before MediaOut or additional 2D compositing.

  1. Add Text3D.
  2. Connect it to Merge3D.
  3. Add Renderer3D.
  4. Connect Renderer3D to MediaOut or the next 2D stage.

Fusion composition with 3D text

Fusion composition with 3D textOpen original
Keep the 3D and 2D parts of the graph separated by Renderer3D.

Extrusion and materials

Set Extrusion Depth, bevel and material so the shape reads before lighting. Excessive extrusion quickly makes letters feel heavy, especially with a wide camera.

Text3D material controls

Text3D material controlsOpen original
Material settings determine how the face and sides respond to light.

Camera, Renderer3D and lighting

Add Camera3D for an intentional angle, and make sure Renderer3D is configured to process lighting when Light nodes are part of the scene. Otherwise materials can appear unexpectedly flat.

Lighting in Renderer3D

Lighting in Renderer3DOpen original
If lights do not affect the scene, check Renderer3D and material settings first.

Start with one key light and one accent light

Use a simple setup first: a Directional Light for overall form and a Spot Light for emphasis. Too many lights make troubleshooting harder and often create a plastic look.

Animate characters with Follower

Follower can offset animation across characters. Position, rotation, opacity and other properties can cascade from one letter to the next, which is much faster than animating every character manually.

Follower animation on Text3D

Follower animation on Text3DOpen original
Follower is ideal for staggered reveals and character-by-character rotation.

Finish in 2D after Renderer3D

Add Glow, ColorCorrector, Background and regular 2D Merge nodes after Renderer3D. This keeps the 3D scene stable while the final look remains easy to art-direct.

Publish only useful macro controls

Do not expose dozens of technical parameters. A practical macro might publish text, main color, size/position, light intensity and two or three animation controls. That makes it usable on the Edit page.

Key takeaway

A good macro is not the entire node graph exposed to the user. It is a simple interface placed on top of a stable composition.

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