Drop an arrow on screen and point at whatever matters. Arrows gives you twenty-one shapes, seven styles, and a set of moves that draw themselves on, all live and razor sharp at any size. Build the look yourself or start from a preset.
The short version
Drag Arrows onto your timeline and you get an arrow floating over your video, pointing at whatever you want the eye to land on: a button in a tutorial, a player in a sports breakdown, the thing you are reacting to. Pick a shape and it redraws in one click: a clean straight pointer, a chunky block arrow, a road-sign chevron, a hand-drawn graffiti swoosh, a loop, even a trail of stars. Every arrow is drawn live instead of being a flat image, so it stays sharp at any size, right up to 4K.
From there it moves. Arrows can draw themselves on tip to tail, pop in, wiggle, flicker like a neon sign, and spin on a loop. No keyframing required. This manual covers the whole workflow, every control, the shapes, the styles, and the presets.
First run
From download to a clean export. Here is the whole path.
On the timeline
Arrows is a Title, so it floats over whatever is underneath it. Adding it takes three moves.
Each Arrows clip draws a single arrow. Need to point at three things at once? Stack three Arrows clips, one per target, and style each one its own way. There is no limit but your timeline.
Because it is a Title, Arrows lays itself out to your project's frame. Wide 16:9, vertical 9:16 for Reels, Shorts, and TikTok, or square: the arrow scales to the frame either way. Size is measured against the shorter side of the frame, so the same setting reads the same in any aspect ratio.
The layout
Everything lives in one inspector. From the top down it reads in a few blocks, and the controls that do not apply to your setup hide themselves, so it stays tidy. The deeper sliders sit behind Show Advanced Options at the very bottom, flip it on to see them all.
The Arrows inspector with Show Advanced Options on, so the full set is visible. The arrow is white here and Animation is set to Write-On.
Pick a shape
The Shape menu sets the arrow itself. It splits into two groups: clean Geometric shapes drawn with math, which stay crisp at any size, and looser Hand-Drawn shapes with real ink texture. The default is Block.
The proportion sliders, Thickness, Head Size, Head Width, and Length, shape the Geometric arrows. The Hand-Drawn ones come pre-built with their own ink, so those sliders quietly step aside when you pick one. Size, Color, Style, and the animations work on every shape.
Pour on a look
The Style menu sets the finish. Color stays separate, it comes from the Color well, so you can put any style in any color.
The default
A solid, flat color. The clean, readable starting point. When in doubt, start here.
Color into Color 2
Blends your main Color into a second color along the arrow. Picking Gradient reveals the Color 2 well.
Hollow
Just the edge of the arrow, empty inside. Clean and light over busy footage.
Glowing tube
A bright glowing tube, like a bar sign. Made for night looks and dark backgrounds.
Glossy
A glossy, slightly see-through panel with a soft sheen. Modern and slick.
Painted
A painted brush-stroke texture with rough, lively edges. Hand-made energy on any shape.
Spray paint
A rough, spray-paint texture with broken, gritty edges. Street and loud.
Every style takes its color from the Color well (and Color 2 on Gradient), so Neon can be any color, Grunge can be any color, and so on. Want a border on top of any of them? Turn up Stroke Width and you get a universal outline around any style.
Every control
Sizes here are measured against the frame and scaled to your project, so the arrow looks the same whether you render small or in 4K. Most of these sit behind Show Advanced Options at the bottom of the inspector, flip it on to bring them out.
The overall scale, measured against the shorter side of your frame. This is the one thing a preset never touches, so you can flip through every look without resizing.
A small, subtle marker tucked into the shot.
Big enough to fill or overflow the frame.
Which arrow you are drawing, from a clean Block to a Graffiti swoosh. Twelve Geometric, nine Hand-Drawn. Covered in full above.
The finish: Fill, Gradient, Outline, Neon, Glass, Brush, or Grunge. Color stays separate, so any style works in any color.
Color is your main arrow color. Color 2 is the far end of a gradient, and it only appears when Style is set to Gradient.
Spins the whole arrow to aim it. It pivots around its own center, so the tip lands where you point it.
How fat the shaft is.
A fine, delicate line.
A heavy, chunky shaft.
How long the arrowhead is, as a share of the whole arrow.
A small, dainty tip.
A big, dominant head.
How wide the head flares out from the shaft.
A slim, narrow head.
A broad, flared head.
Stretches the shaft, while the head stays the same size.
A short, stubby arrow.
A long-reaching arrow.
A soft halo around the arrow. Zero is flat; turn it up for a light bloom on any style. Neon glows on its own already.
A universal outline that draws a border around any style. 0 is off. Push it up for a bold edge on Fill, Brush, Grunge, anything.
When the outline is on, this keeps it the same color as the arrow. Switch it off and an Outline Color well appears so you can pick a contrasting edge.
The master switch for a drop shadow, dialed by opacity. At 0 there is no shadow. Turn it up and the arrow lifts off the footage, with the four controls below appearing to shape it.
How far the shadow is thrown from the arrow. Small for a tight lift, large for a floating, dramatic offset.
The direction the light comes from, in degrees. It stays put even as you rotate the arrow, so your scene's light stays consistent.
How blurry the shadow edge is. Zero is a hard, graphic shadow; high is a soft, diffuse one.
The shadow's color. Black reads as a normal shadow; tint it for a colored glow-drop under the arrow.
Make it move
The Animation menu adds motion, no keyframing. It splits into one-shot entrance moves that play once when the clip starts, and looping moves that run the whole time it is on screen. Speed sets the pace and shows up the moment you pick a move.
You will see Phase and Neon Flicker in both lists. One is a one-shot entrance, the other runs forever, same name. The section it sits under, Entrance or Looping, tells you which one you are picking.
How fast the move plays, for both entrances and loops. It only shows up once you have picked an animation.
Slow and deliberate.
Fast and snappy.
One click, full look
A preset is the whole look at once: shape, style, colors, finish, aim, and any animation. Pick one from the Presets menu at the top of the inspector, then tweak anything you like. The one thing a preset never changes is your Size, so the look swaps without resizing the arrow you already placed.
Chevron · solid blue · Write-On · soft shadow
A clean blue chevron that draws on with a soft drop shadow. Boardroom-ready callouts.
Corner · baby blue · blue outline · aimed down
A baby-blue corner arrow aimed downward with a crisp blue outline, drawing itself on. Made for "look right here."
Straight · thin gray · slow Write-On · shadow
A thin, neutral gray pointer that eases on slowly. Quiet and out of the way.
U-Turn · green · yellow outline · Spin
A glowing green U-turn ringed in yellow that spins on a loop. Loud and impossible to miss.
Chevron Stack · neon pink · Flicker loop
A stack of hot-pink chevrons buzzing like a neon sign. Built for dark, moody footage.
Loop the Loop · purple-to-pink · Pulse loop
A purple-to-pink gradient loop that pulses without stopping. Stream overlays and repeat CTAs.
Dotted · amber brush · Pulse loop
A warm amber dotted trail with a painted brush finish, gently pulsing. Recipes and menus.
Barbed Left · orange-to-pink · Fade + Slide
A barbed street arrow in an orange-to-pink gradient that slides in. Tagged and loud.
Graffiti shape · glass · near-black · Write-On
A glossy near-black graffiti arrow that draws itself on. Inky and slick.
Block · white grunge · fast Neon Flicker
A white grunge block with a matching outline, flickering fast. Flashy on purpose.
Block · thick white outline · Pop
A hollow white block with a heavy edge that pops in. High-visibility on dark or busy shots.
Dashed · baby blue · Write-On · shadow
A baby-blue dashed route that draws on with a hard shadow. Reads as a path to follow.
Stars · red neon · blurs in (Phase)
A red neon star trail with a white core that streaks in. The "pay attention to this" arrow.
The Default preset at the top is a true reset: a white Block, Fill style, no animation. It mirrors a fresh insert exactly, so it is the clean slate to come back to whenever you want to start over.
Make it yours
Built a look you love? Save it and reuse it anywhere.
Each preset you save is a small file on your Mac, in your home folder under Library ▸ Application Support ▸ Herbistry ▸ Arrows ▸ Presets. (That Library folder is hidden by default: in Finder, hold Option and open the Go menu to reach it.) Because they live there and not inside one project, your looks follow you across every project, and you can copy a preset file and send it to someone else so they get the exact same look.
Cheat sheet
Every slider at a glance, from one end to the other.
| Control | Low end | High end |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 0.05: a small marker | 3.0: fills or overflows the frame |
| Thickness | 0.01: a fine line | 0.5: a heavy shaft |
| Head Size | 0.05: a dainty tip | 0.6: a dominant head |
| Head Width | 1.0: a slim head | 6.0: a broad, flared head |
| Length | 0.5: short and stubby | 2.0: a long reach |
| Rotation | −180: aim it anywhere | 180: aim it anywhere |
| Glow | 0: flat | 2: a bright halo |
| Stroke Width | 0: no outline | 40: a heavy border |
| Drop Shadow | 0: off | 1: a solid shadow |
| Speed | 0.25: slow and deliberate | 4.0: fast and snappy |
Before you install
Arrows is a Mac title plugin. Here is what you need.
Get help
Trouble installing, styling, or unlocking Arrows? Reach out and we'll sort it.