Curved text, spiral text and ordinary captions
An ordinary caption puts letters on a straight baseline. Text on a path lays them along a curve: a circle around a face, a wave across a landscape or a spiral through the frame. The path gives the layout its shape; font size and letter spacing determine how the phrase occupies it.
Zebra's Draw with Text combines preset shapes with freehand paths. It is useful for lyric photos, posters, announcement images and portraits with words wrapping behind the person. It edits a raster photo; the finished download is an image, rather than a reusable vector text object.
Add curved text in five steps
- Upload your photo. Open the tool and use a sharp original with enough empty space around the subject.
- Enter the phrase. Replace the default text with a short sentence, name or lyric you are allowed to use. Start short so it is easy to inspect the curve.
- Choose a shape. Use a circle for a round caption, an arc for a heading, a wave for a loose line or a spiral for a wrap-around composition.
- Adjust the style and position. Change the font, size, color, outline and letter spacing. Drag the shape to position it around the part of the photo you want to emphasize.
- Download the result. Inspect the image at the size it will appear on a phone before saving your final version. Keep the original photo separately.
You can start editing without installing an app. Free access has usage limits; check the editor for the current quota and export options. Premium and AI-generation coins are separate purchases, so do not assume that buying coins changes every editor limit.
Make a spiral around a person
The shapes panel includes a small spiral and a full-frame spiral. Use the smaller shape when the text is a detail within the composition. The full-frame version spreads the path across the photo and pairs it with the behind-subject effect, so words can pass behind the person instead of covering the face.
Full-frame shapes request a subject cutout when you select them. That operation uses cloud background removal and its quota. Simply opening the editor does not create the cutout automatically.
A portrait with a clear outline is easier to review than a scene with several overlapping people. After the cutout finishes, inspect hair, hands and clothing edges. If the words vanish in an unexpected area, first check the subject mask and the shape position rather than adding another identical spiral.
Put text behind the subject
The effect has three visual layers: the original photo, the text and a cutout of the subject above that text. The top cutout hides the overlapping letters, making the phrase look as if it passes behind the person or object.
Regular text rendering takes place in the browser. Creating the cutout for the behind-subject effect sends the photo for cloud processing. This distinction matters if you are working with a private portrait: read the privacy policy before enabling the effect.
Use the eraser for text you want to hide manually. It removes parts of the text layer, rather than erasing the underlying photo. This is helpful for a clean foreground detail, but it should not be confused with repairing a background-removal mask.
Draw a custom path
Switch to the drawing tool when a preset does not fit your photo. Trace one smooth line with a finger or mouse; the phrase follows the line. A longer, gentler curve is generally easier to read than several tight turns within a small space.
For a word that follows a shoulder or a hillside, draw the path beside that contour first. Then adjust the type so the strokes do not blend into the subject. You do not need to place and rotate each letter independently.
Fix crowded or hard-to-read text
| What you see | What to adjust |
|---|---|
| Letters overlap on a tight bend | Reduce font size, change spacing or choose a gentler curve |
| Text disappears into a busy background | Change color, add an outline or move the path |
| A phrase covers the face | Move the shape or use the behind-subject effect |
| Too much text fills the whole image | Shorten the phrase before adding another shape |
| The composition is cropped on a social post | Prepare the frame in Crop before lettering |
If you want one conventional headline on a layout with several photos, use the text layers in Collage instead. For the broad workflow, see the Draw with Text guide.