// display the message, first as a single string,
// and then one character at a time.
// both should be centered on the screen
size(600,300);

String msg = "This is a test";

textSize(80);
fill(0);
textAlign(CENTER, CENTER);
text(msg, width/2, 100);


// first compute total width of characters
float total = 0;
for (int k=0; k < msg.length(); k++) {
  total += textWidth(msg.charAt(k));  
}

// now start drawing the characters
textAlign(LEFT, CENTER);
float x=width/2 - total/2;
for (int k=0; k < msg.length(); k++) {
  text(msg.charAt(k), x, 200);
  x += textWidth(msg.charAt(k));  
}