Motion Design School – Fundamentals on After Effects Course
On this page, you can download the Motion Design School – Fundamentals on After Effects Course and learn the basics of After Effects and improve your skills in the field of professional 2D design and animation with After Effects software.
Info
LESSON #1
After Effects Basics
In this lesson, you will get familiar with After Effects Interface and Shape Layers structure and, of course, create your first animation. By the end of the course, you will make a fish jump! Seems easy, isn’t it?
LESSON #2
Background Elements
By the end of this lesson, you will animate the whole bunch of branches, leaves, and bushes. And look, that fish is already jumping out of the water! Oh wait, the stars are flickering too and some of them are even falling. It already looks promising.
Main Objects
Here you will literally play with fire and make characters alive. We will cover the principles on the right guy with a guitar, and you can do whatever you want with others.
Stylization
The last step of animation would be to add some textures and glows, and voilà! Our animation is ready.
LESSON #5
Render & GIF Optimization
Now, what’s cool about making something you can’t share, right? We’ve added a tutorial on how you can export this animation into GIF to share it with the whole world.
BONUS
Optimize Your Workflow with Motion Tools
And in our bonus lecture for more advanced users, we will explain in-depth what you can achieve with our Motion Tools plugin that you will receive for free. It will save you tons of time in your future motion journey.
- Level: basic
- Duration: 2:43
- Required Software: Adobe After Effects
This content is restricted to paid subscribers
🚀 Getting Started: Your After Effects Journey! 🚀
Learning After Effects can be incredibly rewarding, opening up a world of motion graphics, visual effects, and animation! Here’s a structured approach to master the fundamentals:
Step 1: 🖥️ Get the Software & Set Up Your Workspace 🖥️
- Adobe Creative Cloud: After Effects is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. You’ll need a subscription to access it. ☁️
- System Requirements: Make sure your computer meets the recommended specs for smooth performance. After Effects can be resource-intensive! 💻
- Workspace Familiarization: When you first open AE, it might look overwhelming. Don’t panic! Spend some time clicking around and getting a feel for the different panels (Project, Composition, Timeline, Effects & Presets, etc.). 🧐
Step 2: 📚 Core Concepts & Interface Deep Dive 📚
This is where the real learning begins! Focus on understanding these fundamental building blocks:
- Compositions: Think of these as your canvases or scenes where all your animation happens. You’ll create multiple compositions for different elements or shots. 🖼️
- Layers: Everything in After Effects exists on a layer. Understand different layer types:
- Solid Layers: Simple colored shapes. 🎨
- Shape Layers: Vector-based shapes you can animate. 🔺
- Text Layers: For adding and animating text. ✍️
- Footage Layers: Your imported videos, images, or audio. 🎬
- Null Objects: Invisible layers used for controlling other layers. Ghostly but powerful! 👻
- Timeline: This is where you control the timing and animation of your layers. It’s your control center! ⏰
- Keyframes: The heart of animation! Keyframes mark specific points in time where a property (like position, scale, rotation, opacity) has a certain value. After Effects interpolates between these values to create motion. 🔑
- Property Animation: Learn to animate basic properties:
- Position: Moving objects around. ➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️
- Scale: Making objects bigger or smaller. 🤏📏
- Rotation: Spinning objects. 🔄
- Opacity: Fading objects in and out. ✨
- Property Animation: Learn to animate basic properties:
- Tools Panel: Get to know essential tools like the Selection Tool (V), Hand Tool (H), Zoom Tool (Z), and Shape Tools. 🛠️
- Previewing: Understand how to preview your animations (Spacebar or RAM Preview). ▶️
Step 3: 💡 Essential Techniques & Workflow 💡
Once you have the basics down, start practicing these common techniques:
- Importing Assets: How to bring in your video footage, images, audio, and Photoshop/Illustrator files. 📂
- Layer Organization: Grouping layers, using labels, and pre-composing to keep your projects tidy. Neato! 🧹
- Basic Effects & Presets: Explore some of the built-in effects. Start with simple ones like “Drop Shadow,” “Fast Box Blur,” or “Tint.” 🌈
- Text Animation: Learn how to create dynamic text animations using text animators. 🅰️✨
- Masking: Cutting out parts of a layer or revealing elements. ✂️
- Parenting & Linking: Connecting layers so one layer’s movements affect others. Think of a chain reaction! 🔗
- Working with Audio: Syncing animations to music or sound effects. 🎶
- Rendering & Exporting: How to output your final animation into a video file. 💾
Step 4: 🎓 Where to Learn: Resources Galore! 🎓
You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to learning resources!
- Official Adobe Tutorials: Start here! Adobe offers excellent introductory tutorials. 📚
- YouTube Channels: A treasure trove of free tutorials! Look for channels like:
- School of Motion: (They have fantastic beginner series) 🎓
- Video Copilot (Andrew Kramer): (Iconic, especially for VFX) 👽
- Ben Marriot: (Great for motion graphics) 🖌️
- Justin Odisho: (Covers a wide range of Adobe products) 💡
- Ducky 3D: (Often mixes AE with Blender, good for general motion principles) 🦆
- Online Courses (Paid): For more structured learning:
- Skillshare: Huge variety of AE courses. 🎨
- Udemy: Another popular platform with many options. 🖥️
- Domestika: High-quality courses from professionals. 🌟
- School of Motion: Their paid courses are top-tier for serious learners. 🥇
- Practice Projects: Don’t just watch, do! Try to replicate effects you see or come up with your own simple projects. 🚀
Step 5: ✨ Practice, Experiment & Build Your Portfolio ✨
- Daily Practice: Consistency is key! Even 15-30 minutes a day can make a huge difference. 💪
- Challenge Yourself: Try to animate something new each week. 🎯
- Deconstruct & Reconstruct: Watch animations you admire and try to figure out how they were made. Then, try to recreate them. 🕵️♀️
- Don’t Be Afraid to Break Things: Experimentation is crucial. You’ll learn a lot from making mistakes and figuring out how to fix them. 💥
- Build a Showreel/Portfolio: As you create projects, compile your best work into a showreel. This is essential if you want to work professionally. 🌟
🙏 Final Tips! 🙏
- Be Patient: After Effects has a steep learning curve initially, but it gets easier with practice. Don’t get discouraged! 🐢
- Join Communities: Reddit (r/AfterEffects), Facebook groups, and Discord servers are great places to ask questions and share your work. 🤝
- Have Fun! After Effects is an incredibly powerful and creative tool. Enjoy the process of bringing your ideas to life! 🎉
Good luck on your After Effects journey! You’ve got this! 🌟
