Creating a Personal Animation: Intro to Adobe After Effects

Want to add motion into your creative toolkit? Join artist and animator Chris George to learn how to create the perfect personal project for getting started with animation. 

In this demystifying and super actionable class, Chris walks you through the basics of After Effects by showing you how to design and animate your first animation. The class pairs step-by-step actions with practical demonstrations so you can get a deeper grasp of how the techniques are being used. By the end of the course, you’ll have a holistic understanding of After Effects and a personal animation that you can use all across the web. Along the way you’ll learn how to:

• Animate text in three different ways
• Design a simple character with movement in mind
• Combine text and image in an eye catching final animation

But more importantly, you’ll gain an understanding and confidence with After Effects most important features: Text Layers, Shape Layers, Nulls, Masks, Velocity, and Effects. Once you have this foundation, you’ll be able to start your journey in animation and advance your motion graphic skills.

Rather than beginning in design software like Illustrator or Photoshop, this course is design as you go, and can be completed entirely in After Effects. Starting with font and color choice, you’ll have the opportunity to personalize your project without spending hours designing from scratch. 

While aimed at beginners, this class is also valuable for intermediate animators looking to deepen your fundamental knowledge of the software or to gain insight into a professional workflow. 

Note: All you need to complete the class is a copy of After Effects.

• Introduction
• Getting Started
• Designing Your Text
• Reveal Text With A Pop
• Revealing Text with Scale
• Revealing Text With Cascading Type
• Creating a Transition
• Designing Your Character
• Animating Your Character
• Bringing Everything Together
• Polishing Your Animation
• Exporting and Final Thoughts