Discovery

This lesson goes over what you will be learning in the Intro to After Effects module and introduces Adobe After Effects as a powerful compositing and animation tool used to combine visuals, create effects, and build 2.5D animated projects. It also explains how students will use After Effects to animate characters, move graphics through 3D space, format projects for different platforms, and build a practical animation pipeline through repetition and experimentation.

This lesson introduces keyframes as the main way to create movement and change over time in After Effects. Students learn how different keyframe types—linear, bezier, easy ease, and hold—affect motion, timing, and interpolation so their animations feel more polished and believable.

This lesson walks students through the After Effects interface, showing how the main panels, workspaces, menus, and preferences are organized. It also helps beginners get comfortable with important settings like auto-save, memory, cache, previews, labels, and performance so they can work faster and avoid common workflow issues later.

This lesson walks students through the fundamentals of working with text in After Effects, including creating text layers, choosing fonts, adjusting color, spacing, stroke, alignment, and paragraph settings. It also introduces a few practical text workflow tips, like installing fonts, converting Photoshop text into editable After Effects text, and using the Character and Paragraph panels more confidently.

This lesson shows students how to use the Project Panel as the main place for importing, organizing, and managing media in After Effects. It also covers key project settings, file types, footage interpretation, proxies, and workflow tools that help keep bigger animation projects organized and running smoothly.

This lesson introduces cameras in After Effects and shows how they can add cinematography, depth, focus, and movement through 3D space. Students learn the basics of one-node and two-node cameras, depth of field, camera tools, motion blur, auto-orient, and simple expression-based camera movement.

This lesson explains how compositions work as the main workspace where students combine media, set frame size, duration, frame rate, resolution, and 3D rendering options. It also walks through the Composition Panel tools so students can navigate, preview, align, crop, compare, and manage their scenes more confidently.

This lesson introduces lights and material settings in After Effects, showing how 3D layers can receive light, cast shadows, and take on different surface qualities like flat, shiny, or metallic. It also explains how to use these tools tastefully so they add depth and mood without overcomplicating the project or slowing down render times.

This lesson gives students a deeper look at the Timeline Panel, where they’ll organize layers, control visibility, blending, motion blur, parenting, playback, and timing. It also introduces different layer types and the Flowchart view, helping students understand how to keep complex After Effects projects clean, flexible, and easier to manage.

This lesson introduces the Paint tools in After Effects, including the Brush, Eraser, Clone Stamp, and Motion Sketch tools. Students learn how to create animated brush strokes, erase or reveal parts of a layer, clone visual details, and record hand-drawn cursor movement to add a more organic feel to their animations.

This lesson gives students a practical tour of the After Effects toolbar, covering the main tools they’ll use to select, move, zoom, rotate, draw shapes, create masks, add text, and work in 3D space. It also introduces more advanced tools like Roto Brush, Puppet Pins, painting, cloning, and erasing so students know what’s available as they build their workflow.

This lesson explains how audio fits into animation, from scoring and syncing dialogue to lip-sync and sound design. Students learn how to import audio, read waveforms, adjust volume levels, balance a mix, and use basic audio effects inside After Effects.

This lesson digs deeper into shapes, masks, and paths, showing how they can be used to create visuals, hide or reveal parts of an image, animate custom forms, and control complex designs. It also introduces practical masking and rotoscoping techniques, plus useful path tools like null controllers that make animation more flexible and easier to manage.

This lesson introduces expressions and scripts as powerful ways to automate repetitive tasks, link properties, create loops, add random motion, and build more efficient After Effects projects. Students learn basic expressions like wiggle, time, and loop, while also getting a first look at scripts, presets, and third-party tools that can speed up their workflow.

This lesson gives students a broad tour of After Effects effects and adjustment layers, showing how different categories like blur, color correction, distortion, generate, matte, stylize, and time effects can change or enhance a project. It’s meant to be used like a reference guide, helping students learn the most useful effects first and experiment with others as their workflow grows.

This lesson walks students through the rendering process in After Effects, including previews, pre-renders, the Render Queue, output settings, codecs, image sequences, proxies, and Adobe Media Encoder. It helps demystify how to export projects efficiently while choosing the right format for works-in-progress, final videos, or professional delivery.

In this lesson, you'll learn the core transform properties that drive animation in After Effects, including anchor point, position, scale, rotation, and opacity. You'll also explore how these controls work in 3D space, how to use tools like the Pan Behind tool and Pick Whip, and how null objects can be used to control and organize more complex animations.

This final lesson shows students how to clean up and organize After Effects projects so files stay linked, easy to manage, and ready to hand off to clients, studios, or other artists. It also wraps up the Intro to After Effects module by reinforcing the importance of structure, problem-solving, and using these lessons as a reference library moving forward.

This lesson introduces the 2D Animation Fundamentals module, where students start applying the After Effects tools they learned to create real animated work. It gives a quick preview of upcoming skills like graph editor animation, text and logo animation, shapes, masks, puppet tools, expressions, 2.5D camera moves, and a final looping portfolio project.

This lesson teaches students how to create smooth and engaging transitions between scenes, objects, and ideas using techniques like snapping, swiping, morphing, fragmenting, overlapping, and distraction. Students then apply these methods by animating transitions between icon designs, helping them build more stylish and professional motion graphics sequences.

This lesson introduces the Graph Editor as one of the most important tools for controlling timing, weight, speed, and personality in After Effects animation. Students then apply those skills by creating a looping vignette animation, adjusting f-curves, styling the motion, and exporting the final piece as a GIF.

This lesson teaches students the fundamentals of kinetic typography, from using text animators, range selectors, 3D text, blur, fill, stroke, spacing, and expression-based motion to create more dynamic type animations. In Part II, students build on those tools with professional techniques like mattes, melting text, liquid reveals, brush-style strokes, and layered lettering animations for portfolio-ready work.

This lesson teaches students how to use shape objects to create more polished 2D animations, starting with a bouncing ball exercise that builds motion, rotation, weight, squash and stretch, character, and camera shake. It also covers more advanced shape workflows, including creating complex designs, importing graphics from Photoshop and Illustrator, converting vectors into editable After Effects shapes, and animating objects like a record player, headphones, and vintage audio devices.

This lesson expands on expressions by showing students how to automate more complex animation behaviors, link properties, create reusable controls, and save time with expression presets or tools like KBar and Mute. Students explore practical expressions for wiggle, loops, random motion, counters, gravity, elastic movement, markers, switches, and controllers so they can build smarter, more flexible After Effects projects.

This lesson teaches students how to use shape modifiers like Merge Paths, Offset Paths, Repeater, Trim Paths, Wiggle Paths, and more to create dynamic, flexible animations. Students then apply those tools through practical projects like animated channel scenes and an airline safety card, giving them more creative ways to bring simple shapes and paths to life.

This lesson explores the creative thinking behind logo animation by studying a wide range of professional examples, from simple and elegant reveals to complex, clever, character-based, and motion-driven designs. Students then apply these ideas by choosing two provided logos and animating each using one of the techniques discussed in the lesson.

This lesson shows students how simple paths and lines can be used to communicate objects, ideas, and even complex concepts through shape, motion, and visual metaphor. Students then practice creating elemental animations and more abstract concept-based animations using line work, color, timing, and movement.

This lesson introduces a wide range of After Effects tools, scripts, plugins, and extensions that can speed up animation workflows, improve organization, simplify rigging, enhance path animation, and automate repetitive tasks. It also explains which tools are must-haves versus nice-to-haves, while encouraging students to explore the resources that best fit their own workflow.

This lesson introduces several ways to stylize After Effects animations so they feel more unique, handmade, and visually interesting. Students explore techniques like shimmy, noise, texture, scribble, fuzzy edges, and fluid effects, then apply them through a series of creative practice assignments.

This lesson guides students through the final portfolio project for the 2D Animation Fundamentals module: creating a polished looping animation that shows off their skills in motion, style, transitions, typography, logos, paths, and effects. It also walks through different ways to approach the project, including using stock assets, referencing inspiration responsibly, or designing original graphics from scratch.

This lesson introduces Blender as the main 3D software used throughout the curriculum and explains why it’s such a powerful, accessible tool for animation students. Students will learn how Blender fits into the larger 3D pipeline, why its free and open-source structure matters, and how to download and install it before moving forward.

In this lesson, students are introduced to rigging fundamentals in Blender through parenting and constraints, learning how objects can control, follow, limit, or influence one another. They’ll practice building simple parent-child relationships and experimenting with different constraints so they can start understanding the systems behind object-based animation.

This lesson gives students a guided tour of Blender’s interface, key panels, hotkeys, and workspace setup so the software feels less overwhelming from the start. It also walks through recommended keymap and tablet/mouse settings to make navigating, transforming objects, and following future lessons much easier.

In this lesson, students learn how Blender armatures and bones work as the foundation for more advanced rigging and character control. They’ll explore bone structure, display options, envelopes, FK vs. IK, bone constraints, custom controls, pole targets, Spline IK, bone collections, and color organization so they can better understand how complex rigs are built and animated.

In this lesson, students learn how to confidently move around Blender’s 3D Viewport using tools like orbit, pan, zoom, camera view, orthographic views, Quad View, the numpad, and the 3D cursor. They’ll practice navigating both simple objects and a house model so working in 3D space starts to feel more natural.

In this lesson, students learn how skinning and weight painting connect a mesh to an armature so characters and organic objects can deform naturally. They’ll practice automatic weights, vertex groups, brush tools, falloff settings, and cleanup techniques so they can better understand how rigs influence geometry during animation.

In this lesson, students learn how to select objects in Blender and transform them using move, rotate, scale, snapping, pivot points, transform orientations, and the 3D cursor. They’ll practice manipulating objects in a table scene so they can get comfortable with the core tools used to position and organize anything in 3D space.

In this lesson, students learn how Blender’s Meta-Rigs and Rigify system make character rigging faster by providing ready-made bone structures and controls for humans, animals, and other characters. They’ll explore body movement, joint types, bone placement, rest poses, rig generation, automatic weights, and common setup issues so they can understand the full process of turning a character model into an animatable rig.

In this lesson, students learn how to manipulate objects in Blender by editing vertices, edges, faces, curves, surfaces, metaballs, and text. They’ll explore key tools like Edit Mode, proportional editing, selection menus, deleting, extruding, merging, and curve controls so they can start reshaping objects with more confidence.

In this lesson, students learn how Rigify controllers work and how they make character animation much easier by organizing complex bone systems into usable controls. They’ll explore controller properties, FK/IK switching, rig layers, custom bone shapes, color sets, and the main control groups so they feel more prepared to animate a fully rigged character.

In this lesson, students learn how to use Collections in Blender to organize objects, manage visibility, control render settings, and keep complex scenes easier to work with. They’ll explore the Outliner, collection options, restriction toggles, and filtering tools so their projects stay clean and manageable as they grow.

In this lesson, students bring together the full rigging workflow by fitting a Meta-Rig to a character, generating controls, connecting separate elements like eyes, teeth, tongue, and hair, and customizing the rig for easier animation. They’ll also refine the character through weight painting and final control adjustments so the finished rig is ready for animation.

In this lesson, students get a guided tour of Blender’s different workspaces and how each layout supports a specific part of the 3D production pipeline, from modeling and sculpting to shading, animation, rendering, and compositing. They’ll learn which workspaces matter most for animation while getting a basic understanding of how the rest of Blender’s tools fit into the bigger picture.

In this lesson, students are introduced to animation timing in Blender by learning how frame rate, playback settings, and the timeline work together to create motion. They’ll explore 24fps, timeline controls, audio importing, markers, frame ranges, and playback options so they’re ready to start keyframing in the next lesson.

In this lesson, students are introduced to Blender’s core modeling tools and learn how to use features like extrude, inset, bevel, loop cut, knife, smooth, and more to shape and refine geometry. They’ll experiment with these tools on different objects and set up a TurboSquid account so they can begin working with real 3D models in future lessons.

In this lesson, students learn what keyframes are and how they are used in Blender to create animation over time. They’ll practice setting, deleting, copying, moving, labeling, and auto-keying keyframes so they can start building simple animated motion with confidence.

In this lesson, students go beyond Blender’s basic modeling toolbox and explore more advanced tools found in the Vertex, Edge, and Face menus. They’ll experiment with techniques like beveling, bridging, subdividing, filling, triangulating, booleans, smoothing, and creasing so they can better understand different ways to modify and refine 3D models.

In this lesson, students learn how the Dope Sheet gives them a deeper way to view, organize, and edit keyframes beyond the basic timeline. They’ll practice working with channels, interpolation, handle types, actions, and a bouncing ball exercise so they can better control timing and animation data in Blender.

In this lesson, students apply Blender’s modeling tools to a more complex excavator model, practicing how to construct, adjust, and deconstruct geometry using techniques like deleting, ripping, bridging, beveling, booleans, and proportional editing. They’ll also learn the difference between hard-surface and organic modeling while building a better understanding of topology and how clean geometry affects a 3D model.

In this lesson, students learn how Blender’s Nonlinear Animation Editor lets them organize, layer, blend, and reuse multiple animations as editable action strips. They’ll practice creating separate actions, pushing them into the NLA Editor, adjusting timing, mixing tracks, and baking animation so they can better manage more complex animated sequences.

In this lesson, students learn how Blender modifiers work as flexible, non-destructive tools for editing, generating, deforming, and refining objects. They’ll explore a wide range of modifiers through hands-on examples so they can better understand how to create complex effects, clean up geometry, and build more capable animation-ready scenes.

In this lesson, students learn how the Graph Editor gives them deeper control over animation by showing how values change over time through F-Curves. They’ll practice adjusting handles, interpolation, easing, curve modifiers, and dynamic effects so they can create motion that feels more natural, weighted, and polished.

In this lesson, students learn how to create useful shapes and quick geometry in Blender, including sweep curves, custom curves, vector-based objects, circular arrays, path objects, and randomized object layouts. They’ll practice building flexible scene elements and simple props so they can become more self-sufficient when creating or modifying objects for animation projects.

In this lesson, students get a broad introduction to Blender’s effects and physics tools, including rigid bodies, particles, forces, soft bodies, cloth, dynamic paint, fluids, fire, smoke, and ocean simulations. They’ll learn how procedural systems can create complex natural motion that would be difficult to keyframe by hand, giving them a better sense of what’s possible for enhancing 3D animation projects.

In this lesson, students get introduced to Blender’s Sculpt Mode and learn how different brush tools can push, pull, smooth, paint, mask, and deform geometry. They’ll experiment with sculpting brushes and Dyntopo so they can better understand how mesh can be shaped more organically, even if modeling is not their main focus as animators.

In this lesson, students learn how cameras work in Blender and how framing, focal length, depth of field, safe areas, and camera views shape the way an animation is presented. They’ll practice positioning cameras, adjusting lens settings, and exploring different angles so they can use camerawork to strengthen storytelling, scale, and visual impact.

In this lesson, students are introduced to Blender’s Shader Editor and learn how materials, nodes, viewport shading modes, image textures, world shaders, and render engines work together to define the look of 3D objects. They’ll experiment with nodes like Principled BSDF, image textures, color controls, bump, displacement, and other shader types so they can start building their own materials with more confidence.

In this lesson, students learn how to animate cameras in Blender and use shot types, camera rigs, camera switching, walk/fly navigation, and motion tracking concepts to create more dynamic scenes. They’ll practice building camera angles and cuts for an animated sequence so the final presentation feels more cinematic and intentional.

In this lesson, students learn how to control and apply image textures, normal maps, bump maps, and procedural textures inside Blender. They’ll also explore BlenderKit as a resource for finding ready-made materials, helping them create better-looking scenes faster without needing to build every shader from scratch.

In this lesson, students learn how rendering works in Blender and how Workbench, Eevee, and Cycles each create different types of final images. They’ll explore key render settings, lighting behavior, sampling, ray tracing, motion blur, culling, and third-party render engines so they can start producing cleaner, more polished renders for their animation projects.

In this lesson, students learn how UV unwrapping works in Blender and how 2D texture maps connect to 3D geometry. They’ll practice using seams, projection methods, UV editing tools, and texture coordinates so they can place, adjust, and control textures more accurately on their models.

In this lesson, students learn how to render final image sequences from Blender using passes, Multi-Layer EXR files, high-res PNGs, playblasts, and export settings for compositing in After Effects. They’ll also explore render regions, metadata, 3D data export, and render farms so they understand how Blender output fits into a professional post-production pipeline.

In this lesson, students learn how to use Blender’s Texture Paint workflow to paint directly onto 3D models and their UV maps. They’ll practice setting up paintable textures, using brushes, masks, local view, and texture-based brush settings so they can add more custom detail to organic models.

In this lesson, students explore different render styles in Blender, including Freestyle outlines, toon shaders, comic-style shaders, and low-poly looks. They’ll experiment with stylized rendering tools and artist-made shader resources so they can create more unique visual directions beyond standard realistic renders.

In this lesson, students learn how Blender’s different light types work and how each one affects the mood, visibility, and shadows in a scene. They’ll experiment with point, spot, area, and sun lights while adjusting real-time shadow settings to better understand how lighting can support storytelling and visual clarity.

In this lesson, students get a beginner-friendly comparison of Autodesk Maya and Blender so they can see how familiar 3D fundamentals carry across different software. They’ll explore Maya’s interface, navigation, modeling, shaders, rigging, animation, dynamics, rendering, and cross-platform file formats so Maya feels less intimidating if they encounter it in a studio workflow.

In this lesson, students learn how to create practical lighting setups in Blender, starting with classic three-point lighting and expanding into more dramatic scene-based approaches. They’ll practice lighting single characters, multiple characters, and full environments so they can use light and shadow to guide attention, set mood, and support storytelling.

In this lesson, students get a beginner-friendly comparison of Cinema 4D and Blender so they can see how the same 3D fundamentals carry across different software. They’ll explore Cinema 4D’s interface, navigation, modeling, materials, animation, dynamics, MoGraph, rendering, and file-sharing options so the software feels more familiar and less intimidating.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the Intro to 3D Animation module and get a clear preview of the animation principles they’ll be learning next. They’ll begin shifting from general Blender tools into core animation concepts like physics, timing, squash and stretch, anticipation, arcs, exaggeration, and appeal.

In this lesson, students learn how arcs make animation feel more natural, dynamic, and believable by reflecting the way objects move under gravity. They’ll animate cannonballs fired at different angles so they can practice creating realistic curved motion paths with proper timing and spacing.

In this lesson, students learn how an object’s physical properties, like mass, volume, density, weight, shape, hardness, elasticity, and material, affect the way it should move in animation. They’ll study different Blender examples to better understand how observing real-world behavior helps create motion that feels believable and intentional.

In this lesson, students learn how follow-through and overlapping action help create believable momentum by showing that different parts of an object or character do not all move at the same speed. They’ll animate both a hard-surface Bumba Box and a flexible flower so they can practice creating motion that feels weighted, delayed, and more natural.

In this lesson, students learn how different forces, like gravity, friction, applied force, tension, spring motion, drag, magnetism, buoyancy, and muscular force, affect the way objects move. They’ll practice animating these forces in Blender so they can create more believable motion based on real-world physics and observation.

In this lesson, students learn how squash and stretch helps animation feel more alive by showing weight, flexibility, gravity, and impact. They’ll use the Escargot rig to practice deforming a character as it moves across a log, building on the classic bouncing ball exercise in a more character-driven way.

In this lesson, students begin exploring the principles of animation in 3D by focusing on slow-in and slow-out, which creates the feeling of acceleration and deceleration. They’ll use the Bumba rig, a ramp animation, the Graph Editor, and onion skinning tools to better understand spacing and make their motion feel more natural and appealing.

In this lesson, students learn how anticipation prepares the audience for an upcoming action and helps motion feel more believable, weighted, and intentional. They’ll animate the Bumba rig descending a series of platforms while using anticipation, squash and stretch, arcs, and basic physics to create stronger animated movement.

In this lesson, students learn the difference between straight-ahead action and pose-to-pose animation, and when each method is most useful. They’ll practice using the Bumba Box rig to animate one box between key poses and another frame-by-frame so they can better understand how different techniques create different types of motion.

In this lesson, students learn how exaggeration can push animation beyond realism to make actions feel more entertaining, intense, and memorable. They’ll use the Puffer rig to animate an exaggerated blow-up and shrinking motion while experimenting with the animation principles they’ve learned so far.

In this lesson, students learn how timing affects the way an audience perceives motion, weight, force, and believability in animation. They’ll use the Bumba Box rig to animate two boxes pushing crates with different timing so one feels light and easy to move while the other feels heavier and more resistant.

In this lesson, students learn how appeal brings personality, creativity, and visual interest to animation once the core mechanics are working. They’ll animate a race between two Escargot rigs, using their own ideas to make the motion feel fun, surprising, and engaging.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the Fundamental Character Animation module, where they’ll shift from animating objects to bringing character rigs to life. They’ll learn rig controls, posing, blocking, walk cycles, run cycles, personality, and polish so they can build stronger character animation skills in Blender.

In this lesson, students learn how to build a lower body walk cycle by focusing on contact poses, transfer poses, timing, hip movement, foot placement, and clean looping mechanics. They’ll refine the walk in the Graph Editor with details like foot slap, leg swing, hip sway, and subtle offsets so the character’s movement feels more natural and believable.

In this lesson, students get reacquainted with character rigs and explore how different rigs are used throughout The Animation Society curriculum. They’ll review Blender Studio rigs, learn about the TAS character lineup, and begin working with the customizable Poly twins as their main rigs for posing, walk cycles, run cycles, and portfolio practice.

In this lesson, students build on the lower body walk cycle by animating the arms, torso, head, and full-body weight shifts to create a complete character walk. They’ll refine arcs, offsets, follow-through, looping, timing, and forward translation so the walk feels balanced, natural, and ready to use in more complex character animation.

In this lesson, students learn how strong character poses start with clear silhouettes that communicate action, balance, personality, and appeal from the camera’s point of view. They’ll create multiple poses with the Poly rigs, refine them through a silhouette view.

In this lesson, students learn how to create a run cycle by building the key poses that make running different from walking, including contact, kickoff, transfer, and up poses. They’ll refine the torso, hands, head, ponytail, looping, NLA setup, and forward translation so the run feels energetic, balanced, and believable.

In this lesson, students learn how blocking helps them plan character animation by laying out key poses, breakdowns, timing, and camera framing before refining the final motion. They’ll practice using stepped keyframes to rough out action scenes so they can experiment with ideas, solve timing issues early, and build a stronger animation foundation.

In this lesson, students learn how to add personality and polish to walk and run cycles so character movement feels more unique, expressive, and story-driven. They’ll explore reference, exaggeration, cycle reuse, animation copying, and NLA layering to turn basic locomotion into portfolio-worthy character performance.

This lesson introduces the After Effects for Motion Graphics module, where students begin building the essential skills used in real client and studio work, including text animation, greenscreen keying, stabilization, tracking, and integrating graphics with video. Students will also set up a free Pexels account so they can access unique footage for assignments and start creating portfolio-ready motion graphics projects.

This lesson introduces transitions in After Effects, showing students how to move creatively from one shot or scene to another using wipes, pans, zooms, shapes, glitches, parallax, 3D moves, textures, particles, and more. Students will study a wide range of transition techniques and then create five original transition sequences using different styles.

This lesson introduces color control in After Effects, covering the difference between color correction and color grading while teaching students how to use Lumetri Color to adjust exposure, white balance, contrast, LUTs, and stylized looks. Students will experiment with provided footage to practice building a clean color-correction workflow and create more polished, professional-looking motion graphics projects.

This lesson introduces collages in motion graphics, showing students how to combine images, videos, tiles, camera movement, 3D space, scripts, and particle systems to tell richer visual stories in a short amount of time. Students will practice building and animating their own collage using custom visuals, tile systems, camera moves, and motion techniques inside After Effects.

This lesson introduces chroma keying in After Effects, showing students how to remove green or blue screen backgrounds and composite footage, graphics, and environments together using tools like Keylight. Students will practice creating clean keys in common real-world scenarios, including low-resolution footage, fine hair, motion blur, shallow focus, inconsistent backgrounds, and screen replacements.

This lesson teaches students how to bring still images to life using parallax, creating the illusion of depth by separating artwork into layers and moving closer objects faster than those farther away. Students will practice both the Null Method and Camera Method, then build their own layered parallax animation for their portfolio.

This lesson introduces tracking in After Effects, showing students how to extract motion, rotation, scale, and camera movement from live-action footage so graphics feel naturally integrated into the scene. Students will practice using Track Motion, Boris FX Mocha, Corner Pin, the Smoother panel, and Camera Tracking to attach text, screens, effects, and 3D-style elements to moving footage.

This lesson gives students a broader look at advanced After Effects effects and popular third-party tools used throughout the motion graphics industry, including simulation effects, VR tools, Magic Bullet, Trapcode, Video Copilot, Plexus, and RSMB. While there is no formal assignment, students are encouraged to explore the project file as a reference library and start identifying which tools may become useful in their own creative workflow.

This lesson introduces masking in After Effects as one of the most essential motion graphics techniques for hiding, revealing, compositing, and placing graphics or effects into live-action footage. Students will practice practical masking, rotoscoping, Auto-Trace, Roto Brush, Refine Edge, and tracking-based workflows to solve real creative challenges in post-production.

This portfolio lesson challenges students to create a 15–20 second tourism campaign ad using real footage and images, while applying the key After Effects skills from the module like color control, tracking, masking, stabilization, and transitions. Students can also push the project further by adding a collage or parallax shot, giving them a polished portfolio piece that shows they can combine multiple techniques into a professional-looking motion graphics project.

This lesson introduces stabilization in After Effects, showing students how to smooth shaky footage, remove unwanted camera movement, repair motion blur or rolling shutter issues, and prepare footage for cleaner motion graphics work. Students will practice using Stabilize Motion, Warp Stabilizer, Camera-Shake Deblur, Rolling Shutter Repair, and even add camera shake back in when it helps create more energy.

This lesson introduces 3 different After Effects kits:

The Award Ceremony Kit is a customizable After Effects template designed to help students quickly create elegant event graphics.

The Ultimate Maps Kit is a powerful template system that helps students quickly create animated maps with countries, states, cities, routes, markers and more. 

The Whiteboard Starter Kit helps students create polished whiteboard-style animations.