After Effects Course

Lesson 1 • Project Setup and Asset Import

Configure project settings and import footage, images, and audio correctly. Proper setup prevents downstream rendering and colour issues.

Lesson 2 • Layers and Layer Types Overview

Distinguish between footage, solid, shape, text, null, and adjustment layers. Understanding layer types is foundational to all compositing tasks.

Lesson 3 • Workspace Layout and Panels

Identify every default panel and its function within the interface. Establishes spatial awareness needed for all subsequent workflow tasks.

Lesson 4 • Composition Settings Fundamentals

Create and configure compositions with correct resolution, duration, and pixel aspect. Composition settings directly control output quality.

Lesson 1 • Animation Principles in Practice

Apply squash, stretch, anticipation, and follow-through to digital motion. Connecting classical principles to keyframe data elevates animation quality.

Lesson 2 • Transform Properties and Keyframes

Animate position, scale, rotation, and opacity using keyframes on the timeline. These five properties form the basis of all layer animation.

Lesson 3 • Motion Paths and Spatial Control

Edit curved motion paths directly in the composition viewer for precise trajectories. Spatial path control complements temporal easing for complete motion design.

Lesson 4 • Graph Editor Mastery

Manipulate speed and value graphs to craft precise acceleration curves. The graph editor is the primary tool for professional-quality motion refinement.

Lesson 1 • Text Animators and Range Selectors

Use text animators with range selectors to animate individual characters and words. Animators enable complex per-character motion without manual keyframing.

Lesson 2 • 3D Text and Extrusion Basics

Enable 3D on text layers and use Cinema 4D renderer for basic extrusion. Introduces depth and dimensionality to typography within After Effects.

Lesson 3 • Text Animation Presets

Browse, apply, and customise built-in text animation presets for rapid production. Presets accelerate workflow while serving as learning templates for custom animators.

Lesson 4 • Kinetic Typography Techniques

Synchronise text animation to audio and build expressive word-by-word motion. Kinetic typography combines timing, hierarchy, and motion for communicative impact.

Lesson 1 • Drawing and Editing Shape Layers

Create rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and freeform paths using shape tools. Shape layers are resolution-independent and central to motion graphics production.

Lesson 2 • Repeater and Pattern Creation

Use the Repeater operator to clone shapes with offset transforms for pattern design. Repeaters create grids, radial patterns, and complex layouts from a single shape.

Lesson 3 • Path Operations and Modifiers

Apply Trim Paths, Pucker & Bloat, Wiggle Paths, and other modifiers to shapes. Path operations generate complex organic forms without manual keyframing.

Lesson 4 • Shape Layer Groups and Transforms

Organise shapes into groups with independent transform properties for hierarchical control. Group transforms enable complex multi-part animations from a single layer.

Lesson 1 • Green Screen and Keying Basics

Remove green and blue screen backgrounds using Keylight and matte refinement tools. Keying integrates live footage into motion graphics and composite scenes.

Lesson 2 • Creating and Animating Masks

Draw bezier and shape masks to isolate or reveal portions of a layer. Masks are the primary non-destructive visibility tool in After Effects.

Lesson 3 • Track Mattes for Layer Control

Use Alpha and Luma mattes to control layer visibility through another layer's content. Track mattes enable complex reveals and texture-fill effects.

Lesson 4 • Pre-composing and Nesting

Collapse layers into pre-compositions to manage complexity and apply effects globally. Pre-composing is the primary organisational and compositing architecture tool.

Lesson 1 • Colour Correction Fundamentals

Adjust exposure, contrast, and white balance using Levels, Curves, and Hue/Saturation. Colour correction ensures footage consistency before creative grading.

Lesson 2 • Essential Visual Effects

Use blur, glow, drop shadow, and distortion effects to enhance motion graphics. These core effects appear in nearly every professional motion design project.

Lesson 3 • Animating Effects and Saving Presets

Keyframe effect parameters to create animated transitions and save reusable effect presets. Animated effects and saved presets dramatically accelerate production pipelines.

Lesson 4 • Lumetri Colour for Creative Grading

Apply cinematic looks using Lumetri Colour's Basic, Creative, and Curves sections. Lumetri provides a non-destructive, professional colour grading pipeline.

Lesson 1 • Essential Expression Methods

Use wiggle, loopOut, time, and value expressions for common automation tasks. These five methods solve the majority of real-world expression use cases.

Lesson 2 • Building Procedural Animation Systems

Combine expressions with shape layers and nulls to build self-animating rigs. Procedural systems enable complex motion from minimal manual input.

Lesson 3 • Introduction to Expressions

Enable expressions via the pickwhip and write basic value-linking code. Expressions eliminate redundant keyframing by linking properties mathematically.

Lesson 4 • Linking Properties with Expressions

Connect opacity, scale, and position across layers using expression references. Cross-layer linking creates responsive, interconnected animation systems.

Lesson 1 • Render Queue Workflow

Add compositions to the Render Queue and configure output module and render settings. The Render Queue is the native pipeline for lossless and image sequence output.

Lesson 2 • Adobe Media Encoder Integration

Send compositions to Media Encoder for background encoding in delivery formats. Media Encoder enables continued work in After Effects during export.

Lesson 3 • Project Archiving and File Management

Use Collect Files to package projects and manage missing footage for archiving. Proper archiving prevents asset loss and enables future project revisions.

Lesson 4 • Optimising for Web and Social Media

Export GIF, MP4, and WebM files optimised for platform-specific size and quality limits. Web delivery requires balancing visual quality against strict file size constraints.