This is the quick and easy total beginner’s guide to getting up and running in Adobe After Effects. No experience necessary! I’ll show you how to use the tools inside of the program, animate your design into a loop, and export a GIF in Photoshop to share with your friends!

This course is for anyone interested in motion design. Maybe you're a graphic designer who has always wanted to turn one of your pieces into an animated GIF, or maybe you've never even considered design before but thought animation always looked like something you'd enjoy! Whatever the case may be, this class will get you up and running in the world of motion graphics!

And if you are interested in getting into the world of motion graphics, this class is a great stepping stone to my other After Effects courses. The class I recommend you take next is The Beginner's Guide to Adobe After Effects.

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Class Outline

Create custom .gif files. In this detailed class, Jake will teach you everything you need to know in After Effects to design and create animated GIF files. With the help of his step-by-step instructions, you can quickly learn how to become an animator as Jake walks you through his own animated videos and shows you exactly how he created them.
Making your own. You will be encouraged to create your own animated GIF, something similar to the demonstration example, or wildly original. If you get stuck, you can ask Jake questions on his class discussion page, and when you are finished, you can post your final product for constructive community feedback.
Setting up your workspace. You’ll learn exactly how (and why) Jake organizes his After Effects layout so that you can start your animation project on the right foot. Jake will demonstrate how to import Illustrator files and how to create new compositions of individual layers to make sure you are always moving in the right direction.
Animating layers. After breaking down his file into layers, Jake will discuss how he is able to move individual objects while keeping his background art locked. He will show you how to work with frame-by-frame animation to keep the process simple and your animation smooth.
Working with keyframes. A keyframe is a set of recorded values at a given point in time. You’ll learn how to set keyframes, and to use them properly to perfectly animate your object as it moves through space.
Learning your toolkit. Jake will explore all of the After Effects tools at your disposal, and talk you through how and when to use them. You’ll leave Jake’s lessons with a clearer understanding of your electronic toolkit, and how it can help maximize your creativity and smooth the animation of your GIF.
Rotating objects as they move. You will learn to use keyframes to rotate your design objects and make them appear to move more naturally. Jake will go into detail to make sure that you know the steps you should take to ensure that your object’s every rotation is easy and smooth.
Animating your background. Jake will teach you what a “shape layer” is, and when to use your initial art as a reference point as you work inside After Effects and create dynamic new designs. You’ll also learn how to animate new objects, adjusting their appearance over time to create maximum impact.
Combining layers. Using Jake’s tips, you will group layers together to create new “precompositions” of existing design objects that you can apply animated effects on. You’ll also come away from Jake’s lesson with a better understanding of the tweaks you can use to avoid common challenges, and how to scrub your work to ensure that it animates correctly.
Saving your animation as a GIF. Jake will discuss how to loop your animation to keep your designs coherent as you export them out of After Effects. He also will share his secret tricks to keep your GIF moving exactly as you designed it, no matter what program it ends up in.

Rachel Reinhardt

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