In this lesson, we’ll finally get to study character design and animation. Firstly, we’ll go through color palettes and talk about the different color combinations you can build, as well as some resources you can use for coming up with the best palettes for your videos. After, we’ll move on to character design, where I’ll show how, with a couple of simple shapes on Illustrator, you can come up with infinite character combinations. Finally, we’ll learn how to prepare our characters for animation, before passing to After Effects, where’ we’ll get to the good stuff. I’m going to show you exactly my process in animating a character and even some life-changing tricks that will push your skills forward.

Post your work on Instagram using the hashtag #motionsecrets and tagging @motiondesignschool to get the chance to be featured in our Home Assignment of the Day posts.

In this lesson, we’ll explore the mighty world of transitions and define the different types of transitions you can achieve within After Effects and the tools you’ll need to get there. We’ll start by explaining the differences between morphing and match cuts, before breaking down a few examples from some of the big names in the industry. After, we’ll move on to planning a transition between two icons, from the design stage until the last keyframe. We’ll have a good look at the anatomy of a smooth transition and you’ll get the chance to practice some more with a couple of exercises at the end.

It’s time to step up our game. In this lesson, you’ll finally get the opportunity to put your skills to the test and bring together everything you’ve learned so far into a single animation. We’re going to create a highly advanced transition between two characters, not forgetting to apply the principles of animation and create some slick character animation. I’m going to show you how I plan and organize complex transitions, breaking down each step along the way.

We’ve arrived at the last practical lesson of our course. To celebrate, we’re going to (quite literally) dive in the fun world of motion and learn how to create one of the most craved animations online: the oddly satisfying loop. I specifically chose a jellyfish for this exercise because I want to show you that no matter the complexity of the subject, anything is possible in the realm of animation. As usual, I’m going to walk you through the preparation of the project and show you how to easily organize your animation. Prepare yourself, this is going to be so smooth and satisfying, people are not going to be able to take their eyes off your loop.

In this lesson, we’re going to step back from After Effects and discuss one of the most important parts of animation: storytelling. Now that I’ve given you the tools to boost your animation skills, it’s time to learn how you can grab your audience and tell your story. You’ll have an exclusive inside look at my pre-production process from my award-winning project “Don’t be a bully, loser”. I’m going to tell you exactly how I approached this video, from the moment I first laid eyes on the script until I completed the final storyboard. We’ll go over the fundamental steps in organizing any type of motion design project and help you understand how you can create your own process.

How does a bonus chapter sound to you? In this lesson, we’re taking a sneak peak behind the curtain and see exactly how the awesome trailer for this course was created. I’ll take you step by step into each scene, giving you all the goods and showing you some neat tricks that can help you speed up your animation process. This final chapter is the perfect ensemble for you to get an idea of how everything we’ve learned over this course can be put together and take an animation from 0 to 100 in no time.

“Don’t be a bully, loser” is the perfect example of a personal project done right: it speaks about an important subject and even though it came out a few years ago, a couple of scenes are still (very much!) part of Emanuele’s reel. The video was also awarded Best Personal Project at the 2017 Motion Awards.

The source files of this project are at your complete disposal, have fun exploring them and understanding how each single detail came to life.

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