What Classes to Take to Become an Animator

For aspiring Animators embarking on their educational journey to prepare for their dream career, selecting the most suitable After Effects courses is crucial in mastering the craft and enhancing their prospects in the competitive field of animation. The short answer is that which After Effects classes are the best to prepare for an Animator career will vary from person to person based on a variety of circumstances. After Effects bootcamps and live online and in-person short courses are the preferred choice of most learners on track to become professional Animators. However, others may prefer to learn via on-demand classes. It’s important to note that expertise in After Effects isn’t the only thing you need to launch an animation career, and some choose a certificate program or even a college degree for learning After Effects and other tools and skills of animation. This resource will explore various ways to learn After Effects and other animation topics and how to determine which may be the best for you.

Career-Focused Certificate Programs for Animators

As a career offering the rare combination of creative work and job stability, animation is a highly competitive field. While a portfolio demonstrating the professional quality of your work is the number one factor in landing an entry-level Animator job, a significant amount of training is required to make those stand-out animation projects and excel on the job. Adobe After Effects is an essential component of an aspiring Animator’s arsenal of expertise, but Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, and other tools of the trade are also necessary knowledge for Animators—not to mention the skills needed to bring characters to life and tell compelling stories with these technical tools.

Many aspiring Animators choose to attend a career-focused certificate program in animation or motion graphics. A Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate is an excellent comprehensive solution for aspiring Animators, providing a well-rounded foundation in the essential tools and skills of the animation field. These courses are available in-person and live online, with both options connecting students with live expert instructors to mentor them through their learning journey and creating an impressive portfolio of animation projects that will grab the attention of hiring managers. 

Of course, if you’ve already mastered the other skills of animation and are looking for courses exclusively focused on After Effects, a certificate program is not the solution for you. Additionally, you should be aware that certificate programs can cost several thousand dollars and several weeks to a few months of your time. While countless Animators find this investment more than pays off in the effectiveness of career-focused certificate program’s preparation in securing an Animator position.

After Effects Certification-Prep Courses

Earning an Adobe Certified Professional certification in After Effects can be an excellent way to add an impressive line to your resume to showcase your expertise in the application. While you can use a certificate program or multiple short courses to gain the knowledge and experience needed to pass the certification exam. However, you can also enroll in a comprehensive After Effects Certification Program that provides all the training you need to prepare for the exam. Sometimes the cost of the exam and a free retake should you fail to pass the first time are included in the tuition of these programs.

Smaller, Shorter Classes

Not every aspiring Animator can commit to a comprehensive certificate program or certification-prep course. Life’s demands—be they financial constraints, family obligations, or a packed work schedule—can make such a major commitment daunting. If this is the case for you, you can build your animation expertise piece by piece through short courses and focused workshops on individual tools and techniques to launch your dream career. This á la carte approach to learning After Effects and other animation skills offers flexibility, allowing you to learn at the pace that suits your lifestyle. However, it’s important to recognize that this path, while initially more budget-friendly, can accumulate costs over time and can require more self-motivation than a structured program. If smaller, shorter classes align with your needs, here’s a curated list of classes to include in your custom animation learning path featuring After Effects and other tools and skills of the trade.

Introductory After Effects Courses

A foundational course in After Effects is an excellent place to begin your educational journey in animation. Professional training centers provide classes for beginners with various lengths and scopes. Some, like Noble Desktop’s After Effects in a Day, are more minimalistic introductions to the basics, and are ideal launching pads for learners who feel confident in experimenting with the program themselves to master the essentials. The alternative is an immersive After Effects Bootcamp, which, at 18 hours, will guide a beginner to a fairly advanced level of knowledge of the program for a bit larger of a financial investment. An After Effects bootcamp is nowhere near as expensive, lengthy, or extensive of an education as a comprehensive animation or motion graphics bootcamp, so you’ll want to follow up with advanced After Effects courses and classes in other elements of animation to be fully prepared to begin applying for Animator jobs.

Advanced After Effects Courses

Once you’ve built a solid foundation in After Effects, you’re ready to explore advanced techniques using the tool to elevate your work and help it stand out from the crowd. Advanced After Effects courses may take the form of weekend intensives, month-long part-time bootcamps, designed to accommodate working professionals planning a career pivot into animation. Classes like Noble Desktop’s After Effects Advanced illuminate some of the most complex features and functions of the application, which are vital knowledge for aspiring Animators. Learning how to import and animate vector images, create custom text animators, and use After Effect’s powerful motion tracking tool. Live online or in-person classes are the ideal format for most people, but if your schedule, money, or both is tight, you can use free resources like YouTube videos and online seminars to supplement your knowledge of After Effects. On-demand classes can also be of use if live classes are inaccessible, but the assistance of an instructor in real-time is worth the investment if you can afford it.

Courses in Other Animation Skills

While After Effects is a cornerstone in the Animator’s toolkit, mastering other animation software and skills can significantly elevate your work and help your portfolio stand out in a competitive field. Short courses and bootcamps in programs like Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk Maya, and Blender offer intensive training in digital illustration, 3D modeling, and rigging, respectively. In an industry where versatility is king, focused courses on these and other tools of the trade can provide the diverse skill set needed to make your animation projects in your portfolio dynamic and compelling. Beyond software, short courses in foundational skills like storytelling, character design, and the principles of animation can dramatically enhance the quality of your work, transforming technically proficient animations into emotionally resonant stories.

Portfolio Development

In the competitive field of animation, a well-crafted portfolio showcasing projects made with After Effects and other tools of the trade is an essential asset for aspiring Animators. While the mastery of the technical skills of animation is just as critical to a job candidate’s readiness for their first entry-level position, the ability to demonstrate those skills in the form of a compelling portfolio is paramount in getting a hiring manager’s attention.

While independently assembling that portfolio is possible, a class like Motion Graphics & Video Editing Portfolio Development course is an invaluable alternative. By connecting students with an experienced instructor, a portfolio development class creates space for personalized guidance through the entire assembly process. Constructive feedback and real-time support ensures that a portfolio effectively highlights a person’s animation capabilities. Considering the significance of a strong portfolio in an Animator’s career path, investing in a portfolio development course offers a strategic advantage compared to a self-directed approach.

College Degree Programs

As an aspiring Animator searching for the best After Effects classes, you may have already explored whether a college degree in animation is a good option for you. Several animation bachelors and masters are available, with many of the highest reputed hosted by art and design colleges. These programs are typically two- to four-years, with one benefit over non-credit bootcamps and certificate programs in that they offer more time for students to practice their new animation skills. Animation college programs also often feature curricula covering storytelling, characterization, and some other elements that may not necessarily be covered in a certificate-granting program.

While some animation learners may find they prefer to study After Effects and other skills of the field in a college program, hiring managers almost never ask for a degree in their Animator job descriptions. In most cases, all you need to land your first position in animation is an impressive portfolio full of dynamic projects. Considering the substantial cost and length of college degree programs and how unnecessary they are to landing your dream job, most aspiring Animators prefer not to make such a major investment when shorter and more cost-effective certificate-granting programs are so accessible. However, those with the time, finances, or scholarships to make a college education work for them may find themselves drawn to a college experience and can make it an effective training for them, provided they graduate with the high quality portfolio they need to break into the animation field.

Learn After Effects Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop’s menu of After Effects courses provides a solution for every aspiring Animator, wherever they are in their learning journey. The NYC-based design and tech school provides an After Effects Bootcamp that will take you from beginner to expert in the application in 18 hours of class time. If you’re in the Manhattan area, you can attend this bootcamp in-person—otherwise, you are welcome to attend live online from anywhere around the world. Your tuition covers one bonus one-on-one mentorship session, Noble’s proprietary workbook, a free retake option, and a verified certificate of completion. Whether you attend online or in-person, a live expert instructor will guide you through lecture, discussion, and hands-on exercises through the basics of After Effects and some of the more advanced animation techniques like greenscreen removal and motion tracking. By the end of the course, you’ll be confidently able to create animations using graphics, photos, and text, incorporate video footage, join clips with dynamic transitions, and use other features of After Effects to bring your visions to life.

An Adobe Certified Professional in After Effects certification can help your job applications for Animator, Video Editor, and Motion Graphics Designer positions stand out from the crowd. You need no experience to enroll in Noble Desktop’s After Effects Certification Program, an all-in-one course that will help you reach your goals of a comprehensive knowledge of After Effects and a certification to communicate it to future employers and clients. Noble’s After Effects Certification Program includes the After Effect Bootcamp discussed above and the school’s After Effects Advanced course for a total of 36 classroom hours. Students also receive six hours of one-on-one tutoring, the Adobe Certified Professional exam for After Effects with a free retake, a free retake option for the entire program, and a verified certificate of completion.

After Effects isn’t the only thing you need to know to launch a career as an Animator, Video Editor, or Motion Graphics Designer. Noble Desktop offers a Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate program that provides a comprehensive training, career support, and more benefits that will have you job ready by the end of the program. In addition to the aforementioned After Effects Bootcamp and After Effects Advanced classes, you will also attend modules on Cinema 4D in After Effects, Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, and Photoshop. Finally, in a Motion Graphics & Video Editing Portfolio Development unit, you will receive focused support from your expert instructor in building a professional-quality portfolio that showcases your skills, a vital tool for securing your first job in animation, motion graphics, and video editing. Upon graduating from the program, you’ll receive a verified certificate of completion that you can list under the education section on your resume to communicate your dedication to your professional development.