How Much is an Animation Course?

How much an animation course costs is often one of the biggest factors students consider when choosing the right course for them. Although an animation class has the potential to greatly impact your long-term earning potential, a class can still be a steep upfront cost to figure into your budget. While the cost of animation courses will vary from class to class, facility to facility, there is always a cost associated (unless you’re using exclusively free training resources). Your needs as a student should be balanced against the cost of the class. If you’re looking to gain professional-level animation skills and enter the workforce, you’ll want an in-depth option that covers in-demand skills and a broad range of animation concepts. This type of class will of course cost more than an introductory or single topic course which can be useful in developing your animation hobby or professional development. 

College Animation Degree Programs

If time and money aren’t an issue for you, enrolling in a college degree program is your best option for getting into animation professionally. It is true that earning a degree can take two to six years and costs tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the support services, career services, expansive network, and credibility are worth it for many people. Not only will you learn the practical and technical skills needed to create animations that will awe and inspire your audience, but you’ll also get an immersive education in film theory, design and animation principles, and visual communication. Having a broader range of subjects and more in-depth instruction will allow you to have a greater range and more career options within the animation profession. If there is no doubt in your mind that animation is the career path that you want to follow, you should strongly consider enrolling in a degree program. If you don't have the resources for a degree program, and you’re only interested in an animation job with decent pay, you may not find the effort of earning a degree worthwhile. 

Professional Development Programs

Students who only need professional development opportunities don’t need to spend a fortune to do so. Professional development programs are generally intended to help students get started in the animation workforce or to complement their current career. For instance, a career in graphic design can benefit from learning animation because it has the potential to greatly enhance designs and niche down the types of projects you take on. Oftentimes, certificate programs are going to be the best option for professional development. Whether you’re upskilling or looking for a more accessible entry point into an animation career, enrolling in a certificate program will help you meet your goal. These programs are immersive and in-depth, and they cover a broad enough range of animation topics that offer more than foundational knowledge. Professional development programs can be expensive, ranging from a few thousand to $20,000, but if you’re already in a related career, your employer may offset some or all of the cost. If you’re new to animation, consider looking into financial assistance in the form of flexible payment plans, personal loans, or scholarships.

Live Training Programs: Ideal for Beginners and Unsure Students

Students who haven’t decided whether or not animation is the right move to make aren’t guaranteed to benefit from a professional development program. Enrolling in an expensive program only to discover halfway through it that you’re not enjoying it is undesirable, to say the least. Here’s where introductory courses come into view. For a small fraction of the cost of a professional development program (often a few hundred to a thousand dollars), you can learn what a career in animation entails and find out if it’s a good match for you. Likewise, if you’re only interested in completing personal projects or want to know how to use animation software like After Effects, a short course on a single topic is probably better suited to your goals. Live training programs aren’t a huge cost investment and can usually be completed in a few days, or even one day. Students who discover a resonant connection with animation will need to make a more significant investment in their education if they’re interested in building a career in animation. 

On-Demand Classes: Excellent Supplements at Reasonable Prices

When you’re looking for more structured and guided courses that can easily fit into your busy schedule, on-demand animation classes can swoop in and save the day. These are pre-recorded courses that you can access whenever you want after paying the course fee or subscription. Some popular on-demand learning platforms include Skillshare and Udemy. While it’s possible to find reasonably priced animation on-demand courses, the prices will vary widely according to the site you’re on and the price the instructor sets. On-demand classes are a good option for hobbyist animators looking to get familiar with specific techniques and those who are interested in getting a feel for animation in a low-stakes, low-cost environment. While on-demand courses can help you build a career in animation, enrolling in live courses will likely be more beneficial to your long-term goals by offering more guidance and support than what typically accompanies on-demand learning.

Free Resources: What Are They Good For?

If you’ve found yourself asking the question, “Can I learn animation for free?” the short answer is, yes. But the longer answer comes with a caveat. Free animation learning resources are great when you’re a hobbyist or trying to tackle a personal project. Watching a few YouTube videos, tuning in to a free seminar, or leveraging a quick vendor-specific online tutorial by Adobe or Apple can help you solve a personal animation dilemma. If you’re currently enrolled or considering enrolling in an animation course or degree program, free resources are helpful when studying or seeking a better understanding of challenging concepts. While it is possible to become a self-taught animator using free resources, you will lack the invaluable support of an instructor and their feedback. It will also likely take you considerably longer to achieve professional-level animation skills that will earn you a living wage. You can also use free resources to become more comfortable with animation tools, techniques, and best practices and to discover whether or not animation is something you’re truly interested in. 

Learn Animation Skills with Noble Desktop

Whether you’re interested in an immersive and in-depth bootcamp or something less intense and more practical, Noble Desktop has animation classes that can help you meet your learning goals. For an animation class that can help you establish a career in animation, consider this Motion Graphics Certificate course. This animation class helps students learn video editing, animating motion graphics, and creating visual and special effects, while simultaneously helping students develop a professional demo reel using Cinema 4D, After Effects, and Premiere Pro. It’s a beginner-friendly, 96-hour, project-based course with no prerequisites. If you’re comfortable using a computer, Noble Desktop can get you on the road to beginning a career in animation in two months on a full-time schedule or four months on a part-time schedule. 

The Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate course will teach you video editing principles, how to work with animations, and advanced After Effects and Premiere Pro techniques in one month full-time or four months part-time. This 126-hour certificate program covers animation and motion graphics concepts, best practices, and workflows, how to animate text using After Effects, and make 3D models and animations with Cinema 4D Lite. You can choose a bonus lesson in either AI for Video & Motion Graphics or Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp when you enroll in this program. Noble Desktop recommends that you have experience with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop but it’s not required to enroll. This is an in-person or live online beginner-friendly course that allows students one free retake and 1-on-1 mentoring sessions outside of class to give you the best chances of success as you pursue animation professionally. 

For a less intense class that covers the basics, some intermediate, and a few advanced concepts, consider After Effects Bootcamp. You’ll learn how to create animated motion graphics using professional techniques in three days or six evenings spread over three weeks. You’ll start with the basics like animating position and move into animating Illustrator files, motion tracking, and green screen removal. This beginner-friendly, 18-hour, live, project-based bootcamp will teach you how to create dynamic transitions, add audio to animations, and incorporate video footage. Students can take advantage of a free class retake, class recordings, and a 1-on-1 mentoring session. If you only need to learn After Effects basics, After Effects in a Day may be a better fit for you. 

Have you mastered Adobe After Effects and want to integrate it with Cinema 4D? Cinema 4D in After Effects Bootcamp will help you enhance your animation skills and expand your creative vision. In just days, you’ll learn how to integrate Cinema 4D Lite with After Effects to animate 3D models and motion graphics. After completing this 18-hour, live, project-based bootcamp, you’ll have learned the skills to create and work with 3D models, assign textures, create animations, and use the Cineware effect for a beautiful integration. Students can view recorded class sessions to reinforce their understanding and can retake the course once within a year if needed.