How Difficult is it to Learn Motion Graphics?

Are you curious about learning motion graphics but worried it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning motion graphics depend on the kinds of projects a student hopes to work on, the industries they may wish to work in, and their prior experience with digital design applications and techniques.

No matter your current schedule or comfort level with motion graphics, plenty of tools are available to help make learning easier than you might think.

What is Motion Graphics?

Motion graphics refers to the field of visual design concerned with digital animation and film editing. Here, students will learn the tools that will allow them to create animated images that can be layered onto Photoshop and Illustrator designs, giving motion to otherwise static images. Motion graphics training also serves as an entry into the world of film editing, as motion graphics classes will teach students how to use the tools that are used in the film and television industry to create special effects and post-production edits. Motion graphics tools create animated web assets, digital logos, responsive and interactive infographics, and other animated visual content.

Motion graphic artists use Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D to build animated designs and assets. Using these tools, motion design artists can produce vibrant animations that fully utilize the digital canvas. Motion design also relates closely to video editing, so motion graphics training will cover how creatives use digital tools to both cut and mix film clips. Additionally, the training covers how to edit those clips using tools to correct colors, use green screens, and replace cell phone displays. These skills will allow creatives to take static designs and enhance them with dynamic motion animations that give life to their visions.

Read more about what motion graphics is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Motion Graphics?

With motion graphics training, students will learn how to build dazzling graphic animations that add life to their creative projects. Using After Effects and Premiere Pro will give students the training to start working with complex, animated graphic designs, ranging from digital animations to animated logos and infographics. Using these tools will allow students to create elaborate animations that will take their graphic design projects to the next level. By learning how to render animations in Cinema 4D, creatives will be able to develop the skills necessary for entering into an in-demand career field.

Motion graphics is closely related to film editing, and learning these tools is ideal for anyone hoping to work in the digital side of the film and television industry. Special Effects Artists and Film Editors use motion graphics animation skills, particularly those working on effects-heavy content. Whether you hope to be part of a professional design team that brings fantastic scenarios and characters to life or just want to enhance your creative projects by adding animated assets and elements, learning motion graphics skills will help you achieve those goals. In addition, learning motion graphics skills will help students expand their creative toolkits and begin working on even more exciting projects. 

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Motion Graphics?

For novice motion designers, the most challenging part of learning motion graphics probably isn’t going to be learning how to use the most common tools. Users can quickly pick up After Effects skills since the program is user-friendly. The most challenging aspect will be undertaking the practice required to go from building simple animated designs like moving titles, spinning shapes, and animated logos to designing elaborate and complex digital animations like the kinds they see on film and television or professionally created internet video content. This can be rather difficult, but as with most creative design skills, diligent practice is the best way to overcome these difficulties.

How Does Learning Motion Graphics Compare to Other Fields?

Motion graphics training is most commonly linked to video editing training, as these skills use many of the same tools and techniques. Like many graphic design skills, motion graphics and video editing tools are complementary but distinct. Learning each skill may assist you in understanding the other, but each skill focuses on a different element of creative design.

Motion graphics emphasize adding motion to layouts and designs by layering different designs on top of one another. This lets them create animated elements for otherwise static designs, such as titles, logos, and animated digital assets. Primarily using tools like After Effects, Motion Graphics Designers will be able to add evocative digital effects and animations to their layouts.

Video editing focuses on taking existing video files and piecing them together to create finished video projects. Like motion graphics, video editing has users working with different files to blend them into a single finished product. The main difference is that video editing focuses on more than just animated movement and deals with more complex issues such as sound mixing, continuity, and film cutting.

To learn more about video editing, consult the video editing page on Noble’s Learn Hub.

Practice makes Perfect

The most important thing to remember when learning motion graphics techniques is to not get discouraged in the early stages and to remember that learning a complex design skill is a long process. No professional animator was building photo-realistic lions on their first day using After Effects, so students should be aware of how important it is to continue practicing every day.

Learn Other Design Skills

Learning motion graphics skills will be much easier for students with prior design experience. After Effects and similar programs are on the more advanced side of digital design tools, so knowledge of tools like Photoshop and Illustrator will help ease students into the more complex aspects of motion graphics software.

Learn Motion Graphics with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to learn motion design skills should consider the hands-on training options available through Noble Desktop. Noble offers courses for experienced and novice designers covering specific skills like After Effects alongside more career-focused bootcamps like their Motion Graphics Certificate program. Available both in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus and online, these courses are taught by experienced instructors who are there to help provide students with feedback and assistance on their designs. Even online, class sizes are small, ensuring that students won’t have to fight for their instructors' attention. Plus, all these courses offer a free retake option for students, letting them take the course again within one year. This gives students the chance to go back over skills they had difficulty with, attend missed lessons, or get more hands-on experience with motion graphics tools.

For students who have some design experience or who just want to learn a new tool to add to their creative toolkit, Noble offers several skills bootcamps designed to teach students how to use Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D. These courses are designed to introduce novice users to the basic functions of these essential design tools. Students will learn how to build simple animated images and layer them onto Photoshop and Illustrator designs. Then, students seeking more training can take Noble’s After Effects Advanced course to learn how to composite video footage, animate shape and text layers, and learn practical chroma key skills. These courses don’t require knowledge of Illustrator and Photoshop, but some proficiency is very helpful. Students interested in receiving this background training should look at the graphic design courses offered through Noble.

Students seeking a more career-focused training course may wish to consider Noble’s Motion Graphics Certificate program. In this course, students will learn how to use Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Cinema 4D to create motion graphic designs and edit video clips. Students will get hands-on experience working on the kinds of creative projects they will work on when they enter the workforce. A part of their training will be a professionalization seminar designed to teach them how to get involved in the motion graphics and video editing industry. In addition, students will receive one-on-one career mentorship from Noble’s career professionals and dedicate substantial time to building a practical demo reel that students can bring onto the job market.

Students interested in learning more about these courses or looking into their other training opportunities should consider Noble's motion graphics design courses.