Motion Graphics Training for Veterans

Are you a veteran returning to civilian life or a member of a veteran’s family aiming to avail yourself of entitlements and benefits? This article is designed to help you navigate your options for taking advantage of these services to enter a professional skills training program and learn the motion graphics skills you’ve always wanted to learn. Motion graphics have become popular in a wide range of industries and can lead to many different job opportunities.

What is Motion Graphics?

Motion graphics refers to the field of visual design concerned with digital animation and film editing. In motion graphics, students learn the tools that will allow them to create animated images that can be layered onto designs in applications like Photoshop and Illustrator, giving motion to otherwise static images. Motion graphics training also serves as an entry into the world of film editing, as motion graphics classes 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 covers 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, how to use green screens, and how to 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.

While some people think that motion graphics and animation are the same things, the two are quite distinct. Animation is a term that covers all types of moving images, from cartoons to clay animation. In contrast, motion graphics is a type of animation that is focused on giving movement to static graphic design elements. Another major difference between the two is that animation typically tells a story, while motion graphics is more focused on communicating a specific message to the audience.

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

What Can You Do with Motion Graphics Skills?

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 train students 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 on 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. Motion Graphics Designers in the film industry can be found doing a wide variety of different things, such as working on the typography and graphics for a movie title or credits, designing visual effects for a music video, creating graphics for a news show, or making an infographic for a documentary.

There is also a high level of demand for Motion Graphics Designers in the field of web design. Websites have become an important part of daily life worldwide, and most consumers spend hours a day online. Motion Graphics Designers create graphics that help ensure that the websites these consumers visit are interesting, balanced, and easy to understand. Research shows that motion graphics boost traffic and help sites retain customers. In fact, websites that don’t contain motion graphics are often seen as outdated.

Whether students hope to be part of a professional design team that brings fantastic scenarios and characters to life or just want to enhance their creative projects by adding animated assets and elements, learning motion graphics skills will help them achieve those goals. In addition, learning motion graphics skills will help students expand their creative toolkits and begin working on even more exciting projects.

Support for Veterans

Every year, thousands of active-duty service members leave the military and become veterans. To help them transition to civilian life, the U.S. government provides these veterans with educational benefits. Researchers for the Rand corporation explain, “To the extent that military skills do not translate easily to the civilian world, obtaining additional education could help veterans gain skills more easily recognized in the civilian labor market. Education benefits can also allow veterans to explore and learn about various civilian jobs and occupations.”

These educational benefits are detailed in the GI Bill, passed in 1944. Under the GI Bill, qualified veterans can get some or all of their costs covered for college or training programs. The Forever GI Bill, signed in 2017, improved or expanded on some of these benefits. Since the GI Bill passed, millions of veterans have used it to get an education.

To learn more about motion graphics class options for veterans, visit Noble Desktop’s website. Note that VA-supported programs are only for in-person participants at Noble’s New York City campus.

Why Learn Motion Graphics

Motion graphics skills are used to create content for a wide variety of media, including television, the internet, and video games. Research shows that motion design attracts viewers, makes information easier to understand, and is more memorable. In recent years it has become popular to incorporate motion graphics into almost every type of content that appears on a screen. As a result, motion graphics design has become a sought-after skill.

It can lead to a job in a diverse number of industries, including film and television, advertising, video gaming, and web design. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Special Effects Artists and Animators, a category that includes Motion Graphics Designers, have a positive job outlook for the next ten years. It forecasts that employment will grow about 5 percent between 2021 and 2031, which is about as fast as the average.

Working on motion graphics can also improve mental health and well-being since it is a creative activity. It is widely recognized that creativity can reduce stress and anxiety and make people feel happier. For example, in one 2021 study, researchers found evidence that being creative can make people happier. They conclude, “Individuals can improve their subjective well-being by fostering and strengthening their creativity. Furthermore, society may improve the public’s mental health by promoting the beneficial role of creativity. Mental health professionals may even consider using creative activities to help their clients improve their subjective well-being.”

Common Professional Uses for Motion Graphics

Motion Graphics Designers work on many types of content. Some common ones are animated logos, kinetic typography, and web content.

Animated Logos

Almost every business has a logo, a visual representation that tells customers who that business is and separates it from its competition. An increasing number of companies are opting for animated logos, which Motion Graphics Designers often create. Animated logos have movement and effects and are a great way to get people’s attention. This type of logo can also impart a more complex message than a static logo. Animated logos have become so common that in 2020, Los Angeles, the host of the 2028 Olympic Games, revealed that it would use the first-ever animated logo for the games. 

Kinetic Typography

Motion Designers also create kinetic typography, which simply means animated text. This is commonly used for websites, social media, and online ads. Typography is an important part of design, and designers have long utilized it to help convey their messages. However, in recent years, more and more designers have begun to use kinetic typography specifically. This is because research shows that most people have a short attention span when reading content online. Text that moves is more likely to stand out and can keep users’ attention for longer. Kinetic typography can also communicate a more complex message than static text.

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos are short videos that teach people about particular products or services, and they often contain moving graphics a Motion Designer created. These types of videos are popular because researchers have found that they are an effective way to explain complex ideas and to hold viewers’ attention. Some explainer videos are created through animation. However, animation often has a cartoon-like appearance, and many professional companies prefer motion graphics for explainer videos because these tend to look more professional.

Web Content

Many Motion Graphics Designers often work in the web design field because motion graphics are an integral part of almost every website. Motion design has become so prevalent online that sites not incorporating it may appear outdated. By using motion graphics, websites can attract users and entice them to stay longer. Motion graphics can even help distract users when a site takes longer than usual to load.

Why Choose a Skills Bootcamp?

Motion graphics classes come in a variety of formats. Some students get into motion graphics design by completing a four-year university program. However, many find that a shorter course, such as a bootcamp or a certificate program, is the cheapest and most effective way to learn the skills that they need to work in the field of motion graphics.

Earning a college degree is the most expensive way to learn motion graphics. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that a four-year degree can cost between $25,000 and $55,000 per year. While a four-year college program is highly comprehensive, it is unaffordable for many people. In addition, many don’t want to commit to four years of full-time study.

For these reasons, many students opt to learn motion graphics by enrolling in a bootcamp or a certificate program instead. These programs generally take six months or less to complete, which is much faster than a traditional degree. For example, Noble Desktop offers a Motion Graphics Certificate, which takes less than six months to finish. The After Effects Bootcamp, which takes students through basic and advanced motion graphics techniques, can be completed in a matter of weeks.

Not only are bootcamps and certificate programs cheaper and quicker to complete, but they usually offer career-focused skills training. In contrast, four-year degrees typically contain a significant amount of general education. Because they focus on the skills that Motion Graphics Designers will need to work in this field, bootcamps and certificate programs are popular with students who want to move up in a career or start a new one but don’t want to spend years in school first.

Learn Motion Graphics 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 the 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 retake the course within one year. This gives students a 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.

Key Insights

• Learning motion graphics skills can give veterans access to many job options.
• Motion graphics are used in many different industries.
• The GI Bill and the Forever GI Bill provide veterans with money to cover the cost of college or training programs.
• Motion graphics design is an in-demand job skill.
• There is evidence that doing something creative, like designing motion graphics, can improve mental health and well-being.
• A bootcamp or certificate program takes less time and is more affordable than a four-year college degree.
• Veterans interested in motion graphics training will find a variety of options offered through Noble Desktop.