What to Learn After Motion Graphics

Motion graphics is the art of building digitally animated images using computer design applications like After Effects. If you already know how to use motion graphics, you might consider learning video editing, web design, or traditional art and animation skills. We’ll cover these different skill paths below so you clearly understand what skill you want to tackle next. 

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.

Video Editing

One of the most common uses for motion graphics applications is the addition of visual effects in post-production for television, film, and internet content. Anyone interested in working in these industries, on their own or as part of a team, will benefit from bolstering their motion graphics training with video editing training. This training will primarily focus on the techniques and processes of using tools like Premiere Pro to blend video clips, alter or remove elements of those clips, and control sound and effects.

For more information on video editing training, consult Noble’s website to learn more about video editing classes and bootcamps.

Web Design and Development

Another common use for motion graphics tools is the development of animated assets for digital interfaces and mobile applications. This is a wide-ranging field, but if you ever visit a webpage or load up a mobile app, you’ll notice how many aspects of those digital applications are animated. All of those animations are built with motion graphics design tools, so learning how to design and code web applications is another in-demand skill set to complement your motion graphics training. Web design focuses on the look and feel of a digital application, whereas web development covers the process of coding digital applications using languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript.

Anyone interested in web design or web development classes should look at the options available through Noble Desktop.

Graphic Design, Traditional Art, and Animation

Rather than looking to other career paths to use motion graphics training, some students may want to spend more time learning different aspects of visual arts and designs to expand their knowledge and understanding of animation as an artistic tool. Learning how to draw and storyboard for pre-production purposes or using design software like Illustrator and InDesign can strengthen the artistic talents of any creative user who wants to expand their knowledge of computer-generated and traditional animation.

To learn more about some of these tools, specifically Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.

Key Insights

• Once a student has mastered the skills and techniques associated with motion graphics, there are a number of different paths they can take to expand their knowledge.
• Students may wish to learn more advanced video editing skills, particularly Adobe Premiere Pro, to create elaborate effects using their motion graphic training.
• Students hoping to work on building assets for web pages and mobile applications may wish to learn web design skills (how a digital application looks and feels) or web development skills (how a digital application goes from design to reality using programming languages).
• More artistically minded students may want to learn additional visual arts skills, such as other creative design programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, or more traditional art skills, such as how to hand draw storyboards.
• No matter what skills a motion graphics student wants to learn, Noble Desktop has them covered with live class options available both in-person and online.

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.