Develop storytelling through animation programs focused on visual communication and emotion. You’ll explore techniques that bring illustrations to life.
Learn to create compelling video content with Adobe After Effects. This course covers the basics of animation, text effects, and file integration needed to start creating impressive visual content from scratch. Get hands-on experience with real-world projects taught by an experienced instructor.
Learn motion graphics and visual effects with Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro. Develop your skills in animation, video editing, and special effects, and create a motion graphics demo reel to showcase your work to potential clients or employers.
Learn how to use Adobe Premiere Pro to create professionally edited videos in this comprehensive class. From importing and organizing footage to advanced editing techniques like multi-cam editing and green screen removal, this course will equip you with the skills to create compelling video content.
Dive into the dynamic world of Adobe After Effects with this advanced course, designed to elevate your animation and motion graphics skills. From mastering 3D layers and custom shapes to optimizing animations with expressions, you'll create captivating visuals that stand out in any project.
This course unlocks the power of Adobe After Effects, teaching you to create stunning visual effects and professional-grade motion graphics. Master techniques like motion tracking, compositing, and time remapping to take your video projects to new heights of creativity and impact.
Become a skilled Video Editor and Motion Graphics Designer by learning Adobe Premiere Pro, and After Effects. Develop creative techniques and concepts for editing videos, and showcase your skills by creating a professional demo reel.
Animation is the engaging art of making static images appear to move. Fundamentally, it involves producing a series of slightly varied images that, when shown in quick succession, create the illusion of continuous motion. It is what makes many different types of visual projects come to life. The rapid movement adds excitement to video games and often provides film and television shows with more depth. Today, animation is usually completed through various software and digital methods, but regardless of how it happens, there are tons of jobs that rely on animation skills.
Charlotte is nicknamed the Queen City and surely lives up to its name. The area has blossomed into a bustling, active city, with the population steadily increasing and showing no signs of slowing. In fact, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance projects that the region will see a population boom of more than 50% within the next few decades (reaching 4.6 million). But it’s no secret why people from all over are flocking to this region. The city has a strong job market and a relatively low cost of living. Plus, Charlotte has a unique variety of opportunities that many other cities cannot provide. Beyond professional opportunities, the city offers a blend of cultural events with sporting events, and a quick drive can put you in the mountains or on the beach. The city is also young—its average age is roughly 34, signaling opportunities and livability.
With proper training, here are a few of the many roles you can land with animation experience.
Charlotte is known for its finance industry, as many top-name banks have chosen the city for their headquarters. However, other industries are equally impressive and worth exploring as an animation specialist. Animators also have a wide variety of contract and remote opportunities, but there may be more available to those in Charlotte since Wilmington, a city often referred to as Wilmywood due to its strong film industry, is only a few hours away. There are also plentiful opportunities in sports media. For instance, Varsity Esports & STEM League is currently hiring a Video Editor, and the Fox Corporation is hiring a Graphics Coordinator. Both positions pay roughly $24 per hour. With so many opportunities, it’s easy to see why young professionals are flocking to the area.
For quite some time, Charlotte has been known as the major professional hub in North Carolina, along with the Research Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). In particular, Charlotte has fairly strong sports media and healthcare sectors. The automotive industry stands out here as well, but the tech industry seems to be growing the fastest of all. In each industry, Animators can find a place at the table and help the companies they work for thrive.
Charlotte is home to several big-name sports complexes and teams. Whether you’re interested in the NFL, NBA, or NASCAR, there’s a sport within the Queen City that’s bound to keep you on the edge of your seat. With all the buzz surrounding sports in Charlotte, it’s no surprise that the sports media scene is thriving. To get the full picture of the latest play or to learn more about the aerodynamics involved in automotive racing, these organizations and companies hire Animators. These experts step in to make the sport more enjoyable and understandable.
Tech companies often hire animation specialists to create visual content like games, software, videos, and educational tutorials. Oftentimes, Animators in the tech industry make sure the product works seamlessly but still has visually appealing elements and movements. For instance, Imagine Software, a tech company in Charlotte, is hiring for Graphic and Video Content Specialists.
Animators are even hired within the healthcare industry. They’re hired to create marketing materials or educational, visual representations of medical devices and techniques. There are several Charlotte-based jobs available for video specialists in healthcare. For instance, Camino Health Center in Charlotte is hiring a Videography Specialist who can assist with content creation and storytelling and who can work closely with marketing teams to reach a shared goal. In all, creating imagery and graphics that keep medical students engaged or educate patients is essential for medical companies.
The automotive industry is growing in Charlotte. Many Animators work for car dealerships to provide engaging videos and tutorials for potential consumers. In addition, NASCAR hires animation pros to give a play-by-play on the latest race. Even automotive manufacturing companies use 3D models and videos to find out how to best design the latest vehicle model.
Noble Desktop provides both virtual and in-person animation courses. Based in New York City, Noble offers classes at its Manhattan campus as well as live online instruction for students anywhere. A flagship program is the Motion Graphics Certificate, a multi-week course that teaches students how to create animations, visual effects, and motion graphics. Using Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D Lite, students animate photos, graphics, and text through projects like animated logos, infographics, social media promotions, and title sequences. The program also includes five one-on-one mentoring sessions for personalized guidance on concepts, portfolio review, or career advice. Graduates receive a certificate of completion and can retake the course free of charge within one year. Noble Desktop is licensed by the New York State Department of Education.
Another popular program is the After Effects Bootcamp, a multi-day course that focuses on motion graphics and animation using Adobe After Effects. Students develop essential skills, including workspace navigation and basic animation techniques, while also learning advanced features such as motion tracking, green screen removal, dynamic transitions, and audio syncing. For beginners, After Effects in a Day introduces key concepts like fade-ins, easing, layer animation, timeline navigation, and working with video. While familiarity with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator can be useful, it is not required.
Noble Desktop also offers certification programs, including the Adobe After Effects Certification Program. This multi-day program prepares students for the Adobe Certified Professional Exam in After Effects, combining two comprehensive courses from beginner to advanced levels with six hours of private tutoring for exam preparation. The program fee includes the certification exam, proctoring, and one free retake. Students who choose not to take the exam receive an additional hour of private tutoring instead.
If your organization is looking to enhance its team’s animation skills, Noble Desktop’s corporate animation training offers an ideal solution. The program provides both onsite and remote instruction with flexible scheduling and the ability to customize course content to meet your company’s specific objectives. Participants also receive comprehensive support materials, including handouts and access to premium training videos.
For added flexibility, companies can purchase group class vouchers, allowing employees to enroll individually in Noble’s regularly scheduled public courses. Discounts are available for bulk purchases. To learn more about corporate animation training or to schedule a free consultation, reach out to Noble Desktop.
Charlotte is a city full of opportunity for professionals looking to grow their skills in tech, design, business, data, and more. Known as a major hub for finance, energy, and technology, the Queen City is home to numerous banks, investment firms, and insurance companies, including Truist and Bank of America, as well as Duke Energy, the region’s leading electric company. In these industries and other prominent Charlotte sectors, animation skills can help you turn ideas into something more alive and expressive. Learning how to animate anything from short clips and small graphics to large-scale video projects can help you create material for entertainment, education, or promotion. Noble Desktop offers hands-on training with expert instructors who are not only willing, but excited, to help you take your skills to the next level. These instructors have decades of experience and know what it takes to succeed in the field that you wish to explore. All in all, you can learn how to enter the professional landscape and thrive in your role, no matter what that may be. In a city like Charlotte, the opportunities are abundant, so professional training is well worth the time and effort.
Henry Gonzalez is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and seasoned educator with over 30 years of experience working for the federal government as an Engineer, Manager, and Executive. During his time as an Executive, his main focus was program management of advanced technology programs in naval warfare, air traffic management, and homeland security. Now a retired senior official based in Charlotte, Gonzalez provides training in project and program management, leadership, and strategic planning to students and clients across sectors worldwide. He has achieved great heights in his career, obtaining the highest level of federal certification in acquisition program management and systems engineering. He also contributed to the Project Management Institute’s Standard for Program Management as a member of the original update team.
Based in Charlotte, Adrianna is a retired federal Human Resources (HR) Senior Leader with over 32 years of experience. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management Technology and Human Resource Management and is a certified Senior HR Professional by the Society for Human Resource Management. Throughout her career with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Adrianna worked everywhere from headquarters to regional offices, giving her ample experience with mentoring professionals all across the organization. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge with others, now working as an instructor to help others further their understanding of human resources and professional development.
James Campbell is an independent federal financial management consultant and seasoned instructor with over a decade of experience developing and teaching courses in finance and accounting at Graduate School USA, including subjects like budgeting and auditing. His career includes senior consulting roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC and IBM Consulting Services. He’s also performed extensive audit and review work at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where he served as an Assistant Director. James has also designed and updated numerous financial management and auditing classes, drawing on his expertise as a former CPA. His academic background also positions him to be an excellent instructor. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from East Tennessee University, an MPA from Georgia State University, and completed executive development training from George Washington University.