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.
Animated films have been around for over a century. Adults may still remember waking up early as children to watch Saturday morning cartoons or renting animated Disney films from the local Blockbuster. However, animation has grown beyond TV shows and movies. Today, animation is commonly found on websites and in advertisements. Most animation is primarily entertaining, but it can also persuade or inform.
All animation goes through a multi-step process before being presented to the public. Animators must start with a concept before they can draft a sequence. Then they elicit feedback and revise many times before finishing a segment.
Contrary to popular belief, animators don’t have to be skilled at drawing. At one time, animators drew sequences by hand. Yet, today’s animators use software to design and create their characters on a screen—software like Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate, Autodesk Maya, and Blender. Therefore, animators must have familiarity with the basic principles of design as they add color and movement to their animations. Though software adds those elements, it’s still up to the Animator to suggest it to the computer.
Chicago has a thriving film and media industry, second only in the U.S. to Hollywood, making it a strong hub for animation careers. The city is home to major production facilities like Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, Chicago Studio City, and Old North Film Company, which support both large-scale film productions and independent projects. These studios, along with local post-production houses, rely on skilled animators to bring visual stories to life, from feature films and television shows to commercials and promotional content. Chicago’s growing digital media scene also provides opportunities for animators to work on multimedia projects, web series, and advertising campaigns.
Beyond film, animators in Chicago have a wide variety of career paths across multiple industries. Video game companies, mobile app developers, and digital marketing firms hire animation professionals for roles such as 2D Animator, 3D Animator, Character Animator, Background Artist, and Keyframe Animator. These positions involve creating engaging visuals, designing characters, and producing motion graphics for interactive media, social media campaigns, and online content. Chicago’s combination of film studios, tech companies, and creative agencies makes it an exciting city for animators seeking diverse projects and opportunities to build their portfolios.
Animators can also branch out, working as Motion Graphics Designers, Video Editors, or Video Managers. Designers can make $67,000 on average, and Motion Graphics Designers make roughly $60,000. 2D Animators average $73,000. 3D animators can make even more. The upward potential is high for animators in the hot Chicago labor market.
Noble Desktop provides a site that reviews some of the more popular live online animation courses. Students can learn the skills to become motion graphics designers in Noble’s Motion Graphics Certificate course. It covers software professionals use: Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D Lite. Students walk away with several videos to add to their portfolios.
If students want to specialize in just one animation software, they might find a shorter course more to their liking. The After Effects Bootcamp delves into the details of Adobe’s program, such as creating animations and dynamic transitions. This course is suitable for beginners. Another option for future Animators is to specialize in 3D models. The Cinema 4D in After Effects Bootcamp propels students to model 3D assets for animations, transform them, then animate them, and create the models using essential tools.
However, some students may want just a small taste of After Effects. Noble Desktop offers both a beginner crash course and an intermediate course in this popular application. See its website for more details regarding one-day courses.
Noble also offers a deep dive with a Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate if you’re committed to an intense class. Students will intensively work with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, and Cinema 4D Lite in this certificate program. Upon completion, they will have several projects to add to their portfolio.
NextGen Bootcamp’s Animation Summer Bootcamp offers high schoolers an exciting immersion into the world of 2D animation. This class provides hands-on guidance from expert instructors and an engaging environment to connect with fellow animation enthusiasts. Throughout the first week, students delve into the fascinating history of animation, tracing its evolution from humble beginnings to today’s cutting-edge techniques. Then, they immerse themselves in the world of design and animation principles and apply their newfound knowledge to interactive sketching exercises. Students will tackle personal projects that solidify learning and craft a tangible demonstration of their experience.
Week two takes students to the next level with advanced concepts and a final project. Here, they harness cutting-edge animation techniques, sound design, and timing to craft professional-grade projects. Additionally, students learn the art of storyboarding to bring narratives to life. The culmination of the course is a final project where students showcase their skills and receive feedback from peers and instructors, building their confidence and igniting a passion for animation. Students who complete the bootcamp receive a certificate of completion, which is sure to make an impression in college applications and job searches.
Sometimes, pushing your company to that next level begs for additional training. Noble Desktop has several options for onsite or live corporate animation training that will satisfy your company’s requirements. Noble can bring the training to you at your place of business. Don’t have a space that works to host a training? No matter. Noble can arrange live online training through Zoom or a similar teleconferencing platform.
If getting everyone together in a training at the same time is too much of a headache, Noble allows companies to purchase vouchers for Noble’s open enrollment group classes and receive discounts for purchasing multiple. That way, all employees can get essential training at times that fit their schedules. Contact Noble Desktop for more information or to schedule a training.
In the heart of the Midwest’s finance capital, there’s opportunity everywhere. From tech startups in Fulton Market to powerhouse Fortune 500 firms in the Loop, Chicago offers a virtually endless array of ways to level up your skills in tech, business, data, and design. The city thrives on bold ideas, making it the perfect place to grow a career that is not only lucrative but also makes a real impact. With expert instructors with decades of experience, you’ll learn more about the subjects you’re interested in, all while receiving hands-on training. These instructors live and breathe to explore and work within their field, meaning they don’t just teach; they mentor, guide, and connect you to the heart of Chicago’s many successful industries and direct you to the most meaningful path to help you achieve your goals.
Noble Desktop’s partner school, Practical Programming, has state-of-the-art facilities conveniently located in downtown Chicago’s iconic Hayworth Building at 29 E. Madison Street, Chicago, IL, 60602. It’s an easy-to-find location for students from across the city to attend. The campus is modern, equipped with the necessary tech and tools you may need, and provides resources like Wi-Fi, comfortable workstations, and expert instructors and staff ready to help you learn. Getting there is simple, whether you’re commuting from the Loop, River North, or surrounding areas. The school is easily accessible from the CTA trains and buses, with nearby stops for major lines like the Red, Blue, and Brown. If you’re driving, you can park nearby at various parking decks and metered spots within walking distance. The central location means you won’t have to stress about making it to class, and that your training sessions can fit into any schedule with ease.
As a whole, Animation brings ideas to life through movement, storytelling, and visual clarity, making it valuable for creative and marketing roles. Learning at Noble Desktop means instructors will teach students how to use professional tools to craft engaging animated content.
Henry Gonzalez is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with over 30 years of experience in the federal government, leading engineering, program management, and acquisition initiatives in naval warfare, air traffic management, and homeland security. A retired senior executive, Henry now serves as a part-time instructor in Chicago, where he teaches project and program management, leadership, and strategic planning to professionals of all kinds. He holds the highest level of federal certification one can hold for acquisition program management and systems engineering. In addition, Henry was part of the core team that updated the Project Management Institute’s Standard for Program Management. Henry is also a certified Balanced Scorecard Professional and holds a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from Florida Atlantic University, along with a dual Master of Science in Ocean Engineering and Ocean Systems Management from MIT.
Robert Simon is a highly accomplished financial management professional and educator with more than four decades of federal and private sector experience. As a Financial and Management Curricula Instructor at Graduate School USA since 2007, he teaches courses in financial management, federal travel regulations, and organizational leadership, both virtually and in person. Prior to his teaching career, he held senior roles at the General Services Administration, overseeing a six-state regional budget of approximately $100 million, and at the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Management Service, where he led national training initiatives on electronic banking. Robert’s background spans accounting, budgeting, and program analysis, holding certifications as a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Government Financial Manager.
Edward (Scott) Dillion is a seasoned financial expert with over three decades of experience in the Department of Defense, where he specialized in a range of financial management areas like budgeting and auditing, as well as performance-based management and cost analysis. He holds an MBA from Southern Illinois University and a B.A. in Business Administration from Grove City College. After retiring in 2014, Scott pivoted to a second career in education and consulting. He teaches project management and marketing at Graduate School USA and has also taught courses in federal budgeting. Additionally, Scott serves as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Management Concepts Inc., where he helps develop financial management course materials. He also has a lifetime membership with the American Society of Military Comptrollers, holds a Top Secret security clearance with the Department of Defense, and is a recognized Tier 2 instructor at Graduate School USA for his wealth of experience.