Refine your animation craft through courses that teach dynamic movement and expressive design. You’ll transform concepts into engaging digital stories that resonate with viewers.
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 a succession of static drawings that, when filmed rapidly, create an illusion of movement. This optical illusion is called the persistence of vision. It works because the human eye retains an image for a brief one-tenth of a second. Anything shorter than that causes the brain to merge those images. Animation is more than just moving pictures; it’s also moving words, graphics, visual effects, and various illustrations. Animation is a highly specialized technique requiring both technical skill and artistic ability.
Whether you’re a hobbyist or an aspiring Animator, formal training in this specialized art form will allow you to express your creative vision in many ways. Once you’ve had some education and gained some practice, you’ll be able to create stop-motion, three-dimensional, and two-dimensional animations. Your projects can range from simple to challenging, and they can help you bolster your demo reel to showcase your skills and animation style.
An animation class will teach you many skills to improve your art and create more engaging projects that captivate audiences. You’ll need to learn storyboarding, the principles of animation, animation software, and compositing while learning how to give more attention to detail and develop problem-solving skills. The skills you learn will help you improve your artistry and prepare for a career in the diverse field of animation. An animation class can help you develop these skills and learn how and when to apply them.
To ensure you have a good plan to move forward with, you’ll need to create an animatic or an animated storyboard. It helps you plan shots and conceive what a completed project will be. It’s an organizational tool that helps maintain scheduling, continuity, and cohesion.
Understanding these principles, based on the work of Disney Animators, will give you the best chance for success in this field. Adhering to these principles creates more lifelike and relatable animations, whether you’re working with websites, films, or character design.
Mastering animation software like Adobe Animate, After Effects, Autodesk Maya, and Blender will allow you to create animations more efficiently and seamlessly. Each software accomplishes a specific animation task, like video compositing and image generation. The specialization of software helps you to optimize your animation niche.
Animation can be very simple to learn, but the type of animation you’re interested in producing will determine the degree of difficulty you’ll encounter. Each animation specialty requires different tools and software, and each comes with its own learning curve. Creating animations is a complex skill that requires dedication and practice. You’ll be comfortable using animation software and tools long before you begin to master the craft.
One of the most challenging parts of learning animation is storytelling. Some people find it easy to tell a compelling story, while many others struggle to create a plot and characters that captivate the audience. Another challenge is mastering certain technical techniques that help you get the details right. Something as complex as simulated natural hair movement requires a lot of attention to detail and technical experience. To create animations that are realistic and complex, cutting corners isn’t an option.
How long it takes to learn animation will be different for everyone. Some factors that will affect your learning timeline include your background in design tools and art, your learning goals, and your ability to retain and apply what you learn. While some animation courses are fairly short, some can span several weeks or several months. But even once you’ve developed expertise in animation, there will still be more to learn as new techniques, tools, software, and features become available. You’ll begin to feel comfortable with animation a lot sooner than you become professionally adept in this field.
When making this decision, you’ll need to be clear on your learning goals, how you learn best, and your schedule. In-person classroom learning is the learning format most people are familiar with. It’s also the most widely accepted and considered to be one of the most efficient and fastest ways to learn animation. In-person learning allows for real-time feedback, true hands-on learning, and stronger peer connections. This format can cost more due to the higher overhead costs associated with everyone having to meet at a physical location.
Live online learning is similar to in-person classes, with the main difference being that students can attend classes from their location. There’s no need to commute to class sessions; you’re able to receive real-time feedback, and class sessions are typically recorded so you can reinforce lessons. Still, hands-on learning takes a slightly different approach when you’re learning through an online classroom or video messaging platform.
Asynchronous or on-demand learning is very different from the traditional classroom experience, and it’s great for those with tight or unpredictable schedules. This format allows you to learn at your own pace when your schedule permits. Class sessions are prerecorded and uploaded to your training facility’s learning platform for you to access during your course access window. Since there’s a low level of accountability with this format, you should set a schedule for yourself to meet your learning goals. The biggest drawback is not being able to get feedback in real-time. Some facilities offer a Slack channel, messaging boards, or a support line, but responses are not always immediate.
As you learn animation skills, you’ll want to supplement your education with other skills as well. The animation career path you’re interested in should guide what you choose to learn alongside animation. Learning how to make the most out of Adobe Creative Cloud will make a difference in the quality of your work in a broad sense. Many Creative Cloud applications are useful to those in this field. Those looking to get into this field need to work on their artistry, visual communication, and design theory when considering working on websites and in UX/UI design. Understanding video editing principles is also useful because it will allow you to make the most of your animations and fully realize your creative vision if you’re working with multi-dimensional animation.
Animation fits into any industry. Moving beyond advertisements, animation can be used for educational purposes and to entertain and engage audiences. Many Phoenix industries, like finance, healthcare, human resources, and real estate, can benefit from animation’s simplicity. Here are some ways animation benefits Phoenix’s industries.
Phoenix’s healthcare industry is steadily growing due to the state’s aging population. You’ll find animation being used in this industry to create educational resources for the public and employees. Public-facing animations help educate patients in a simplified, more accessible, and engaging way. Healthcare organizations such as Banner Health, HonorHealth, and Mayo Clinic Arizona use medical animation to illustrate procedures, explain treatment options, and support staff training. Physicians and specialists also rely on animated models—whether basic two-dimensional visuals or advanced 3D renderings—to better understand the human body and learn medical techniques that improve patient outcomes. Medical animation continues to bring complex concepts to life across Phoenix’s expanding healthcare sector.
Animation is a powerful tool for explaining complex financial concepts, processes, technologies, and data. As society becomes increasingly rooted in digital information, the financial industry needs more creative and effective ways to engage consumers and stakeholders. Phoenix-based financial institutions such as Western Alliance Bancorporation, BOK Financial, and Charles Schwab (Phoenix operations) incorporate animated explainer videos into their marketing, onboarding, and training materials. These short animations help clarify products, services, and investment strategies, improving customer understanding and strengthening trust and brand loyalty. For both consumers and employees, animation makes financial information more digestible and engaging.
Many Phoenix-based careers use animation to accomplish tasks and produce deliverables. Animation is used in advertisements, educational pieces, entertainment, renderings, and simulations. Some careers that use animation include Animators, Motion Graphics Designers, 3D Animators, and Layout Artists, and the field is currently growing.
Animators are tasked with creating sequences that are dynamic and engaging for a variety of media forms. You’ll find the work of an Animator in films, advertisements, video games, and television. They’re skilled artists who bring characters and graphics to life. There are different types of Animators, and each uses different techniques and tools to bring visual art to life. Some duties of an Animator include storyboarding, designing characters, animating scenes, and editing animations. Mastery of tools like Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D, and Maya helps Animators work efficiently. They also need to be skilled in video editing, motion graphics, and composition. An Animator working in Phoenix can expect a salary ranging between $57,000 and $105,000.
The goal of a 3D Animator is to create a realistic experience using animation. You’ll find them employed with films, theme parks, video games, and websites. They rely heavily on computer programs to create high-quality three-dimensional animations that engage audiences in entertaining and realistic ways. A strong understanding of anatomy, movement, and mathematics is very helpful when you’re a 3D Animator incorporating rigging, the process of adding a skeleton to an animation, to create more realistic movement, into your animations. 3D Animators also need to know how to use Cinema 4D and Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere Pro while also being skilled in motion graphics design, color theory, layout design, and camera angles. A Phoenix 3D Animator earns an average salary of $85,000 to $131,000.
When you enroll in Noble Desktop’s hands-on Motion Graphics Certificate course, you’ll learn how to create animations, motion graphics, and visual effects using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D with a live instructor. Topics taught in this course include animation principles, motion graphics concepts, camera tracking, creating 3D models and animations, and adding animation to Adobe projects. By the end of this course, you’ll have compiled an impressive demo reel that showcases your ability and creativity. You’ll have five 1-on-1 mentoring sessions to use for job support, demo reel or resume refinement, help with challenging concepts, access to class recordings, and the option to retake the course one time for free within one year.
Noble Desktop also offers an After Effects Bootcamp, which provides a thorough overview of motion graphics and animation techniques. Students will create animations, 3D objects, and other professional designs. They will work with their virtual peers and a motion graphics instructor on different projects and have access to setup assistance, a private bonus training session, and a free retake within one year. They will also receive their verified digital certificate of completion once the course ends.
Noble Desktop’s onsite corporate training provides employee professional development opportunities to organizations. When you invest in your employees with onsite animation training, your organization can attract more talented employees, boost employee morale, and improve the overall workplace culture. Not only will animation skills training ensure that employees make high-quality contributions to your organization, but it will also equip them with skills they can use throughout their careers. Noble Desktop offers experienced instructors who will tailor the curriculum to meet your organization’s objectives. Animation training is available virtually or onsite at your location. You can also purchase vouchers for open-enrollment public animation classes. Discounts are available when you purchase class vouchers in bulk. Contact Noble Desktop for a free consultation to learn more about how you can invest in your employees with animation training.
Phoenix professionals have a lot of opportunities when it comes to expanding their knowledge in fields like tech, design, business, and data. Anchored by major businesses in downtown Phoenix and the surrounding areas, such as Tempe, Mesa, and Scottsdale, the city benefits greatly from a diverse economy that spans industries ranging from local government and education to tech and finance, all while maintaining strong connections to the global market. Animation is a unique skill that can get you ahead in a city like Phoenix, where companies are always seeking skilled creatives who can help bring ideas to life. Through Noble Desktop’s network of professional instructors, students in Phoenix can access high-quality training that helps them meet the industry standard. With decades of combined experience, these instructors go beyond the basics and blend practical guidance with real-world insights. This helps students not only acquire technical skills but also the confidence to make it in their professional careers.
Dr. Deanne Larson is a data science and analytics expert with 20 years of experience and counting. She has worked as an advisor for Fortune 500 companies and FinTech organizations through her firm, Larson & Associates LLC. Throughout her career, she has been drawn to work with AI-driven strategies and initiatives, machine learning implementation, and customer data platforms. Additionally, Dr. Deanne has worked on fraud detection models and managed global personalization platforms that have served hundreds of millions of customers. She is also a knowledgeable instructor, having worked for City University of Seattle, where she mentored doctoral students and developed curricula in data and business analytics. Dr. Deanne currently teaches courses in subjects ranging from data and project management to AI and Python.
After 34 years of federal service, Geno Sexton retired in 2012 and now works as a Phoenix-based project management instructor. Throughout these decades, Geno worked for eight years in the Senior Executive Service, culminating as Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer and HR Director at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he led 120 HR professionals serving 18,000 employees. He was named Deputy CHCO of the Year in 2011 and served as the first HR Officer at the new DHS Headquarters. In his distinguished career, Geno has made a real impact and currently teaches project management courses. He is a Vietnam-era Army veteran, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications and a Master’s degree in Government from New Mexico State University, and is a proud bilingual and ESL-certified instructor.