What to Learn After After Effects

One of the incredible things about Adobe After Effect is that students can always learn new things about the program and discover new ways to integrate it into the larger Adobe Creative Cloud and many other third-party applications. Artists can pair After Effects with programs such as original content creators and editors such as Illustrator and Photoshop, video editors like Premiere Pro, and 3D image creators such as Cinema 4D Lite. Those considering a career change or would like to add new dimensions and textures to the videos can expand their capabilities through the skills discussed in the following article.

What is After Effects?

Adobe After Effects is a motion graphics application that places special effects design and creation tools in your hands! Whether you are a small business looking to make eye-catching advertisements and commercials or an employee of one of the top animation studios, After Effect allows users to bring their imagination to life. This Academy Award-winning program has been a favorite of film, television, and internet creators since its creation in the early 1990s. Special, practical, mechanical, and theatrical effects artists used After Effects software to create blockbuster movies such as Star Trek: Into Darkness and Ender's Game. 

Combined with the graphics of Illustrator, the image-altering tools of Photoshop, and the video editing capabilities of Premiere Pro, After Effect’s comprehensive toolbar and layering features allow users to create dynamic special effects and title cards. Adobe Effects also has a 3D design function, adding new emphasis and movement to any project. You can even use After Effects to create fully or partially animated features! When combined with the other programs of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe After Effects will help your video project stand out from the crowd!

Read more about what After Effects is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with After Effects?

Think about the last time you watched a Hollywood blockbuster. What were the main things that you noticed throughout the movie? Maybe you noticed the quality of the animations and other motion graphics that added a unique texture to your viewing experience. Perhaps the dynamic opening credits that set the stage for the action caught your eye. Or maybe the incredible special effects drew you into the movie's action. Regardless of what visuals captured your attention, Adobe After Effects or a related motion graphics and special effects tool was likely responsible for these incredible visuals. 

After Effects is a motion graphics and special effects software that allows you to animate texts and objects, use greenscreens to add or subtract objects and elements, and develop unique transitions to your visual media creations. Users can create their original graphics using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator or redesign one of the many available templates to create their vision. When users combine the editing power of After Effects with the capacities of Cinema 4D Lite included with every subscription, these artists can add new textures and dimensions to their visual media. 

Beyond the incredible toolkit offered within the After Effects program, this application is also compatible with many other tools. Part of the larger Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe After Effects can work with programs such as Adobe Audition, InDesign, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro to create original and composite forms of visual media. After Effects also works with third-party plugins such as FXFactory, Red Giant by Maxon, and CycoreFX, further maximizing the capabilities and functionality of this application.

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

After Effects is only one part of the larger Adobe Creative Cloud. To get the most out of your subscription and begin creating original content, consider learning to use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create and edit original visual media. As suggested by the name, Adobe Illustrator gives users the tools to draw simple and complex graphics digitally. Artists can use Photoshop to remove or enhance elements, change backgrounds, and correct the color schemes of their photos. 

Rather than being dependent on templates and other people’s artwork as a basis for your motion graphics, realize your unique vision using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Whether you draw animations or use a photograph, these graphics will serve as the modifiable editing layers within After Effects that artists can customize with motion effects. Unfamiliar with the tools and techniques of these applications? Check out Noble Desktop’s Photoshop Near Me and Illustrator Classes Near Me search tools to find in-person courses in your area or Best Illustrator Classes Online and Best Photoshop Classes Online lists to discover on-demand and live online training opportunities. 

Unsure if you are ready to fully commit to a new set of classes so soon after learning After Effects? Take advantage of Noble Desktop’s many free Photoshop and Illustrator learning opportunities. Noble Desktop offers free directories of Photoshop learning resources and After Effects learning resources to help students begin to build a foundational understanding of these programs. Are you thinking about enrolling in a live online course? Get a taste of Noble Desktop’s Live Online courses through its Free Design, Coding, and Business Seminars. Taught by Noble Desktop instructors, these free workshops give Adobe users a taste of the live online experience before they have to financially commit to a course. This page also archives recordings of past seminars and features topics such as Intro to Adobe Illustrator, Intro to Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator for Fashion, Creative Effects with Illustrator, and Photoshop Old Photo Restoration. 

Cinema 4D Lite

If you have purchased a subscription to After Effects, you may be curious to learn more about the free supplementary Cinema 4D Lite application included with your program. Motion graphic artists use Cinema 4D Lite to create and animate 3D graphics. A more simplistic version of Cinema 4D Studio, Cinema 4D Lite allows users to add new dimensions to their animated graphics through texturing, lighting, shading and generating new shapes in visual media. Artists can also use Cinema 4D Lite to determine if they would like to invest in the much more complex Cinema 4D application, which comes with many more plug-in options that can be helpful when designing effects such as hair, cloth, or smoke. 

Like After Effects, many users highlight how difficult it can be to learn how to use Cinema 4D or Cinema 4D Lite. “I’ve tried multiple times to get started over the past few years to get into Cinema 4D,” commented one Cinema 4D Lite user on G2, “... It is very hard for a beginner. The program gives no tutorial for beginners, so I’ve been using YouTube videos. I’m following okay, but there's so many little details that I get lost…(Cinema 4D) doesn't seem user-friendly to me at all.” While YouTube and free blog posts are a great place to start your Cinema 4D Lite learning journey, many users enjoy more success when enrolling in a training program. 

Once committed to learning Cinema 4D, many students wonder which training program format will be best for their long and short-term goals. Rather than scrolling through training program advertisements on the web, many users turn to Noble Desktop’s many tools and resources to find the classes that will best suit their schedules, financial restrictions, and learning styles. For example, students who enjoy learning in a more traditional classroom environment may choose to use Noble Desktop’s Cinema 4D Classes Near Me search tool to compare and contrast the cost, duration, and curricula of bootcamps and workshops in their area. 

Looking to avoid the commute? Check out Noble Desktop’s list of the Best Cinema 4D Classes Online. Among the classes on this list, you will find Noble Desktop’s popular Cinema 4D for After Effects Bootcamp. This short-term class helps students make the most of their free subscription to Cinema 4D Lite so that they do not have to pay for an additional subscription to Cinema 4D. Still unsure if you are ready for a commitment? Watch Noble Desktop’s free Intro to Cinema 4D Lite seminar to get a taste of the live online experience. You can also keep an eye out for Noble Desktop’s many other free seminar classes covering topics related to business, coding, and design.

Adobe Animate 

Many users assume Adobe After Effects and Animate must have identical functionality based on their names. Nevertheless, artists use these programs to create animation and other forms of motion graphics for very different platforms. Motion graphics professionals employ After Effects to animate original and template images for television, film, or commercials. Contrastingly, web creators use Adobe Animate as the latest model of Adobe Flash Professional to develop motion graphics for web-based content. Learn more about how Adobe After Effect and Adobe Animate compare through this head-to-head article. 

Adobe Animate is a beneficial tool for artists who want to create dynamic and interactive content for several internet platforms. While users tend to agree that Adobe Animate is much easier to learn than After Effects, many still search for structured opportunities to build their skill set. Many animation students learn the basics of Adobe Animate through free resources available online. Noble Desktop, for example, offers a free seminar on Web Animation Techniques and a comparison of Adobe After Effects and Animate.

Students looking for more structured learning opportunities should use Noble Desktop’s various search engines and tools to discover the class that will work best for their schedules without breaking the bank. Those looking for a comprehensive overview of this application in a more traditional classroom should employ Noble Desktop’s handy Adobe Animate Classes Near Me search engine. Prospective students can use this tool to compare and contrast the cost, difficulty, and duration of different courses. Looking for a way to take control of your schedule? Consider checking out Noble Desktop’s helpful Best Adobe Animate Classes Online list. This resource will help you identify an online course and format that works for your schedule and educational needs. These classes offer an excellent first step toward learning this dynamic program. 

Learn After Effects with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

After Effects has a bit of a reputation on many online forums. Despite users of all skill levels enjoying this application’s various tools and functionality, many note that this program is more difficult to learn independently than other Adobe programs and video editing software. “At first, After Effects seemed very intimidating,” commented one G2 reviewer, “I started watching free videos on Youtube, but I often got confused or couldn’t find the right buttons. I had to invest in a paid course and spend hundreds of hours learning the interface, which I don’t regret.” While After Effects is part of the larger Adobe Creative Cloud, this program frequently requires more outside instruction to comprehend than other programs. Keeping these experiences in mind, how does learning After Effects compare to other Adobe applications? 

After Effects integrates well with other Adobe programs like Premiere Pro and third-party software like Cinema 4D Lite but frequently requires additional training to connect After Effects to these programs and use this application alone. While some users may claim that Premiere Pro and Cinema 4D Lite are much more intuitive than Adobe After Effects, neither program operates at capacity without After Effects. Animation artists can use Premiere Pro to edit original and composite visual media that they create with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects. Nevertheless, they cannot design advanced motion graphics and special effects using Premiere Pro alone. Cinema 4D Lite can also add incredible 3D graphics to illustrations animated in After Effect. Still, its usefulness depends on the ability to use After Effects to create the foundational content. 

Beyond the codependency of these programs, there is also the consideration of their subscription and education expenses. While some choose to access After Effects or Premiere Pro individually for $20.99 a month, more savvy users know it is more cost-effective to subscribe to the entire Adobe Creative Cloud for $54.99 per month. This subscription fee also comes with the ability to use Cinema 4D Lite, saving you the additional cost of a Cinema 4D subscription that can run from $59.91 to $94.00 per month.

Key Insights

• After Effects is part of the larger Adobe Creative Cloud. Those looking to make the most of their subscription should learn how to use an application complementary to After Effects. 
• Artists can use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create original media to animate in After Effects. 
• Cinema 4D Lite is a free program included in an After Effects subscription. Animators can use this program to add texture and dimension to their graphics. 
• Noble Desktop offers free and cost-effective resources and workshops for After Effects users looking to diversify their skill sets.