Microanimations in 2D with After Effects

A course by MODIK , Designers, Illustrators, and Motion Designers

Designers, Illustrators, and Motion Designers. Madrid, Spain.
Joined October 2010

Learn to design characters with Illustrator and Photoshop and animate their movements

  • Spanish with subtitles in English
  • 99% positive reviews (351)
  • 6744 students

Learn to design characters with Illustrator and Photoshop and animate their movements

A course by MODIK

Pilar Guerrero and Jorge Tortosa, graphic designers and founders of the MODIK design studio, teach you how to make a 2D microanimation with After Effects. A microanimation is a very short piece that performs a specific action, which can be promoted in video or GIF format.

In this online course, Pilar and Jorge use a small traveling circus as an example to teach you the best tricks to illustrate and animate characters as diverse as the strongman, the tamer, the contortionist, and the tightrope walker.

Read more ↓

What will you learn in this online course?

26 lessons & 25 downloads

Spanish with subtitles in English
  • 99% positive reviews (351)
  • 6744 students
  • 26 lessons (5h 52m)
  • 25 additional resources (19 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Spanish
  • Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Illustrate four circus characters with a personal style, choosing the actions they will carry out by animating them following your teachers' guidelines. As a final staging, place microanimations in a circus setting to showcase what the characters are capable of.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Animators, designers, illustrators, and creatives in general who are not afraid to pick up a pencil, or any other tool, to illustrate characters and bring them to life using basic animation concepts in After Effects, to go from static to moving.

Those who feel dizzy when talking about animation are especially welcome, and are going to see how, with a few basic notions, very interesting things can be done that are applicable to an infinite number of projects.

Requirements and materials

Have basic knowledge of illustration and management of Illustrator or Photoshop. It is not necessary to know how to use After Effects because during the course its operation will be explained from scratch.

Regarding the materials, you will need a PC or Mac with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects, recommended in its CS6 versions or, much better, the CC.
Basic knowledge of illustration and use of Illustrator or Photoshop is necessary to take this course. You don't need to know how to use After Effects because your teachers show you how to use it from scratch during the course.
Regarding materials, you need a PC or Mac computer with the Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects programs, recommended in their CS6 versions or, preferably, CC.

New to Adobe After Effects? In that case, we recommend taking Domestika Basics courses to learn how to use the software: Introduction to After Effects.


Reviews

6744 Students
351 Reviews
99% Positive ratings

MODIK

A course by MODIK

Teacher Plus
Designers, Illustrators, and Motion Designers

MODIK is a motion design studio that uses 2D design and animation to tell stories that convey emotions and ideas. Their philosophy is to work with the client from the initial concept to the final piece, achieving projects that truly connect with their audience.

To date, they have worked with clients such as the United Nations FAO, WWF, Unesco, Madrid City Council, Comunitat Valenciana, Universidad Carlos III Madrid, Alain Afflelou, Suarez Jewelry, Harper's Bazaar, National Golf Center, Viesgo, and the SASM Foundation, among others.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Presentation
    • Influences
  • U2

    Casting of characters

    • Visual context
    • Study of the movement
    • What is a storyboard and what will it serve us?
    • Prepare your material to animate
  • U3

    Encourage your characters

    • With all of you the great After Effects
    • Basic principles for animating in After Effects
    • Advanced techniques to animate in After Effects
    • How to install our allied plugins
    • Duik plugin update
    • The strongman I
    • The Strong II
    • The Strong III
    • The tamer I
    • The Tamer II
    • The Tamer III
    • The IV Tamer
    • The Contortionist I
    • The Contortionist II
    • The equilibristist
    • To the stage, how to export the animations
  • U4

    Final staging

    • Compose the final scene
    • Use of camera and export our final video
    • Use of camera and export our final video II
    • How and where to promote our 2D microanimations?
  • FP

    Final project

    • 2D microanimations with After Effects

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Microanimations in 2D with After Effects. 3D, and Animation course by MODIK

Microanimations in 2D with After Effects

A course by MODIK
Designers, Illustrators, and Motion Designers. Madrid, Spain.
Joined October 2010
  • 99% positive reviews (351)
  • 6744 students