7 Best After Effects Courses, Classes and Training Online [Updated March 2023]

 

About the Course

Motion graphic designers and VFX artists are much in demand for the magic that they can create in a video during post-production. Graphic designers and editors who are well-versed with the powerful tools of After Effects can easily bag lucrative projects and their packaged animations also sell like hotcakes on the web. To help you get the tricks up your sleeve, the first best After Effects course online in our list is a Udemy bestseller that will guide you step-by-step through the fundamentals and the advanced techniques of motion graphics and visual effects created via After Effects. In the After Effects classes online of this course, you will get to understand the most basic concepts of animation and the techniques used to create these animations. This course will provide you the best After Effects training to design, animate, and sequence a motion graphics project from scratch. Under this one of the topmost After Effects courses online, you will also learn all the essential transformations with the help of examples and practical animations. This course contains the best After Effects classes that will bolster your creative skills through more than 50 simple and advanced practical projects. The hands-on approach will empower you to create spectacular visual effects using only the built-in tools and no third-party plug-ins.

 

This course contains 31 hours of After Effects classes online comprising of a whopping 440 lectures. Besides providing the best After Effects classes, this course also contains 47 articles and 47 other downloadable resources making it one of the best After Effects training that you can undertake online. This course has a rating of 4.6 over 5 and has 105,221 enrolments and counting. The instructor of this course is Louay Zambarakji, who has extensive experience in motion graphics, visual effects, and video editing and has created top-selling After Effects courses online on Udemy.

 

You can enroll for this course online by paying a one-time fee that will grant you full lifetime access to this After Effects training online. This course can also be accessed on your mobile or TV and will grant you a certificate of completion at the end.

 

What Will You Learn?

The topics covered in this course include:

 

• Responsive design techniques included in After Effects CC 2020
• Spatial and temporal interpolation and motion path animation
• Using track mattes and masks
• Creating advanced 3D with cameras, lights, and shadows; using orbit null
• Complex, compound, and Bezier shapes
• Per character text animation and using text presets
• Using the puppet tools in CC 2018 and CC 2019/20
• Using expressions and animation presets
• Creating motion graphics time games and videos time games
• Motion tracking and camera tracking
• Green screen chromakeying and rotoscoping
• Importing and animating vector graphics from Adobe Illustrator
• Using color correction and color grading
• Creating data visualization charts
• Using the new scripts to animate mask points
• Using the essential graphics templates
• Using the best exports for YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook

 

Pre-requisites for this course

• You will require a working copy of After Effects CC 2020 or CC 2019 to undertake this best After Effects training.
• The After Effects classes online in this course do not require any prior experience in After Effects, visual effect, or motion graphics.

 

The projects included in this course are available in After Effects CC 2020, CC 2019, and CC 2018, and have backward compatibility up to CC 2013.

 

Who is this course for?

• Anyone with absolutely no knowledge of visual effects and motion graphics
• Existing video editors, graphic designers, and motion graphic artists who want to hone their skills and learn new tools of After Effects
• YouTubers and vloggers who wish to add motion graphics and VFX to their videos

 

 

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About the Course

Almost everyone today uses charts and graphs to represent data at work.  With the advent of Big Data, data visualization has become essential for bringing boring spreadsheets to life and making it easier to comprehend and communicate it further. This beginner course is the best After Effects course online that will focus primarily on using After Effects for data visualization, VFX composting, and creating stunning VFX visual effects.

 

This is one of the topmost After Effects courses online that will start from the basics, beginning with animating simple icons using After Effects. This course will give you hands-on best After Effects training on how to incorporate Excel into After Effects to represent bulky data through animations. The best After Effects classes of this course will also teach you how to incorporate sound in your presentation by creating “voice over” infographics. You will also get to experiment with lighting and camera in the projects and exercises included in this After Effects training online.

 

The duration of these After Effects classes online is approx. 5 hours and 37 minutes, and this course contains 48 on-demand video lectures. The reason we have included this course in the best After Effects course online is that besides the best After Effects classes, the instructor has also included a cheat sheet and exercise files that you can use for your projects. The instructor has also uploaded his project files so that you have a reference point if you get stuck anywhere.

 

This course is one of the bestsellers After Effects courses online on Udemy with a rating of 4.7 on 5 and 23,595 students already enrolled for this best After Effects training. This course has been created by Instructor HQ and Daniel Walter Scott, an Adobe certified instructor and Adobe certified expert. You can enroll for this After Effects course by paying a one-time fee that is backed by a 30-days money-back guarantee and will give you full lifetime access to the course content. You will also bag a certificate of completion on attending all the After Effects classes online and completing all the projects.

 

What Will You Learn?

The topics covered in this After Effects classes online are:

 

• Adding a solid background or image to infographics
• Adding text and Adobe TypeKit
• Using CC Libraries
• Animating an infographics icon
• Creating a circle pop or circle burst
• Animation effects – motion blur, overshoot, and vignette
• Vector redraw, Puppet tool, and grouping
• Animating the lines of an icon
• Adding colors to animated infographics
• Adding video backgrounds to infographics video
• Using Adobe Illustrator to create a moving bar graph
• How to use Excel to create a bar chart
• Creating a data visualization line graph, pie chart, flow chart
• Making a number counter ticker
• Masking an image inside pie chart segments
• Using track motion in After Effects
• Exporting infographics video for PowerPoint, TV, websites, YouTube, and social media

 

Pre-requisites for this course

• A copy of Adobe After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop; version CC 2017 or above
• This course does not require any prior motion graphic skills or prior knowledge of After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop

 

Who is this course for?

• Beginners completely new to motion graphics and After Effects
• Any professional who wants to make impressive presentations at work using animated infographics

 

 

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About the Course

Adobe After Effects is the most widely used software used in the post-production of movies, business and marketing videos, music videos, documentaries, etc. To show you how the visual effects are created on-screen, next in line is another Udemy’s After Effects course that will help you enhance your videos using the professional tools of motion graphics and visual effects.

 

This course is one of the best After Effects course online that will provide you with all the necessary skills and knowledge to start working on your videos in no time and create practically any video effect that you want. This course contains the best After Effects classes that will mold you to visualize like a motion graphics artist and create videos using your imagination. This is a comprehensive course in which the After Effects classes online will cover all the basic, intermediate, and advanced tools and techniques to work with shapes, text, transitions, effects, and 3D camera.

 

The duration of this self-paced best After Effects course online is approx. 26 hours. It consists of 212 lectures bifurcated under 28 sections. This best After Effects training also includes 12 articles and 18 other downloadable resources containing practical files that you can follow to learn by practice. Completing this After Effects training online will give you good exposure to handling real-world assignments that will boost your confidence and make you industry-ready.

 

The instructor of this course is Phil Ebiner, founder of Video School Online Inc. and a top-rated instructor on Udemy with over 1 million students. This course has a rating of 4.5 over 5 and has 322,997 students already enrolled. You can purchase this course on Udemy with a one-time fee that is also secured by a 30-days no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. You will also be awarded a certificate of completion in this course.

 

What Will You Learn?

The concepts taught under this After Effects course include:

 

• How to start a new composition
• The basic tools of After Effects
• Motion graphics principles and best practices
• How to work in the After Effects CC timeline
• How to add shape and text layers, and masks
• How to animate position, scale, rotation, and opacity
• Lower thirds and bumpers
• How to use video effects and presets
• Green screen and chromakeying
• Rotoscoping
• Motion tracking and video stabilization
• How to create unique transitions
• How to export projects for various platforms

 

Pre-requisites for this course

• A copy of After Effects installed on your PC. This course will be using the Creative Cloud version for the After Effects training online.
• Since this course has been designed for beginners, it does not require any prior knowledge or experience in After Effects.

 

Who is this course for?

• Videographers, video editors, motion graphics artist, and graphic designers who wish to enhance their videos with better visual effects
• YouTubers and vloggers who want to create dynamic video content
• Business owners and professionals who want to incorporate video in their marketing strategy
• Anyone who wants to learn After Effects to create great videos

 

 

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About the Course

After Effects has come a long way from a software program to now being a full-blown and ever-evolving motion graphics environment. The wide acceptance and use of this software worldwide requires the developers to constantly innovate and update the features to keep up with the industry requirements. Our next best After Effects course online is a weekly series that will help you keep up with the latest developments, techniques, and tools to stay up-to-date on After Effects. Under the online classes of this best After Effects training, you will also learn about the unique features, undocumented effects, and cool shortcuts that will take your After Effects skills to the next level.

 

The best After Effects classes of this course will teach you how to create effects, control animations and layers, reset tools, and fix issues, and also how to collaborate your work using  Photoshop, Illustrator, and Cinema 4D.

 

The duration of this intermediate course is 12 hours and 40 minutes and new After Effects classes online are being added every week. The course instructor is Eran Stern who is a motion designer with an  experience of over 2 decades in post-production. Since the courses on Lynda can now be accessed via LinkedIn Learning, you can enroll for this course by taking a monthly or yearly subscription of LinkedIn Premium that also includes a one-month free trial. Since the After Effects classes in this course are a part of an ongoing series, this course will not provide any certificate of completion. This course is one of the best options with 99,658 views so far.

 

What Will You Learn?

Some of the tools and concepts covered in this best After Effects training include:

 

• Animated decorative shapes and random shapes animation
• Fixing Photoshop layers
• Cut-out stop motion animation
• Useful utility effects
• Working with Cinema 4D files
• Folding elements
• Reset tools
• Light control
• Rendering to GIF
• Animating with transitions
• Reverse stabilization
• Animating an emoji
• Importing Illustrator files through XD
• Isometric camera and infinite zoom
• Water effects
• Pre-character 3D text and so on

 

Pre-requisites for this course

Since this is one of the After Effects courses online for intermediates, it will require a basic knowledge of After Effects to be able to use the new tricks and tools.

 

Who is this course for?

Anyone who wants to stay updated with the new features, tools, and shortcuts of After Effects should enroll for this best After Effects training online.

 

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About the Course

If you are a beginner searching for short and quick After Effects classes online, this is the best After Effects course online to opt for. This course will briefly cover the terminology of film, video, and animation and introduce you to the After Effects interface to set the ground. You will then proceed to learn all the essentials of After Effects that are required to begin working on the visual effects for your video. This is one of the After Effects courses online that will cover the fundamentals through a sample project to teach you concepts such as building compositions, working with layers, animation and adding effects, working in 3D, and rendering.

 

The duration of this best After Effects training is approx. two hours and it consists of 21 video lectures. The instructor of this course is Mark Christiansen, who has supervised visual effects for feature films and also created visual effects, animations, and designs for movies like Avatar, The Day After Tomorrow, Spy Kids 3-D, etc. You can either purchase this course with a one-time course fee or subscribe to LinkedIn Premium. Purchasing this course will give lifetime access to the course content. You will also be granted a certificate of completion that you can share on your LinkedIn and other social media profiles. This best After Effects course online already has had 16,885 viewers so far.

 

What Will You Learn?

The tools and techniques taught under this one of the best After Effects courses include:

 

• The language and terminology of motion graphics and After Effects
• The six foundations of After Effects
• Understanding the interface
• Animating compositions and working with layers
• Animating with timeline
• Applying effects and adding lights
• Basics of 3D
• Customizing text
• Adding dimensions to a design
• Motion tracking and speed ramping
• Final rendering

 

Pre-requisites for this course

Since this is an After Effects training online for beginners, there are no pre-requisites for this course.

 

Who is this course for?

• The best After Effects classes in this course are enrolled by creative designers, software developers, university professors, and user experience designers
• Anyone who wants to understand After Effects from scratch and learn the basics quickly can enroll for this course

 

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About the Course

Another course joining the league of the best After Effects courses is this SkillShare After Effects training online. Whether you are looking for the best After Effects classes to learn the software as a hobby or to pursue a career as a motion graphics designer, this course will suit both to learn the core functionalities of the software.

 

The After Effects classes online in this course will kick start with familiarizing you with the interface. You will learn about the different tools and windows in After Effects and how to import footage from the files. You will learn how to work with text, shapes, layers, masks, vector images, etc. This course will also teach you keyframing, using expressions to automate animations. The course will conclude on how to render and export the final project for different platforms. Under the final project of this course, you will bring all the learning together to create a 3D banner that rolls over the video to display related information such as the name of the speaker, designation, location, etc.

 

The duration of this course is approx. two hours and it consists of 13 on-demand videos. The instructor of this course is Evan Abrams who is a maker of motion graphics and a teacher of some of the best After Effects courses. You can enroll for this beginner’s course by taking a monthly or annual subscription of SkillShare that also offers a 7-days free trial. However, this After Effects training online does not provide any certificate of completion. Around 14,707 students have already undertaken this course.

 

What Will You Learn?

The topics covered in the course are:

 

• The After Effects interface and the basic terminology
• Importing footage and laying out shapes and texts
• Working with layers and learning about their properties
• Editing and animating text
• Secondary animation
• Adding stylistic effects like drop shadows, distortions, and glows
• Exporting project – with and without render queue

 

Pre-requisites for this course

This is one of the beginners’ After Effects courses online that does not have any pre-requisites except having a copy of After Effects to work on.

 

Who is this course for?

Anyone who wants to learn After Effects is personal or professional capacity can enroll for the best After Effects classes in this course.

 

 

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About the Course

The last course in our list of best After Effects courses is again a Udemy course that will cover all the basics of After Effects that you need to begin your journey as a motion graphic artist. This course has made it to our list of best After Effects course online as it will help you transition smoothly from a graphic designer to a graphic design and motion artist. By undertaking the best After Effects classes of this course, you will get familiar with the interface, have a solid grip on the most used features of After Effects, and will learn how to follow a proper workflow to create your first animation. By undertaking this course, you will be able to enhance YouTube videos, do more with 2D content, and create seamless animations using After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator collectively.

 

The duration of this self-paced After Effects training online is 6.5 hours that comprise 79 on-demand video lectures. This course has a rating of 4.9 over 5 and has 2385 students on board. The instructor of these After Effects classes online is Andrew Pach, a PowerPoint and After Effects instructor who has created more than 4000 projects for clients. You can purchase this course with a one-time fee that is also secured with a 30-days money-back guarantee. Purchasing this course will give you full lifetime access to the video lectures that can also be watched on a smartphone or your TV. This course, however, will not provide any certificate of completion.

 

What Will You Learn?

• Basics of motion graphics
• Workflow- essential tools and practices
• How to work with different types of layers
• How to use simple kinetic typography
• How to work on multiple platforms such as Photoshop and Illustrator
• How to use effects and presets
• Time remapping
• Color keying
• Motion tracking
• Stabilizing shaky footage
• Designing stroke animation
• Pre-composing, matting, exporting, and rendering

 

Pre-requisites for this course

• A CS5 or above version should be installed on your PC
• Basic knowledge of Adobe Suite is desirable
• Willingness to learn and be able to think like a motion graphics designer

 

Who is this course for?

• YouTubers who want to add effects in their videos
• Graphic designers who wish to learn motion graphics
• Adobe Suite users who want to work in After Effects

 

 

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