INCLUDED IN ALL-ACCESS

Character Animation Bootcamp

Learn & practice character animation essentials with pre-rigged After Effects characters.

Enroll in All-Access

Also included in our Team training for 3 or more people.

Learn On Your Own Schedule

Level up your skills on your own timeline. All course materials are available to you 24/7.

13 Projects/18+ Hours

Learn & practice character animation essentials with 13 projects and over 18 hours of video training.

Certificate on completion

Receive a SOM verified credential when you complete this course to help you with your career.

Intermediate

This is an intermediate course, ideal for those with a few years of motion design or animation experience under their belts.

Course Overview

If you’ve ever tried to animate a character in After Effects, you know how difficult it can be. In this course, you'll learn key character animation techniques in After Effects. From simple movements to complex scenes, you'll be confident in your character animation skills by the end of this course.

You Get:

18+ hours of video training

13 real-world projects

Supplemental podcasts and PDF Guides

Unlimited personalized critique on your work

Access to our 24/7 online community

Verified credential upon completion of the coursework

Pricing

How to Buy

All-Access

Get Character Animation Bootcamp and every course we make for one low price.

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Team Training

Looking to purchase for a team of 3 or more people? Get flexible licenses, consolidated billing and much more with our Team Training Program.

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Course syllabus.

What's in a Pose?

Meet your classmates, get comfy with the course format, then dive right in with a lesson on using rigged characters. Be prepared for an Evaluation exercise designed to let us see where you are starting from.

Jumping right in

Learn to create strong silhouettes and poses, which are the foundation of good character animation. Then practice setting the key poses for a jump.

Of Weight and Walk Cycles

Learn the art of "tweening," using the graph editor to nail the feel of your jump. Then use what you've learned to set up a walk cycle.

Time to Throw Down

Polish and tween your walk cycle, potentially turning it into a run. Then, learn how to manage weight shifts by creating a throw animation.

Momentum and Reference

Complete the tweening phase of the throw animation, and learn how reference can give you the power to animate any movement you can think of.

Breaking Down a Scene

Practice putting all of your skills to the test by animating an entire scene with a character. This is a great opportunity to start stringing all of the various movements you’ve learned together into a complete performance.

The Devil's in the Details

Let's See what You've Learned

Put the final touches on your scene, and unlock the final project which will test all of your new skills in a realistic trailer scenario.

Meet your instructor.

Morgan Williams

Animator & Educator

Morgan has been a professional animator and animation director for over 20 years. He has created work for numerous clients including Sony Pictures, the BBC, Comedy Central, and WGBH Boston and have been the recipient of several awards including a local ADDY®, a Telly, and a Best in Show award at Minnesota Siggraph. His short film work has been screened at festivals around the world including the Philadelphia International Film Festival and the Annecy International Animation Festival. Morgan is a Certified Duik Instructor and a full time faculty member at Ringling College of Art and Design teaching and developing curriculum in the Department of Motion Design.