After Effects for Beginners – Learn by Doing

Download the exercise files by copying the link and clicking download all. After the download finishes, extract the compressed folder to access the course's exercise files.

Open After Effects, explore the interface, switch workspaces, and create a new HD 1920 by 1080 composition at 29.97 fps with a 10-second duration, then import assets and save project.

Import and arrange image layers in a composition by dragging and dropping, adjust position and proportional scale with shift, and manage visibility, lock, solo, shy, and rename options.

Select layers in the composition or timeline, use shift to group them, move or resize, then zoom, fit to window, and navigate with the hand tool.

Discover how to adjust layer properties—position, scale, rotation, opacity, and anchor point—on a car layer, using shortcuts to reveal properties and delink axes.

Learn how to use keyframes in After Effects by creating position keyframes with the stopwatch, moving the playhead, and adjusting speed to control the car’s animation.

Create keyframes for position, scale, rotation, and opacity to animate the car, adjusting values at specific times, preview the result, and use timeline shortcuts like u, l, j, and k.

Export your after effects project by using render queue or Adobe Media Encoder, selecting H264, setting best quality, and choosing a save folder and file name.

Export a video with a transparent background in After Effects using rgb plus alpha, QuickTime, and render queue; purge memory and disk cache after finishing.

Create a simple animation in After Effects by importing assets, arranging sky, mountains, road, car, and plane, and keyframing car and plane movements, while mastering work area and basic transforms.

Create an animated scene in After Effects by importing images, arranging a sky, grass, table, sun, windmill, and text, then animate rotation, scale, anchor points, and opacity with keyframes.

Create a new composition and import assets to build a multi-element animation, color the jet, missile, oil barrel, tank, and explosion, then animate with keyframes and motion blur.

Import assets and keyframe the ninja, dragon, chain, shuriken, ashes, and fire to animate scale, position, and rotation in an After Effects beginner project.

Create a 20-second composition, import vehicle images, and animate four cars along straight motion paths using linear and bezier keyframe interpolations.

Create an after effects exercise: import images, fit them to the comp, and animate a fish along a linear motion path with auto orient, finishing exercise 6.

Create a new composition by importing night sky, day sky, and water; arranging layers, and animating opacity and motion with keyframes, auto orient, and a fish moving along a path.

Learn to build a 12-second After Effects animation by importing assets, layering a background, Spider-Man, clouds, and lightning, and applying position and rotation keyframes with hold keys.

Create a 14-second After Effects animation combining multiple videos, Mario and a mushroom, using anchor point, keyframes, motion paths, and layer splitting to reveal scene swaps.

Discover how to use the motion sketch tool in After Effects to create smooth car animations by capturing motion paths, adjusting keyframes, and applying smoothing with a 20 tolerance.

Apply keyframe easing in After Effects to control speed, using easy ease in, easy ease out, and a blended ease, and visualize motion with the graph editor.

Use keyframe easing to create a 15-second animation of planes, a logo, and text, importing images, aligning layers, and animating scale and motion paths with easy ease.

Learn how to import an Adobe Illustrator document into After Effects as a composition and animate each layer with keyframes, bezier motion paths, rotation, and easy ease.

Create a multi-layer After Effects animation by importing a Photoshop document, then animate text and cups using position, scale, rotation, anchor point, and graph editor with easy ease.

Learn keyframe velocity in After Effects to refine a seven-second animation by adjusting motion paths, incoming and outgoing velocity, and graph editor handles for smooth motion.

Create a motorcycle animation in After Effects by importing an Illustrator file, setting an eight-second composition, and animating along a motion path with keyframes and roving across time.

Explore the parenting option in After Effects by linking multiple ducks to a big duck, using the pick whip to parent and animate from zero to twelve seconds.

Create an animation in after effects by importing sun, earth, and the moon, then parent the moon to earth and earth to sun, and rotate them across 20 seconds.

Learn to use null objects to rotate blades and move clouds in a 15-second after effects composition. Parent multiple layers to a null to scale them together and keep their positions.

Learn to create a wheel animation with cabins in after effects by importing an illustrator file, setting a 20-second composition, and using a null object with parented layers and keyframes.

Create and pre-compose a cow animation in After Effects, using anchor point rotation, keyframes, and layer parenting to a UFO for a complete scene.

Learn to create a 12-second race composition, animate a car along a timeline, and add animated countdown text with color and stroke using keyframes and graph editor in After Effects.

Create a 20-second After Effects montage by importing music and city photos, syncing to beat markers, animating city names, adding a zoom, and fading to black.

Learn to animate text in After Effects by building a 17-second video: import footage, create and style text layers, and apply position and opacity animations with range selectors.

In exercise 24, learn to build a 24-second composition with color solids, place logos and slogans, and apply text presets and effects like fill, gradient, glow, blur, drop shadow.

Practice creating and animating a seven-second After Effects composition with the Adidas logo and text, using opacity, region of interest, pre-compositions, and an echo effect for word by word reveals.

Practice creating a complete scene in After Effects by drawing sky, ground, and trees, applying gradients, assembling a pre-composition, and animating a sun, stars, and color changes through keyframes.

Practice creating a six-second After Effects animation by importing an image, drawing a croissant with ellipse shapes and merge paths, adding glow, and animating text and shapes with trim paths.

Create an After Effects composition with water text and lines, animate with wiggle paths and a repeater, then apply glow, blue wash, turbulence displacement, and an underwater look.

Import assets, apply the CC sphere to map the earth, and rotate it with keyframes. Add a glow and wrap text around a circular path, animating it along the orbit.

Mask the sea and boat, feather edges, and shape masks with the pen and rectangle tools. Animate with keyframes, pre-compose the plane, and invert the mask behind clouds.

Learn to create a two video sequence in After Effects, import sunrise and sunset clips, set a 16-second composition, and build a mask-based transition with animated paths, feathering, and text.

Apply After Effects in exercise 32 by importing assets, building a 10-second composition, masking desert and pyramids with rectangle, pen, and ellipse tools, adjusting brightness and feathering for realism.

Apply alpha mattes and track matte to reveal sky behind window, animate a plane, and add text with stroke and trim paths; finalize with a logo reveal and motion blur.

Build a 9-second after effects composition by importing ocean, forest, and desert media, arranging durations, adding centered text labels, and applying alpha matte track mattes to reveal each clip.

Create a 10-second video by importing assets, applying gaussian blur, and pre composing day and night with opacity fades. Animate Mickey head and text with keyframes and track matte.

Discover luma mats in After Effects to reveal color video through a white shape, animate a gradient rectangle, and apply wood and paper textures with luma mattes and text animations.

Create a 10-second After Effects composition with forest, tiger, and ink; apply a luma matte to reveal the tiger as the ink drops.

use After Effects expressions to rotate the sun infinitely and move clouds with time*20 and time*100. animate a car with rotating wheels, separating dimensions, and pre-compose for cohesive motion.

Create a multi-element after effects animation by importing assets, arranging layers, and applying expressions like loopout, wiggle, and ping-pong to drive looping motion, scale, rotation, and color adjustments.

Explore time remapping in After Effects by importing a video, creating a composition, and using keyframes to slow, speed up, reverse, and pause playback with on-screen text.

Learn to stretch time and speed up or slow down clips in After Effects using time remapping and time stretch, then animate a boat with alpha matte and looped motion.

Learn to light a scene in After Effects by creating 3D layers, positioning lights along the Z axis, and animating blue, orange, and ambient lights with keyframes for dramatic reveals.

Create a spotlight in After Effects with 3D layers and a point of interest. Animate the logo and paper video, and add ambient and shadow effects for realism.

Create a camera in After Effects and animate a seven-second scene with two 3D torches and a cave image, using 3D layers and z-axis positioning.

Master depth of field in After Effects by arranging 3D layers, animating a camera with focus distance, and using a null object to pan left as chickens rotate.

learn to build a two-node camera animation in After Effects by animating a plane and map in 3D, with lights and a point of interest across an eight-second sequence.

Create a 13-second, 3D animation in After Effects by importing a Photoshop document, arranging layered cars, and animating with multiple cameras and keyframes, with easy ease tuning.

Learn to animate with puppet pin tools—position, starch, bent, advanced pen, and overlap—using live record for looping keyframes of a tree, giraffe, horse, owl, crocodile, and falcon.

Explore blending modes by creating a blue solid and applying effects like multiply to reveal the video, then animate opacity and arrange 12 star copies with a repeater.

Create a 10-second After Effects composition, import videos, place the cat inside a glass ball, and apply ellipse masks with feather and opacity, then use hard light and lighten blending.

Apply glitch effects and overlays to a New York City video, composite a girl clip with pre-compose, and animate a 'New York' text via corner pin, difference blending.

Import assets, create a 10-second composition, and composite fire and fireworks using add blending; refine edges with an ellipse mask and feather, then apply a VHS recording effect.

import videos, create a 10-second After Effects composition, apply color correction curves, swap blue to pink with hue, use exclusion blending, and apply a linear wipe with feathered keyframes.

Remove boats from the video in After Effects using elliptical masks and keyframe mask paths, apply content aware fill to conceal gaps, then create a vignette with a black solid.

Isolate blue using live color, turn everything else black and white, then animate a rectangle with an adjustment layer, glow, and track matte to reveal the effect.

Apply a black-and-white adjustment layer and gaussian blur, then use an inverted ellipse mask to keep the face colored while the rest stays blurry, animated from 0 to 10 seconds.

Composite a desert scene in exercise 9 by removing the sky with color range, recoloring it with hue/saturation to green, and layering fire with overlay behind the sand.

Learn keying in After Effects using key light to remove green, scale and flip the shark, and animate both shark and eagle with keyframes.

Combine a green-screen subject with a background using a key light preset, refine with key cleaner and advanced spill suppressor, adjust with screen matte and tint, then mask out distractions.

Import two videos, create a composition, scale turtle to 80%, key out green with key light, refine screen matte, then apply corner pin to align with the screen and save.

Learn rotoscoping in After Effects using the roto brush to isolate a subject, refine edges, and freeze the matte, then add a centered animated text with drop shadow.

Import a video, create a composition, and isolate the subject with the roto brush tool. Refine edges, apply color curves, add a VR digital glitch, and animate with keyframes.

Apply warp stabilizer to three shaky videos, adjust methods (subspace warp, position, stabilize motion) and crop auto scale, then pre-compose and apply the colorize gold dip effect to finish.

Import the video, create a square composition, stabilize with trackers, rotate and scale, fix black areas by duplication, then apply motion tile and mirror edges.

Learn to track motion in After Effects, attach a logo and text to a bridge using null objects, and keep them aligned as the camera moves.

Track motion in After Effects to attach text to boats using anchor points. Link layers with a null object and pick whip, then add a drop shadow.

Learn to use After Effects track camera to place text, graffiti, and holograms in a handheld video, and master the resulting 3D camera tracker workflow.

Apply track camera and 3D camera tracker in After Effects to place a 3D watermelon and animated text into a beach scene, using a null object to drive motion.

Master the fundamentals of After Effects through hands-on exercises, use After Effects with ease, and extend your skills with advanced tutorials on YouTube.