Teach on Udemy

Turn what you know into an opportunity and reach millions around the world.

Learn More

Your cart is empty.

Keep shopping

After Effects for Beginners: Learn 2D Animation Step-by-Step

Name: After Effects for Beginners: Learn 2D Animation Step-by-Step
Rating: 4.7 (35 reviews)

Create 2D Animation in After Effects

Created byMedeni Adıyaman

Last updated 10/2025

English

What you'll learn

The basic structure of After Effects
4 fundamental principles of creating 2d animation scenes
4 essential parameters to animate
Editing speed style with the graph editor
Layering the scenes in Illustrator and importing them to After Effects
Simple text animations
To Animate home, driving and picnic scenes
To animate an arm
Parenting objects
Using a matte
Looping a movement
Pre-composing
Compound all scenes in the main composition
Making a gradient transition between the scenes
And Rendering the animation

Course content

4 sections • 14 lectures • 1h 43m total length

Giriş1:40
Welcome to “After Effects for Beginners: Learn 2D Animation Step-by-Step”
In this introduction, you’ll get a clear overview of what you’ll learn, the tools you’ll use, and the animation projects you’ll create throughout the course.

We’ll talk about how After Effects works, how this course is structured, and what makes it one of the easiest and most practical ways to start learning motion graphics and 2D animation.

You’ll discover:
What 2D animation really means in the world of motion design
How to prepare for your first After Effects project
How we’ll move from simple keyframes to full animated scenes step-by-step
This introduction is designed to get you ready, motivated, and confident — even if you’ve never opened After Effects before.
By the end of this short section, you’ll know exactly what to expect and how to make the most of this learning experience.

Let’s dive in and start your journey into the world of 2D animation and motion graphics!
The 4 Core Principles of 2D Animation (Hierarchy, Speed, Timing & Continuity)2:24
Discover the 4 key principles that bring life and flow to your 2D animations — Hierarchy, Speed, Time Gap, and Continuity. You’ll learn how each principle affects motion and how to apply them in your future animation projects.
4 Essential Parameters in After Effects5:13
Understand and control the 4 most important parameters in After Effects — Position, Scale, Rotation, and Opacity. You’ll practice how to animate these properties and create natural, dynamic movement in your scenes.
Smoothing Your Animation with the Graph Editor4:16
Learn how to use the Graph Editor to create smoother and more professional animations. You’ll explore three types of motion speed curves and how to make your movement feel more organic and visually appealing.

Importing Illustrator Layers into After Effects2:08
Learn the right way to import layered Illustrator files into After Effects for smooth and editable animation setups.
Scene-1 (Text Animation)10:10
Animate your first text scene, “Are You Spending Enough Time With Your Family?” using position, rotation and scale parameters to add flow and personality.
Scene-2 (Home Animation)14:52
Bring your living room scene to life — animate the family, furniture, and TV using basic parameters and keyframes.
Scene-3 (Car Animation)17:47
Animate a car scene step-by-step. You’ll use scale and position to make the car and family appear naturally within the environment.
Scene-4 (Picnic Animation)12:39
Use position and scale animations to create a cheerful picnic scene with smooth, natural motion.
Animating the Organic Greengrocer Logo (Packshot Animation)3:43
Create a professional logo animation from scratch. Learn how to design engaging motion for a brand logo — perfect for intros, outros, or product videos.

Building the Main Composition7:23
Combine all your scenes into one master timeline and add smooth transitions between them to create a seamless animation.
Rendering Your Final Animation3:04
Learn how to render your project both inside After Effects and via Adobe Media Encoder for the best quality and file size.
Final Thoughts0:23
Congratulations on completing the “After Effects for Beginners: Learn 2D Animation Step-by-Step” course!

In this short video, I just want to thank you for being part of this learning journey and for taking your first big step into the world of 2D animation and motion graphics.

You’ve learned how to animate text, characters, and logos — and most importantly, how to think like a motion designer. Even as a beginner, you now have the skills to start creating your own animations in Adobe After Effects.

Keep practising, keep exploring, and never stop creating.
This is just the beginning of your journey as a 2D Animator.

Requirements

No previous knowledge is required.

Description

Course Overview

Welcome to “After Effects for Beginners: Learn 2D Animation Step-by-Step” — a complete, hands-on introduction to 2D animation.

Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a designer who wants to bring static graphics to life, this course will teach you how to animate step by step using Adobe After Effects and Adobe Illustrator.

You’ll start with the core principles of animation, then move on to creating real-world animation scenes — from animated text and characters to a professional logo reveal. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to design and animate smooth, eye-catching 2D motion graphics for your own projects, social media content, or client work.

What You’ll Learn

The 4 fundamental principles of 2D animation: Hierarchy, Speed, Time Gap, and Continuity
How to use Position, Scale, Rotation, and Opacity to control movement in After Effects
How to prepare and layer scenes in Adobe Illustrator for animation
Importing Illustrator artboards into After Effects correctly
Step-by-step scene animation: text, home, car, and picnic environments
How to animate a logo (packshot) for brand or product videos
Creating your main composition by combining all scenes
Rendering and exporting your final animation in the best quality

Each lesson builds on the previous one — helping you gain confidence and develop a strong foundation in both animation principles and After Effects tools.

Course Structure

This course includes 4 main sections and several practical lessons:

1-Introducing After Effects – Learn the basic interface and animation principles

2-Layering Artboards in Illustrator – Prepare layered assets for seamless animation

3- Making Practice in After Effects – Animate real scenes step by step

4- The Main Composition and Rendering – Combine, polish, and export your final video

You’ll work on 5 real projects, including:

An animated text scene (“Are You Spending Enough Time With Your Family?”)
A home scene with a family watching TV
A car scene is created piece by piece
A picnic scene using scale and position parameters
A logo animation (“Organic Greengrocer”) as your final packshot

Why Take This Course?

Beginner-Friendly: No prior experience with After Effects is required. Everything is explained clearly and step-by-step.

Hands-On Learning: You’ll create real animation scenes — not just watch theory.

Professional Techniques: Learn animation principles that real motion designers use in studios.

Project-Based: By the end, you’ll have your own completed 2D animation project to showcase.

Lifetime Access: Revisit lessons at any time to improve or refresh your skills.

Who This Course Is For

This course is perfect for:

Beginners who want to learn After Effects from scratch
Graphic designers who want to bring static illustrations to life
Animators or video editors looking to understand the principles of 2D motion
Content creators and freelancers who want to make animations for social media or clients

If you’ve ever wanted to make your own animated explainer video, logo reveal, or character scene — this is where you start.

Tools Used

Adobe After Effects (any modern version)
Adobe Illustrator for preparing artwork and layers

No plugins or extra software needed — just your creativity.

What You’ll Achieve

By completing this course, you’ll:

Understand the essentials of 2d animation
Be able to animate text, logos, and characters with confidence
Know how to import Illustrator scenes and build complete animated compositions
Have a ready-to-share animation project to add to your portfolio

Join Now and Start Animating!

Animation is one of the most in-demand skills in today’s creative world — used in social media ads, YouTube videos, marketing campaigns, and films.

This course will give you the practical skills and creative mindset to turn your static designs into dynamic, engaging motion stories.

Enrol now, open After Effects, and start creating your first 2D animation today!

Who this course is for:

students
graphic designers
illustrators
freelancers
motion designers
youtubers
advertisers

After Effects for Beginners: Learn 2D Animation Step-by-Step

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introducing After Effects4 lectures • 14min

Layering Artboards in Illustrator1 lecture • 18min

Making Practise in After Effects6 lectures • 1hr 1min

The Main Composition and Rendering3 lectures • 11min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: