Online Motion Design Course

You’ve seen the job ads. You’ve felt the pressure. But with so many tools and tutorials out there, it’s hard to know what to actually learn or how to learn it in a way that sticks.

You’ve jumped between YouTube, Skillshare, Reddit threads. Some bits make sense, some don’t. There’s no structure, no feedback, no one to tell you if you’re doing it right.

It happens. You said yes to animation, then found yourself deep in After Effects tutorials at 1am, trying to deliver something that looks… passable. You deserve a better way. Our students have started freelancing for clients whilst studying on the course because even after week 5 you'll have the confidence to deliver something.

You don’t want to rely on presets or Canva animations. You want to understand how motion works, how to build it from scratch and how to make your own design move with purpose.

Motion isn’t just a technical skill, it’s a new way of thinking. If you’re curious, open-minded, and excited to grow as a designer, you’ll thrive in this course.

This isn’t a generic After Effects course. It’s made specifically for designers like you so everything you learn builds on your existing design thinking and visual skills.

Every class is taught live, by experienced teachers who work in the industry. You can ask questions, share work, get feedback and learn in real time, with no guesswork.

No disconnected tips. No “just Google it.”

You’ll learn through a proven process: live lectures, follow-along demos, short exercises and industry-style briefs. Plus, loads of feedback and community support.

Bring an existing design project and turn it into a fully animated, moving case study. You’ll leave with a portfolio-ready piece that shows clients and employers what you can do.

The pre-course tasks are designed to help you to get set-up so you’re ready to go from day one. You can expect:

• Videos and short exercises that take you through setting up Zoom, Google Drive, Slack, Figma and the Shillington toolkits
• Adobe After Effects orientation and set-up
• More info on Shillington, the course structure and flow, and what you can expect from the course

• Delve into the world of After Effects – from the basics to more advanced skills
• Extract the brand essence of a project before you bring it to life
• Train your design eye for Motion-based inspiration through a series of out-of-class tasks
• Convert Illustrator, Photoshop & Figma design files for motion
• Follow the process from idea generation, scamps and storyboards, style frames and blocking out
• Work with supplied footage and get creative with it
• Understand how final assets should be supplied using the help of Adobe Media Encoder

This module develops on the skills learned in Motion Foundations and allows you to apply them to more complicated demos, exercises and briefs. You'll also prepare for the work for your major project:

• Master advanced features and tools in After Effects
• More extensive exercises and briefs, and unifying timings and reformatting across multiple files. Learn how to maximise the efficiency of the working file, pre-renders, final exports, 2.5D and cameras
• One-on-one proposal discussions with teachers about the major project deliverable

This module will focus on your major project —bringing a graphic design portfolio project to life with the new motion skills you’ve acquired. One-on-one discussions with the teachers will guide you towards creating a stand-out industry-level portfolio piece. You’ll also have the option to add additional skills to your toolkit depending on the directions of your project.

• You’ll bring a pre-approved portfolio project to life through careful planning and motion-based strategy
• Put your wide range of motion skills into practice
• Work closely with teachers for support and problem-solving
• Share work with a study group for peer-to-peer feedback, appreciation and knowledge-sharing
• On the last day of the course we’ll celebrate your graduation and we also invite industry representatives to view and feedback on our graduate’s showcase of work

Classes include live lectures, demos, practical exercises & briefs. Expect the Shillington way of doing things from the first class, with hands-on teacher support, critiques, final project proposal preparation and guidance. Active participation is crucial, with opportunities to present ideas, research, and engage in group tasks.

The course is intensive, so you’ll need to commit to missing no more than four days to ensure you don't miss vital live guidance and feedback. Check our Terms and Conditions for more information.

A computer capable of running After Effects and a reliable internet connection are required. While teachers will use Macs, Windows support is also available. You will need access to Adobe After Effects through Creative Cloud (latest version recommended), as well as Illustrator and Photoshop. During the pre-course preparation module, you will be guided on how to access an educational license for Figma.