After Effects and Illustrator: A natural fit?

- It used to seem like After Effects and Illustrator were worlds apart, but recently the motion design industry has been overtaken by artists with illustrative skills. However, if animation is a completely foreign territory, where do you even start? This course is your passport to see the world of After Effects through an Illustrator lens. Rather than go deep into topics that may not serve you, I take you on a tour of the features that will be most familiar if the Illustrator is already an application you rely on. For decades, After Effects has worked with vector-based artwork from Illustrator. Being able to infinitely scale elements is a boon to animation, but that's only the beginning. We'll get into workflows that will quickly feel familiar once you understand how they correspond to what you already know. Of course, moving images introduce some complexities still image artists don't usually even think about, yet the best motion graphics design consistently begins with carefully constructed still elements. For that workflow, After Effects and Illustrator are a natural fit. I will set you up for a quicker start with After Effects by introducing you to features that you essentially already know. While I can't magically transform you into an After Effects expert in this short course, it may be easier for you to understand where to go next on your learning path. It may be type and logos in motion, or animating full abstract designs. You could even pursue a specific specialty like motion for UX, character animation, or 3D. All of these link directly to After Effects. So I hope you enjoy this brief introduction to the most Illustrator-like features and workflows in After Effects.