Adobe After Effects - Advanced (Creative Skills Academy)

This course is designed for motion designers ready to move beyond technical competence into professional-level creative execution. Led by a senior industry practitioner, this course helps you refine your creative voice while mastering the workflows used in high-end motion design. Through a balance of theory and practical production, you’ll explore how animation communicates meaning — using timing, rhythm, hierarchy, and visual storytelling to create work that is both visually striking and purposeful.

You’ll dive deep into advanced animation techniques, complex effects, expressions, 3D integration, and Generative AI workflows, all while developing a substantial final project for your professional showreel. With guided challenges, regular feedback, and industry best practices, this course is ideal for experienced After Effects users who want to push their work to a higher creative and technical standard — and confidently operate at a professional level.

This course runs on Mondays at the Tottenham campus and on Thursdays online. Both sessions are compulsory.

Please note: This is not an advanced course.

On this course, you will learn how to:

• Apply advanced motion design theory to create clear, compelling visual narratives
• Animate complex shape layers, patterns, particles, and procedural effects
• Control timing, rhythm, and flow using graph editors and time remapping
• Build and customise expressions for automation and precision
• Integrate After Effects with Premiere Pro, Cinema 4D Lite, and 3D assets
• Create advanced 3D scenes with cameras, lighting, depth, and shadows
• Perform high-quality rotoscoping and compositing using Roto Brush
• Use Generative AI tools like Adobe Firefly within professional workflows
• Manage complex projects using industry-standard pipelines
• Plan, produce, and present a polished showreel-ready motion design project

This course is suitable for:

• Experienced Motion designers with solid After Effects experience who seek to refine their creative voice
• Graduates or professionals aiming to move into senior or specialist motion roles
• Designers seeking deeper understanding of animation theory and high-end workflows


This course is for 19+ adults only who are GLA resident. 

Free unless earning over £28,860pa (then £200)

On completion of this course, you can progress on to further study in this area.