Beginner 2 days · 12 hours Creative Cloud 2026

After Effects Level 1

For designers and editors new to motion. Leave with a logo sting and a title pack.

About this course

After Effects is not a video editor and it is not Photoshop with a timeline. It is a compositing and animation tool, and almost everything that frustrates a beginner comes from three things nobody explains on day one: the anchor point is not where you think it is, keyframes are worthless until you shape them in the graph editor, and precomposing is the difference between a project you can change and a project you have to rebuild.

Over two days you build three deliverables from supplied brand artwork. Day one covers compositions, layers and transform properties, then keyframes, easing and the graph editor, which is where flat mechanical movement turns into movement with weight. You learn parenting and null objects, then spend the afternoon on shape layers, trim paths, Illustrator artwork brought in and converted to shapes, and text animators, finishing with a five-second logo sting you animate yourself.

Day two widens the toolkit. Masks, track mattes and the difference between alpha and luma, precomposing done properly, adjustment layers, and the handful of effects worth knowing before all the others. You set up a basic 3D scene with a camera for a parallax move, and track a shot so a label stays attached to something moving. The afternoon assembles a lower-third pack with editable text, publishes it as a motion graphics template that an editor can retype in Premiere Pro without opening After Effects, and cuts a thirty-second explainer from the elements you have built. The last session is output: the render queue, Media Encoder, alpha channels, codecs for handover and Dynamic Link back to Premiere.

The syllabus maps to the published exam objectives for the Adobe Certified Professional in Adobe After Effects, which is delivered through Certiport. We prepare you for the exam. We do not award the certification, and no course can guarantee a pass. Completing both the After Effects and the Premiere Pro professional certifications earns Adobe's Video Design Specialty Credential.

Much of what you animate in After Effects is drawn somewhere else first, so this course pairs naturally with Illustrator Level 1 for the artwork and with Premiere Pro Level 1 for the edit those graphics eventually sit in.

What you'll be able to do

  • Set up compositions with the right frame rate, resolution and duration for a given delivery
  • Animate transform properties with keyframes, and shape their timing and easing in the graph editor
  • Fix the anchor point problem so layers rotate and scale around the point you intended
  • Use parenting and null objects to animate a group of layers together
  • Build shape layers with trim paths and animated strokes, and convert Illustrator artwork into editable shapes
  • Animate typography with text animators and range selectors
  • Animate a five-second logo sting from supplied brand artwork
  • Combine masks, track mattes and precomposing to build a composite another person can open and edit
  • Create a simple 3D parallax move with a camera, and track a shot so a label follows a moving subject
  • Publish a lower-third pack as a motion graphics template for Premiere Pro, and render final files with the correct codec and alpha channel

Who it is for

  • Graphic designers asked to make their static work move for social media
  • Video editors who currently outsource titles and animated graphics
  • Marketing and content teams producing explainers and animated adverts in-house
  • Web and UI designers who need short animations and product demonstrations
  • Students and career changers building a motion graphics portfolio

What you need first

  • No prior experience with After Effects is needed.
  • You should be comfortable with your own computer, and some experience of Photoshop, Illustrator or Premiere Pro will make the first morning easier without being assumed.
  • After Effects runs hard on memory and disk, so we send Adobe's published system requirements and a setup check about a week before the class.

Upcoming dates

Upcoming dates, with prices and places remaining
When How Where Places Price Book
6–7 Oct 2026 09:00–16:00 +0530 Live online Online Places available $695.00
20–21 Oct 2026 09:00–16:00 +0530 In person Places available $834.00
27–28 Oct 2026 09:00–16:00 +0530 Live online Online Places available $695.00
17–18 Nov 2026 09:00–16:00 +0530 Live online Online Places available $695.00
1–2 Dec 2026 09:00–16:00 +0530 In person Places available $834.00
8–9 Dec 2026 09:00–16:00 +0530 Live online Online Places available $695.00
Start any time Self-paced Online Always available $49.00

What we cover

About 12 hours of taught content

Day 1, Morning — Compositions, layers and keyframes

Learn how After Effects thinks, then make something move with weight rather than in a straight line.

  • Where After Effects sits next to Premiere Pro, and what it should not be used for 20 min
  • Compositions, frame rate, resolution and the project panel 30 min
  • Layers, transform properties and the anchor point problem 40 min
  • Keyframes, easing and the graph editor 55 min
  • Parenting and null objects: animating a group of layers together 35 min
Day 1, Afternoon — Shapes, type and the logo sting

Build vector artwork that animates, then finish a five-second sting you can show a client.

  • Shape layers, path operations, trim paths and animated strokes 50 min
  • Importing Illustrator artwork and converting it to editable shapes 30 min
  • Text animators, range selectors and animated typography 45 min
  • Building a five-second logo sting from the supplied brand files 55 min
Day 2, Morning — Masks, mattes, effects and 3D

Composite properly, keep the project maintainable, and add depth and tracking.

  • Masks and track mattes, and the difference between alpha and luma 45 min
  • Precomposing, and keeping a project a colleague can open and change 25 min
  • Effects and adjustment layers: the ones worth learning first 40 min
  • 3D layers, a camera and a simple parallax move 45 min
  • Motion tracking: attaching a label to a moving subject 25 min
Day 2, Afternoon — Templates, the explainer and output

Make graphics an editor can reuse, assemble the explainer, and render files for handover.

  • Building a lower-third pack with editable text 45 min
  • Essential Graphics: publishing a motion graphics template for Premiere Pro 35 min
  • Assembling a thirty-second explainer from the elements you have built 45 min
  • Render queue, Media Encoder, alpha channels and codecs for handover 35 min
  • Dynamic Link with Premiere Pro, and collecting files for a colleague 20 min

Who teaches it

MyLearnPlus Adobe Faculty

Adobe Certified Professionals teaching the Creative Cloud track

The Creative Cloud track is taught by a small pool of practising designers, retouchers, editors and production artists rather than by one trainer with a broad brochure. Everyone who teaches on this track has to meet the same standard before they take a class: a current Adobe Certified Professional credential in the application they teach, obtained through Certiport in the same way we tell learners to obtain theirs, and recent production experience in a studio, agency or in-house team. Teaching Photoshop here means you still retouch files for clients. Teaching InDesign means you still send documents to print and deal with what comes back. Instructors work on the current Creative Cloud release, and they are expected to know the published exam objectives for the courses that prepare learners for an Adobe exam.

Classes are staffed one instructor per cohort, and the instructor for your date is named in your joining instructions before the course starts. A new instructor teaches the MyLearnPlus syllabus under observation before running it alone, so the exercise files, the workbook and the sequence of a day are the same whoever is in front of you. Large private cohorts are staffed with a second assisting instructor so that nobody waits with a hand up, and hybrid sessions with remote joiners are run with someone watching the online room. If an instructor has to be replaced at short notice the substitute teaches the same syllabus from the same materials, and we tell you before the day rather than on it.

Read more about the faculty

What's included

  • Class recording, available for 12 months
  • Exercise files: brand artwork, the tracking shot and the finished After Effects projects, yours to keep
  • Course workbook covering every step demonstrated in class
  • Practice questions written against the Adobe Certified Professional exam domains
  • MyLearnPlus certificate of completion
  • Instructor email support after the class for questions on the exercises
  • One free repeat of the same live class, terms shown on the booking page

Certification

Prepares for the Adobe Certified Professional in Adobe After Effects exam

Adobe Certified Professional exams are set and awarded by Adobe through Certiport. This course prepares you for one; it does not award it, and no course can guarantee a pass.

How Adobe certification works

What learners say

No reviews yet. This course is newly published, and we would rather show you nothing than show you something we wrote ourselves. Reviews appear here as learners leave them.

Questions people ask

Do I need to learn Premiere Pro first?
No. This course assumes nothing about editing and the two applications solve different problems: Premiere assembles a film, After Effects builds the things that move inside it. That said, most motion graphics end up in an edit, and the last session covers motion graphics templates and Dynamic Link, so people who take both find each course makes more sense of the other. If you only ever animate for social media, this course on its own is enough.
What kind of computer do I need?
After Effects is the most demanding application in Creative Cloud. Memory and disk speed matter most, and a machine with 8GB of memory will struggle with previews on day two. We send Adobe's published system requirements and a setup check about a week before the class, and we cover cache settings and preview resolution in the first morning so you can work comfortably on a modest laptop. Leave about 30GB free for the exercise files and disk cache.
Is the After Effects software included in the price?
No. After Effects is a subscription from Adobe and we do not resell licences. Adobe offers a free trial that covers the two days if you do not have a licence, and your employer may already hold licences you can be added to. Classroom seats in Colombo come with the software installed.
Will I learn visual effects, green screen and 3D?
Partly, and it is worth being clear about the boundary. You will do basic 3D with a camera, one-point motion tracking and compositing with masks and mattes. Green screen keying, rotoscoping, camera tracking and particle work are the substance of a Level 2 course rather than something to skim in an afternoon. Two days spent properly on keyframes, the graph editor and precomposing will make those later skills much easier to learn.
What happens if I miss a day?
Every live session is recorded and the recording stays available for 12 months, so you can catch up in your own time. Day two builds directly on day one, so if you miss the first day we would rather you rejoined a later cohort than pressed on. Repeating a half day with a later group costs nothing, subject to seats, and your free repeat of the full course still stands.
Do you issue a certificate, and does this prepare me for the Adobe exam?
You receive a MyLearnPlus certificate of completion from Livezen Technologies, naming the course, the version taught and the hours completed. That is a record of training, not an Adobe qualification. The syllabus does cover the published objectives for the Adobe Certified Professional in Adobe After Effects exam and you get practice questions written against those domains, but the exam is booked and sat through a Certiport testing centre, the fee is not included, and we cannot guarantee a pass. Adding the Premiere Pro certification earns the Video Design Specialty Credential.
Can my employer be invoiced, and can you run this for our team?
Yes. Organisations in Sri Lanka are invoiced in LKR and organisations elsewhere in USD, and we can issue a pro forma invoice against your purchase order before the class. For a team of four or more, private delivery is usually better value, and it lets us animate your own logo and build the lower-third pack as a template your editors will actually use.

Beginner 2 days

Premiere Pro Level 1

Two days of Premiere Pro for beginners. Cut a two-minute film from supplied rushes, add titles and captions, mix the sound and export for the web.

Beginner 2 days

Illustrator Level 1

A two-day introduction to Adobe Illustrator: draw with the Pen tool, build a logo and an icon set, and export artwork a printer will accept.

Need this for a team?

We run this course privately, on your dates, at your office or online, tailored to the work your team actually does. Tell us what you need and we will send a quote.

Get a quote