Skillshare – Looping Animation Techniques in Adobe After Effects

An in-depth course covering a wide variety of looping animation techniques in After Effects.
You'll learn how to design and animate hypnotic character-based loops that people will want to watch again and again and again, forever.

What is this course about?

From fundamental loop theory through to inspiration on how to generate your own loop ideas, you'll come out of this course fully prepared to start taking on the world with your own never-ending animations. Whether you're an experienced animator or an illustrator looking to spice up your portfolio with some motion, you can quickly learn how to create seamlessly infinite animations perfect for posting on social media.

What will I learn in Animated Loops?

1.Loop Theory

Learn the fundamental theory behind creating great animated loops, then we'll get into the swing of things by creating your first looping animation with the basic shape of what will later become your character.

2.Loop Design

Expand your design into a fully rigged character, ready to throw into any kind of loop you can think of, by learning how to create simple character designs suitable for many different loop techniques. We'll also discuss best practices for creating loops that still look great after being put through the dreaded GIF compression.

3.Bouncing Loops

Let's animate your new character! We'll get them warmed up on a trampoline in a bouncing loop, showing how to use overlapping animation to make short repeating actions feel continuous while adding lots of detail by animating every single part of their body.

4.Scrolling Loops

We'll exercise your character a bit more by taking them out for a run, then give them somewhere to run to by animating a scrolling looping background. Learn how to effectively create a parallax effect to give your scene depth and a sense of speed.

5.Isometric Loops

We'll look at your run cycle from a new perspective by learning how to animate isometric loops. Then, we'll give your character some friends by showing how to create a loop with multiple characters running in different intersecting directions at once.

6.Zooming Loops

It's time to keep looking closer at loops by learning how to create a continuous zoom. We'll work with the graph editor to show how to give your loop a constant zoom speed, then combine this zoom with camera rotation to create a hypnotic spin that ****s you in forever.

7.Particle Loops

Your character deserves a break, so let them take a seat on a rocking chair, while you learn how to use a particle system to create a continuous looping smoke effect from a moving source - their pipe.

8.3D Loops

Let's get moving again, this time in 3D! Learn how to combine cameras, 3D layers, and 2D animation to seamlessly roll your character through a three-dimensional racing scene.

9.Spinning Loops

If rolling didn't get them dizzy, let's try a spin instead. We'll use 3D in a different way, with a real spinning 3D object as a guide, to make your 2D character appear to fluidly spin around and around while floating on water which we'll learn to create with a simple wave effect.

10.Loop Ideas

What's next for your characters? Let's talk about it! We'll learn how to find inspiration for loop ideas from real-world situations, combining all of the techniques you've now learned into new and exciting animated loops of your own!