Special Effects
via Coursera Specialization
Overview
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This Specialization, taught by instructors Hongshu Guo & Emonee LaRussa, is intended for beginners and aspiring motion designers seeking to develop foundational and intermediate skills in Adobe After Effects. Through three courses, you will cover core animation tools, transition techniques, and visual effects workflows that will prepare you to animate dynamic graphics, polish motion projects, and create eye-catching social media videos.
Syllabus
- Course 1: Beginner's Guide to Adobe After Effects: Core Tools & Setup
- Course 2: Beginner's Guide to Adobe After Effects: Animate & Polish
- Course 3: After Effects VFX: Special Effects Videos for Social Media
Courses
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Stop scrolling thumbs in their tracks by using visual effects to create out of the ordinary video content. Emonee LaRussa’s experience as a motion graphics artist and director began as a teenager when she started making amateur music videos with her friends. Access to a laptop and design apps like Adobe Effects helped bring Emonee and her passion for video effects to places she never imagined possible. Now a two time Emmy-award winning artist, Emonee’s trippy creative style has helped her gain over 200K followers and given her the opportunity to work with artists like Lil Nas X, Ty Dolla $ign, and Megan Thee Stallion as well as Saturday Night Live, The Grammys, and Rolling Stone. If you’re curious about visual effects, an art form which flawlessly integrates computer-generated imagery with live-action video footage, jump into Emonee’s first ever full-length class where she’ll walk you through her exact workflow to help you to take your video content to the next level. Throughout this course you’ll learn to: - Brainstorm your concept - Prep and plan your shoot - Discover the art of the green screen - Organize your digital workspace and composite your scene - Finalize your piece by creating a mask, blending, and adding your final details before editing it into a loop Plus, you’ll get a behind the scenes look into Emonee’s own work and how she goes about pre-production, production and post-production for a project as a full-time motion graphics designer. Whether you’re looking to unleash your inner motion designer for the first time or improve on the video editing skills you already have, joining Emonee will help you create video content that will have everyone asking how you did it. No previous motion design or video editing skills are required for this class. To follow along with Emonee, you’ll need a computer, access to Adobe After Effects, a green screen, and a camera phone or DSLR camera. You can also use extra lighting and lenses if you think it will work well for your project. Instructor bio: Emonee LaRussa is a Motion Graphics Artist working with Lil Nas x, Meg thee Stallion, The Grammy’s, Saturday Night Live and more. Along the way, Emonee has won 2 Emmys during her time working at CBS. She has created a non-profit JumpStart Designers focused on getting digital art to lower-income kids. Emonee is looking to continue her path on building a better future for all.
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Ready to take your animation skills to the next level? In this intermediate step of the After Effects journey, instructor Hongshu Guo helps you go beyond the basics and start animating like a pro. This course picks up where the fundamentals left off, diving into transitions, layered effects, and polished animation techniques. You’ll learn how to offset layers, use trim path and masking effects, animate text and complex compositions, and add the kind of visual polish that makes motion graphics stand out. With each lesson, you’ll build toward a final project where you’ll design and animate a custom title or logo reveal. By completing this course, you’ll gain the confidence to animate more complex scenes, explore After Effects’ deeper toolset, and finish your projects with creative flair. If you're looking to build a portfolio-ready animation and unlock the next phase of your creative journey, this course is your launchpad. Instructor bio: Hi, I’m Hongshu Guo, a Motion Graphics instructor with over 40,000 students online. I help beginner animators master After Effects through clear, hands-on courses. You can also explore free tutorials on my YouTube channel, Motion Circles, or join our community on Discord to connect with fellow learners. YouTube: www.youtube.com/@motioncircles Discord: https://discord.gg/weezcdqe
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If you’re completely new to motion design and ready to dive into the world of animation, this course is the perfect starting point. Taught by designer and motion graphics expert Hongshu Guo, this beginner-friendly course walks you through everything you need to know to open After Effects with confidence and start creating animations from scratch. You’ll learn how to navigate the interface, organize your files, and build your first composition using key animation tools like position, scale, and opacity. Through step-by-step lessons and a hands-on project, you’ll understand how animation works and how to bring basic objects to life on screen. By the end of the course, you’ll know how to animate simple sequences professionally and efficiently using core After Effects tools. Whether you're pursuing motion graphics as a hobby or a career, this course lays the solid foundation you need to build your skills and create with confidence. Instructor bio: Hi, I’m Hongshu Guo, a Motion Graphics instructor with over 40,000 students online. I help beginner animators master After Effects through clear, hands-on courses. You can also explore free tutorials on my YouTube channel, Motion Circles, or join our community on Discord to connect with fellow learners. YouTube: www.youtube.com/@motioncircles Discord: https://discord.gg/weezcdqe
Taught by
Skillshare