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Animation Classes Chicago

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Unlock your creativity and bring your ideas to life with a wide range of animation classes. Learn the art of storytelling, character design, and digital animation techniques, and gain the skills to create captivating visuals and narratives.

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Motion Graphics Certificate

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Become a skilled Motion Graphics Designer and master the art of animating motion graphics, creating visual effects, and editing videos using industry-standard software like Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D Lite. Develop a strong portfolio showcasing your creative techniques and gain the skills needed to meet the growing demand for video professionals.

(390) All levels 18 and older
$3,495

15 sessions

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After Effects Bootcamp

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Unlock the power of Adobe After Effects in this comprehensive bootcamp, designed to help you create compelling video content from scratch. You'll learn the fundamentals of animation, text effects, and file integration through hands-on projects, all guided by an experienced instructor. Gain the skills needed to bring your motion graphics to life with confidence.

(390) All levels 18 and older
$975

3 sessions

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After Effects Part 1

Computer Training Source, Inc. See all classes by this school @ 1821 Walden Office Sq, Schaumburg, IL

Learn how to create stunning motion graphics and visual effects with After Effects. This course covers everything from setting up and pre-rolling to working with text, integrating Photoshop images, using advanced motion techniques, and more. Enhance your skills and bring your creative visions to life.

(22) Beginner 18 and older
$645

2 sessions

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+6450 pts
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After Effects Part 2

Computer Training Source, Inc. See all classes by this school @ 1821 Walden Office Sq, Schaumburg, IL

Take your After Effects skills to the next level with this advanced course. Learn compositing, rotoscoping, and green screen techniques for creating stunning animations and videos. Enhance your multimedia presentations, create 3D effects, and master the art of rendering and exporting. Sign up now to elevate your After Effects expertise!

(22) Intermediate 18 and older
$699

2 sessions

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+6990 pts
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Adobe Premiere Part 1

Computer Training Source, Inc. See all classes by this school @ 1821 Walden Office Sq, Schaumburg, IL

Discover how to master Adobe Premiere, one of the most versatile digital video editing tools on the market, in this comprehensive course. Learn essential video editing techniques, including transitions, filters, audio editing, and more. Take your video editing skills to the next level with this hands-on training.

(22) Beginner 18 and older
$699

2 sessions

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+6990 pts
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Adobe Premiere Part 2

Computer Training Source, Inc. See all classes by this school @ 1821 Walden Office Sq, Schaumburg, IL

Master the art of video production with Adobe Premiere Part 2. Learn advanced editing techniques, color correction, transitions, and more in this comprehensive course at Computer Training Source, Inc. Develop a complete workflow from start to finish and create professional-quality videos.

(22) Intermediate 18 and older
$899

2 sessions

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+8990 pts
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After Effects Certification Program

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Enhance your motion graphics skills and become an Adobe After Effects pro with this comprehensive program. Earn a professional certification and stand out in the competitive world of animation and motion graphics. Take your skills to the next level in this hands-on course.

(390) All levels 18 and older
$2,995

9 sessions

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Video Editing & Motion Graphics (High School)

NextGen Bootcamp See all classes by this school @ Live Virtual

Unlock the secrets of professional video editing and motion graphics with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Gain hands-on experience in organizing footage, applying effects, and creating stunning visual effects. Whether you're a budding filmmaker or aspiring content creator, this course will equip you with the skills needed to bring your creative visions to life.

(61) All levels 13 - 18 years old
$2,495

8 sessions

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Motion Graphics with After Effects (High School)

NextGen Bootcamp See all classes by this school @ Live Virtual

Unlock the world of motion graphics design with Adobe After Effects. Dive into hands-on learning to create captivating animations and stunning visual effects from scratch. Perfect for beginners, this program covers everything from basic navigation to advanced techniques, empowering you to unleash your creativity in the world of animation.

(61) All levels 13 - 18 years old
$1,299

4 sessions

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After Effects in a Day

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Learn how to create stunning animations, add music and sounds, and import files from Illustrator and Photoshop in this hands-on workshop. Perfect for beginners looking to master After Effects in just one day.

(390) All levels 18 and older

Video Editing Certificate

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Master the art of video editing, audio editing, and motion graphics at a leading institution. Learn the creative techniques and workflow required to transform concepts into fully edited videos. Elevate your skills and stand out to potential clients or employers with a compelling video editing demo reel.

(390) All levels 18 and older
$2,995

15 sessions

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Adobe After Effects Private Training

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Unlock the power of motion graphics with this comprehensive training. Master Adobe After Effects' interface, timeline, and layer animation techniques to craft stunning GIFs, animate logos, and seamlessly integrate artwork from Illustrator and Photoshop.

(390) All levels 13 and older

After Effects Advanced

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Take your After Effects skills to the next level with this advanced course. Master text and shape animations, learn video compositing techniques, and discover how to speed up your workflow with expressions. Enhance your motion graphics and compositing skills with hands-on projects in this immersive course.

(390) Advanced 18 and older
$975

3 sessions

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After Effects Bootcamp

NYC Career Centers See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Master the art of creating professional videos, animations, and special effects with After Effects. Elevate your skills in motion graphics and animation, from basic techniques to advanced motion tracking and particle effects. Take your video editing to the next level.

(681) All levels 18 and older
$975

3 sessions

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Motion Graphics & Video Editing Portfolio Development

Noble Desktop See all classes by this school - Virtually Online

Discover how to create engaging and meaningful motion graphics and video edits from concept to completion in this in-depth course. Gain the skills necessary to build a professional portfolio and excel in the growing industries of motion graphics and video editing. Take the first step towards a career in this creative field.

(390) All levels 18 and older
$1,495

6 sessions

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Autodesk Maya Workshop (Ages 13-18)

Animation Atelier See all classes by this school

Unlock the power of Autodesk Maya, the industry-standard software used by leading studios like Disney, Pixar, and ILM. In this workshop, teens will gain hands-on experience creating animations and visual effects, mastering the same tools that bring blockbuster films to life. Ideal for young artists eager to explore 3D animation and VFX.

All levels 13 - 18 years old
$250

6 sessions

Attend
+2500 pts
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Adobe Animate Workshop (Ages 13-18)

Animation Atelier See all classes by this school

Ignite your creativity in a dynamic workshop focused on Adobe Animate, where you'll explore its powerful features and enhance your animation skills. Suitable for both beginners and those with some experience, this course guides you on an exciting journey through the world of animation. Perfect for young artists eager to bring their ideas to life!

All levels 13 - 18 years old
$250

6 sessions

Attend
+2500 pts
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Basic Hand Drawn Animation (Ages 13-18)

Animation Atelier See all classes by this school

Kickstart your animation journey by mastering 2D hand-drawn techniques. In this course, teens learn how to animate objects by capturing their unique motion characteristics, building a strong foundation in animation principles used by professionals. Ideal for aspiring animators eager to develop their skills in expressive motion.

Beginner 13 - 18 years old
$250

6 sessions

Attend
+2500 pts
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Storyboarding & Storytelling (Ages 13-18)

Animation Atelier See all classes by this school

In this course, teens will learn the art of visual storytelling, exploring how stories for film, TV, animation, and comics are developed. They’ll practice professional techniques to layout scenes, bringing narratives to life through detailed and dynamic storyboards. Perfect for aspiring creators passionate about storytelling.

All levels 13 - 18 years old
$250

6 sessions

Attend
+2500 pts
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Advanced Hand Drawn Animation (Ages 13-18)

Animation Atelier See all classes by this school

Advance your hand-drawn animation skills by mastering how to convey character through human motion and body mechanics. In this course, teens will refine their animation techniques, focusing on more intricate movements to enhance character development and storytelling. Ideal for those looking to elevate their animation projects with lifelike, expressive characters.

Advanced 13 - 18 years old
$250

6 sessions

Attend
+2500 pts
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Reviews for Animation Classes in Chicago

Animation Classes in Chicago are rated 4.6 stars based on 1,154 verified reviews from actual CourseHorse.com purchasers.

  • After Effects in a Day

    Anonymous review on 11/7/2019
    Amazing instructor!
  • After Effects in a Day

    Reviewed by Mary B. on 10/17/2019
    Great teacher! Learned a lot in one day.
  • After Effects in a Day

    Anonymous review on 8/3/2019
    Very good for learning with no experience or for filling in the gaps from self teaching AfterEffects. Wish there were a little more complex concepts taught other than just moving shapes around on 2D space but you can only teach so much in a day. Got a little too quick towards the end when exporting projects and learning different compressions so it felt arbitrary to even explain. But overall good class and great teacher, perfect pace for learning from scratch and if you need to learn specifically how to make gifs and logos
  • After Effects Bootcamp

    Reviewed by Dov A. on 5/2/2019
    Kalika was a fantastic instructor bringing patience and humor to every lesson. Thanks to her, I have a strong grasp on the topics covered, am confident in my skills and capability to delve further into the app. Kalika is the rare teacher who goes the extra mile for her students because she's happy to. One suggestion note is that there are a few lessons that start off with importing or setting up in more than one way for the sake of learning how different modes function. I think the class would benefit from taking time in between the demonstrations to practice that part before continuing into the bulk of the lesson - I found that I forgot what the take-away was from that initial portion of the lesson by the time the demonstration was over, and conducting that portion on my own created an interruption between the demonstration and going through the section on my own.
  • After Effects in a Day

    Anonymous review on 5/17/2018
    The class was challenging, but it was a great introduction to what's possible in After Effects!
  • After Effects in a Day

    Reviewed by Vanessa S. on 3/19/2018
    Great teacher who's passionate about what she teaches. She's also really helpful and insightful with answering questions.
  • After Effects in a Day

    Reviewed by Neela A. on 9/29/2017
    love it!
  • After Effects Bootcamp

    Reviewed by Eric Vasquez on 7/11/2016
    I had been trying to learn After Effects on my own for a while, but it wasn't until I decided to take the course through Noble Desktop that things really started to make sense for me. Now I feel that I have a solid foundation and am more excited than before about learning After Effects. As much as I enjoyed this class, I only wish that there was a second part to this course or something that would take you into some of the more intermediate/advanced techniques with track mattes, rotoscoping, null objects etc.
  • After Effects Bootcamp

    Anonymous review on 7/5/2016
    After Effects seemed really intimidating but after this class I was able to jump right into projects without hesitation. I was able to use my new skills the first day after class ended on a business pitch, which we won!
  • After Effects Bootcamp

    Reviewed by Lisa R. on 1/29/2016
    Great class! Super knowledgeable and personable instructor, you learn a lot for an intro course!

Discover the Best Animation Classes in Chicago

Anima is the Latin word for “soul”—thus, “to animate” an object is to imbue it with a soul. Animation in the motion-picture sense is (to borrow the title from Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston’s definitive work on the subject) creating the illusion of life out of a pile of drawings. Animated figures, obviously, aren’t alive, but such is the power of the medium that animated drawings can be received by the human mind as living beings. Think only of how the audience at the world premiere of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was moved to tears when curmudgeon dwarf Grumpy breaks down by the side of the heroine’s bier. In a sense, it’s only a magic trick played on the limits of human eyesight (animated drawings only appear to move because they go faster than our eyes can), but animation can be so convincing that, for generations of audiences, Grumpy is far more “real” than a lot of movie characters portrayed by human actors.

Animation is a painstaking process whereby upwards of 12 drawings, each one slightly different from the one that goes before it, are prepared for every second of the time an animated film runs. In the days of hand-drawn animation, the process ran from key animators, who drew the main positions of the characters, to inbetweeners, who filled in the blanks between the key animator’s drawings, to the ink and paint department (whose roles were filled, interestingly, by women), which transferred the drawings to cels before the actual filming took place, one frame at a time. More than two million hand-drawn cels were required to create the one hour and 23 minute-long Disney Snow White.

The Little Mermaid (1989) was Disney’s last entirely hand-drawn movie. The computer has since wrought a revolution in animation, and while you still need people who can draw, the media have changed, and animators work on tablets rather than at back-lit drafting tables. Programs such as Adobe’s After Effects have almost completely taken over the inbetweener and ink-and-paint jobs, while the painstaking filming of each set-up of cels has been replaced by a computer process known as rendering.

Animation remains an exciting branch of filmmaking, and, in today’s world, extends from the world of the animated motion picture to much “live-action” filmmaking: CGI (computer-generated imagery) is everywhere, and animators’ contribution to the film industry has never been more significant. Software such as After Effects has also placed animation within the hands of ordinary mortals so that non-specialists can create anything from professional-looking non-professional efforts for social media to professional-looking professional efforts such as short commercial spots. Commercial animation can even entail such grand projects as the Virgin Atlantic Airways safety video, an entire fantasy of remarkable visual imagination that nearly makes you forget you’re watching instructions on how to buckle a seatbelt.

Best Animation Classes & Schools in Chicago

One of the most readily accessible ways to learn to animate using a computer is Adobe After Effects. Chicagoans interested in learning to use Adobe’s motion graphics and special effects program will find a class at Ascend Training, Adobe After Effects Level 1, that, in three full-day sessions, introduces students to the software and delves into its considerable capabilities. The class covers keyframes, layers, masks, modes, and mattes, and by the end of it, students should be able to create video projects for the web and broadcast. A Level 2 class is also available for those who want to deepen their After Effects knowledge. Ascend is an Adobe Authorized Training Center that has been serving Chicago since 1998. Located in the Loop, two blocks from the Tribune Tower (L: Grand), the school is easily accessible. The building it occupies even has a Thai restaurant (with 4.1 stars from Google) on the ground floor that should prove practical at lunchtime.

Also located in the Loop is Ledet Training, which offers an Adobe After Effects Training that encompasses basic animation theory, keyframes, layers, parenting, nesting, and paint and vector paint functions. The school recommends that students be reasonably proficient in Photoshop prior to tackling the After Effects class. Catering primarily to marketing professionals, Ledet Training will have students capable of creating marketing videos suitable for all purposes by the end of the course. The school’s location is two blocks from Millennium Park, with Washington/Wabash the closest stop on the L.

If negotiating the Loop during business hours doesn’t seem like a challenge you’re interested in circumventing, you may wish to consider one of the plentiful online courses that will bring the class to your home, office, or any space with a stable internet connection you may find congenial. Noble Desktop is one such school. Based in New York City, it offers animation classes, both long and short. The long program is a Motion Graphics Certificate that meets for no fewer than 17 days and covers, not just After Effects, but also Cinema 4D Lite and video editing with Premiere Pro. The course also includes portfolio (demo reel) development, and includes 1-to-1 mentoring sessions to help students in the program set off down the proper career path. Noble Desktop includes a free retake option, should you need a brush-up within a year’s time on anything you learned during what are 17 information-packed sessions.

For those who lack the time, inclination, or means for the complete certificate program, or for those who wish to concentrate solely on After Effects, Noble Desktop also offers an After Effects Bootcamp. Running for three all-day weekday sessions, this course shows students through a series of hands-on exercises how to create animations, titles, and even 3D objects. An After Effects Advanced class is also available through the school. Both these classes include 1:1 bonus training, which allows students to meet privately with the instructor to iron out any wrinkles in what they’ve learned in class. Please note that, for these classes as well as for the certificate program described above, a working knowledge of both Photoshop and Illustrator is required.

Another New York-based school that offers live online classes in After Effects is Manhattan Edit Workshop. Their flagship course is a video editing program (Avid, Final Cut Pro), but it also offers instruction in the Adobe Creative Cloud, including Adobe After Effects Level 1, a three-day program that shows students the basics of motion graphics and the After Effects workflow, before moving on to layers, effects, keyframes, keyframe interpolation, masks, animating text and further functions of the software, including rendering and output. The school also makes available a Level 2 and a Level 3 class for those who wish to proceed to such topics as alphas, advanced formatting, and network rendering.

A further option in a different time zone (Mountain) that may be more convenient for students on the West Coast is Adobe After Effects for Beginners (Level 1). The course is offered by Digital Workshop Center, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is particularly interested in bringing tech education to non-traditional students, such as those who have been out of school for a while. The class runs for four non-consecutive weekday mornings and teaches how to create visual content for motion picture and commercial video use, as well as graphics that can be used in presentations. Knowledge of Photoshop is recommended for those taking the class. Students are welcome to continue along to Adobe After Effects Advanced (Level 2), in which they will learn to utilize the Puppet Tool, the Roto Brush Tool, and the 3D Camera Tracker. The advanced class also runs for four mornings. Although the L doesn’t reach all the way to Colorado, the course is also available live in-person.

Chicago Industries That Use Animation

Although Chicago doesn’t loom large on the list of hotbeds of motion picture production, the realities of the digital world are such that there is an ever-growing need for smaller video operations that can create video content for the web. Some of these are small entities that work on the ground with Windy City Clients, and others are large, international concerns with offices in major world cities, including Chicago. The output of these production companies is usually marketing material, and they generally work hand-in-hand with advertising agencies or can be hired by firms seeking to strengthen their visual presence on the internet. If making narrative animated films is your goal, Chicago is probably not the place, but if you want to be a working animator, Chicago does have its fair share of employment opportunities.

Animation Jobs & Salaries in Chicago

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) categorizes animators together with special effects artists, reflecting the role that CGI has started playing beyond what would traditionally be considered animated movies. In the Chicago area (the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area for BLS purposes), animators wear such professional hats as 3D animator, 2D animator, animator, digital artist, and motion effects artist. A small total of 410 people are employed as animators in the Chicago area, the size of the number reflected in the rather discouraging location quotient of 0.38. (That means that animators are employed in Chicago at 0.38 times the national average. If you’re considering moving to a particular place to pursue a specific career, you want that number to be larger than 1.) The annual mean wage for animators in the area is close to $80,000, which is substantially less than the mean annual wage for animators in the entire country, which is $111,000, although it is more than the mean annual range for the Chicago area of approximately $66,000. You can balance that against the fact that the cost of living in Chicago is a comparatively mere 7% above that of the country as a whole, with the cost of groceries below the national average and that of housing lining out at just about the national average. And a Chicago-style hot dog at a White Sox game will cost you $5.49. If you choose to take your baseball loyalties across town, you’ll be paying a buck more for a hot dog with mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, peppers, and celery salt at Wrigley Field.

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