Over the years, Adobe After Effects has become an integral part in video production projects for movies, television and the web. If you want to be involved in the world of video production and post-production, then you need to know how to use After Effects.
If you can’t afford to pay for high-end After Effects courses, your best alternative option is to look for free tutorials which would at least get you up and running with the program.
So without further ado, here’s my personally compiled list of the best free Adobe After Effects tutorial websites that you can find on the web. Also, if you know of any other free After Effects tutorial websites, please let me know in the comments below.
1. Adobe After Effects Learning and Support Center
One of the best places to start learning Adobe After Effects is from the people that created the program in the first place. It’s also a great place to get yourself involved in the After Effects community. The tutorials and help files will definitely assist you in getting started with this program.
2. After Effects Tutorials from Digital Tutors
Digital Tutors? WAIT, WHAT? JUST HOLD ON THERE! This list is about free After Effects tutorials, right? So why is Digital Tutors (a paid subscription service) on this list?
The answer to that is simple. Besides their paid subscriptions, they also offer a free (limited access) account, so that you can get a good feel for the high quality tutorials that they offer. You can always upgrade when you know you’re ready for more tutorials.
Digital Tutors has been around since 2004. I’ve personally used some of their tutorials and I have no problem in recommending their services to the design community. Special Note: Digital Tutors is now part of PluralSight.com – so they are now even bigger and better than before.
3. After Effects Tutorials from Video Copilot
I have to admit that this is one of my favorite After Effects tutorial websites. These guys don’t hold back when it comes to showing the true power of After Effects and I’ll admit that they’re responsible for making me want to learn more about the program.
I highly recommend checking out their website on a large monitor – you’ll be glad that you did. Make sure that you already know the basics of After Effects before delving into their tutorials. If you’re interested in high-end After Effects tutorials (the quality of work that you see in movies) then this is the place for you.
4. After Effects Tutorials from Evanto Tuts+
The Evanto network of websites has quickly gained a lot of popularity over the years as a valuable resource for various design-related tutorials. For After Effects, you can get access to a wide range of both video and written tutorials.
The tutorials also range from beginner to advanced levels, so you can decide which tutorials are right for you based of your current skill levels. I can highly recommend Evanto’s tutorials, not just for After Effects, but for many other design-related topics.
5. After Effects Tutorials from MotionWorks
Motionworks is similar to Video Copilot, in that they focus heavily on intermediate to advanced tutorials, which will cater to people who want to use After Effects for movie or TV projects. One of my favorite movies is EX_MACHINA and Motionworks has a really cool Ex_Machina video tutorial that you’ve got to check out.
6. After Effects Tutorials from Layers Magazine
Adobe Professional Scott Kelby is one of my favorite instructors, next to Terry White. Back in the days of Photoshop 7 (I used to use Corel products before then) I got my hands on a book called “Photoshop 7 Down and Dirty Tricks”. I was hooked – and I still use Photoshop to this day. One of my favorite sites from the Kelby Media Group is Layers Magazine. You can get access to high quality tutorials for Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and more. Make sure to bookmark this site. It’s well worth it.
7. After Effects Tutorials from Creative Cow
What can I say about Creative Cow that has not been said before? The website has a funny name? Yes, we all already know that. What I can say however is that this website has been around for a long time and I’m glad to see that they’re still online.
Creative Cow is nowhere as flashy as some other sites (*cough* Video Copilot *cough*), but it’s the content that matters. It’s a website that’s well worth your time, as you can find some rather interesting After Effects tutorials there.
Now Get Out There and Start Creating
Adobe After Effects is indeed a fantastic program and more features are being added with every new release. If you’ve never used it before, I hope that this article has given you enough resources to get out there and start learning.
If you know of any other websites that focus on free After Effects tutorials, please let me know in the comments below. Also, if you liked this article, please feel free to share it with your fellow creative friends. I really do enjoy seeing what people can do with After Effects. Thanks for reading.