School of Motion is an online platform offering specialized courses for motion designers, launched in 2013. It has expanded from simple tutorials to over 20 comprehensive courses taught by industry experts. In addition to paid content, the platform provides free resources like tutorials, industry interviews, and tool reviews on their YouTube channel. They collaborate with Adobe for workshops and presentations at major events like Adobe MAX and NAB. School of Motion is also a certified training partner for Cinema 4D and
Table Of Contents
SOMtember is an annual event in September, hosted by School of Motion, where the motion design community comes together for a series of weekly animation challenges. It's an opportunity to improve 2D and 3D motion graphics skills while having fun and learning something new. Participants can even win free classes. The event runs through the entire month, concluding on September 27, 2024.
Use the 2D or 3D assets provided or animate your own! When you're ready to share, make sure you tag @schoolomotion and #somtember! We will be resharing lots of work on our social too!
Arcs refer to the curved paths that objects naturally follow when they move. Imagine you're swinging your arm. Notice that your hand naturally moves in an arc. A leaf falling will naturally follow a series of arc movements. By following natural, curved trajectories, movements can feel more realistic and visually appealing.
Slow In and Slow Out refers to the idea that movements should start and end gradually, with more emphasis on the intermediate frames. By easing into and out of movements, animators can create a more natural and fluid motion. Different easing can create very different vibes. See how smooth and flowy you can make your moves with slow in and slow out.
Follow Through and Overlapping Action refer to the secondary movements that occur after the main action has taken place. For example, a character's hair may continue to move after they have stopped walking. These subtle movements add realism to animations and create a sense of weight and momentum.
Exaggeration refers to the principle of emphasizing and exaggerating certain aspects of a movement or action. By doing so, animators can create a more dynamic and entertaining animation. Animation isn’t reality. Rather, it can be bigger and more than reality by using exaggeration.
This SOMtember challenge was both enjoyable and a true test of my animation principles knowledge. I really loved using the camera tool to enhance the on-screen momentum, making the composition feel expansive, as though it extended beyond the confines of an Instagram square. I also added that classic paper texture and roughness to the animation because texture has a choke-hold on us, graphic designers.
Seeing how other motion designers approached the same assets was incredibly inspiring. It’s fascinating to witness how each person interprets identical elements and transforms them into unique stories and outputs. One area I really want to improve is pushing beyond what I already know how to do. I feel that my current understanding of After Effects can sometimes limit my creativity, keeping me within familiar boundaries and tools.
However, this challenge served as a great reminder that animating should always be fun, allowing us to break the confines of reality and to tell stories through our own perspectives.
