Dynamic Text support for AE, an insane amount of awesome Photoshop tips, and Xencelabs drops some serious competition for Wacom.
This week, we're diving into After Effects' most underused superpower that'll revolutionize how you build animation rigs, plus Brady Erickson just dropped 21 Photoshop tips that'll make you question everything you thought you knew about the program.
We're also checking out the Xencelabs drawing tablet that's giving Wacom some serious competition at a fraction of the price, exploring why being a multi-disciplinary designer like Matthew Encina might be the key to thriving in today's creative landscape, and celebrating some incredible work from Camp MoGraph's new title sequence to Cyriak's wonderfully weird animations.
Plus we've got updates on Blender's plugin paradise, Spline's wild new 3D projection features, and a look at why Rive interaction reels might be the future of motion design portfolios.
🎓 SCHOOL OF MOTION COURSES MENTIONED
- School of Motion All-Access
- School of Motion Team Training
- Rive Academy Volume 1
- VFX for Motion
- FREE COURSE: The Path to Mograph
- FREE COURSE: Level Up
- Courses & workshops coming soon
🗒️ SHOW NOTES
- Matt Encina: Design Apps & Tools I use for Product, Brand, & Marketing
- Creative Boom Briefs
- Xencelabs Pen Display 24+
- Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 touch
- YT-Tools for Blender
- Grease Pencil Shape Builder for Blender
- New 3D Projections & Noise Effects in Spline
- Houdini 21 Keynote Vancouver
- Texturelabs - 21 Photoshop Tips - Easy Through Hard
- SternFX - After Effects August 2025 – New Features You'll Love
- Node Fest 2025
- Nodefest Idents contest
🎨 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
ENROLL NOW!
Acidbite ➔
50% off everything
ActionVFX ➔
30% off all plans and credit packs - starts 11/26
Adobe ➔
50% off all apps and plans through 11/29
aescripts ➔
25% off everything through 12/6
Affinity ➔
50% off all products
Battleaxe ➔
30% off from 11/29-12/7
Boom Library ➔
30% off Boom One, their 48,000+ file audio library
BorisFX ➔
25% off everything, 11/25-12/1
Cavalry ➔
33% off pro subscriptions (11/29 - 12/4)
FXFactory ➔
25% off with code BLACKFRIDAY until 12/3
Goodboyninja ➔
20% off everything
Happy Editing ➔
50% off with code BLACKFRIDAY
Huion ➔
Up to 50% off affordable, high-quality pen display tablets
Insydium ➔
50% off through 12/4
JangaFX ➔
30% off an indie annual license
Kitbash 3D ➔
$200 off Cargo Pro, their entire library
Knights of the Editing Table ➔
Up to 20% off Premiere Pro Extensions
Maxon ➔
25% off Maxon One, ZBrush, & Redshift - Annual Subscriptions (11/29 - 12/8)
Mode Designs ➔
Deals on premium keyboards and accessories
Motion Array ➔
10% off the Everything plan
Motion Hatch ➔
Perfect Your Pricing Toolkit - 50% off (11/29 - 12/2)
MotionVFX ➔
30% off Design/CineStudio, and PPro Resolve packs with code: BW30
Rocket Lasso ➔
50% off all plug-ins (11/29 - 12/2)
Rokoko ➔
45% off the indie creator bundle with code: RKK_SchoolOfMotion (revenue must be under $100K a year)
Shapefest ➔
80% off a Shapefest Pro annual subscription for life (11/29 - 12/2)
The Pixel Lab ➔
30% off everything
Toolfarm ➔
Various plugins and tools on sale
True Grit Texture ➔
50-70% off (starts Wednesday, runs for about a week)
Vincent Schwenk ➔
50% discount with code RENDERSALE
Wacom ➔
Up to $120 off new tablets + deals on refurbished items
