Blender and Unreal Engine are two free-to-use tools powerful on their own, but when they work together they're truly magical.

Our dear friend, Caleb Ward, from Curious Refuge joins us on this episode of the School of Motion Podcast and talks shop on their recent viral success with two AI Wes Anderson inspired trailers for Star Wars and Lord of The Rings.

Get your scene out of Cinema 4D and into Unreal Engine without losing all the hard work you’ve already done.

Maxon has been on fire with their new Cinema 4D features and with this one, no one will be complaining about inflation. In this video, EJ Hassenfratz runs through the functionality of this new tool that is sure to pump you up!

Maxon has just announced their spring 2023 updates to the Maxon One subscription. Every tool from Cinema 4D and Redshift to ZBrush and Universe scored some new features that will make creating just a bit easier and faster.

Have you ever thought about the 3D world building magic behind the blockbuster Avatar series? Meleah Maynard interviews 3D Artist and painter Dylan Cole on his concept wizardry and journey in creating immersive worlds beyond imagination for films such as Daredevil and Lord of The Rings and Avatar.

Wanting to work faster in After Effects and Premiere? The Essential Graphics Panel is about to become your best friend, whether you’re using or creating Motion Graphics Templates (aka Mogrts), or just looking for ways to streamline your work within After Effects. Kyle Hamrick is back to show you the ins and out of this often underutilized feature.

Is 3D character rigging always hard and complex? 3D Character rigging is an important step that is often overlooked by 3D artists due to it's perceived complexity. In this article, EJ Hassenfratz breaks down how rigging doesn't have to mean Pixar level complex character rigs, but a discipline that can be super accessible. From simple rigs made from deformers to joint chains, this article will show you why 3D rigging should be a part of any 3D artists skillset!

Some artists think that rigging is stingingly painful. We think that’s a load of beeswax! That’s why we’ve enlisted 3D character artist Can Erduman to show you how easy rigging characters can bee as he walks you through rigging your very first character in Cinema 4D! I don’t know about you, but we think this video will get a lot of buzz!

Blender 3D is a powerful and versatile software for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering. (Oh and did you know that is is free??) However, it has a reputation for being challenging for beginners to learn due to its steep learning curve and complex interface. In this article, we will explore the difficulty of learning Blender 3D and what resources are available to help people get started.

Wanting to design and animate your very own logo, but not sure where to start? In this tutorial, Matthew Corrales guides you through the process of finding an idea, refining the design in Adobe Illustrator and animating in After Effects.

The bridge between motion design and gaming is becoming increasingly more apparent with artists using real time game engines like Unreal Engine 5 to create stunning 3D content. In this article Michael Maher interviews film maker Caleb Chamberlain on how he created a passion project trailer for the smash hit video game: Titanfall New Frontiers and how Unreal Engine, Blender, Adobe After Effects and some visual effects magic using the Red Giant suite got the job done.

Show off your badges with School of Motion's new verified credentials! The most important part of your education is preparing you for the real world, but bragging rights are great too. That's why we're now offering verified credential badges with your completed courses.

How do you make After Effects run fast? We teamed up with Puget Systems and Adobe to develop the fastest computer for After Effects.

Joey sits down with Daniel Jeffries, CIO of Stability AI, to discuss the real-world use cases of artificial intelligence in art and motion design.

What even is motion design anymore? Joey Korenman is joined by EJ Hassenfratz, Kyle Hamrick, Ryan Summers, and an all-star lineup of studio owners & industry experts for their hottest takes on this year’s burning questions.

Over 70 School of Motion Current and Former Students Collaborated on the Annual Animated Alumni Holiday Card Video!

It’s the reason for the season – School of Motion’s 12 Days of MoGraph giveaway! What’s on the prize list this year? It’s motion graphics galore, from generous gift cards to popular courses to year-long software subscriptions.

What are the differences between the jobs of an animator and a motion designer? The main difference is the type of projects they work on, the specific skills and techniques they use, and the career path and job outlook for each profession. Both careers involve creating moving images and graphics, but the specific tasks and responsibilities can vary.

In this tutorial, we will recreate one of Peter Quinn's amazing VFX social media videos. We'll go through the entire process from filming, compositing and to final looping magic. Buckle up cause it's gonna be a ride 😎

Turn your 2D art into 3D! Learn how easy it is to turn 2D vector art into 3D character designs in Illustrator! Learn how to map 2D textures onto your 3D models in Illustrator and discover how to export your 3D character to other 3D applications like Adobe Stager, Blender or Cinema 4D! 3D is a super important skill to learn and Illustrator makes it easy for any 2D artist to enter the world of 3D.

Get out your wishlist. We've gathered our favorite Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for motion graphics artists!

From humble beginnings to award winning video games, ActionVFX has found it's place in the VFX world with Fusion, Nuke and After Effects Artists using their asset libraries.

Cinema 4D 2023.1 introduces Pyro, the new fire simulation system that allows you to create fire and smoke simulations easily in C4D! That’s right, the new C4D particle based simulation system now has the ability to generate fire simulations and you can finally unleash your inner pyromaniac -natively- inside of C4D. In this video, EJ walks you through how to use Pyro, how to render with Redshift and how to create more stylized smoke and fire along with his thoughts on Pyro.

The 2023 update to After Effects made track mattes friendlier to use and much more versatile, so if ever there was a time to learn how to use track mattes in After Effects, that time is now. Track mattes are a super-powerful feature that may not be widely understood by a lot of After Effects users, but at least for you, that changes *today.* Don’t know the difference between a mask and a matte? Never had to worry about an alpha channel or luminance values? That’s ok; we’ve got you. Join us on a matte-tastic journey through what a matte is, why you should use it, and all the creative ways you can take advantage of this cool tool in your own work.

In this video, you'll learn a simple process to design compelling titles that don't rely on presets or templates. Building on the things you learned in the first 2 videos in this series, you'll learn how to use grid layouts in After Effects, how to use stabilization, roto, and keying to clean up footage, and how to lay out type using the Rule of Thirds. This video is jam-packed, so buckle up.

Choosing fonts and laying out type can be daunting for video editors who don't have a design background. The good news is: With a few simple rules, you can create type layouts that are beautiful, clear, and that make you look like you know exactly what you're doing.

Learn to choose colors that work well together in with design tip for video editors. Value structure is a concept that can help anyone learn to control their colors in a mathematical way, making it much easier to create designs that pop and lead the viewer's eye precisely.

Behind the Scenes of “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” How six artists worked from home to create hundreds of impressive visual effects for a crazy sci-fi adventure.

After Effects 2023 just dropped, and there's a slew of new features. Some are long-awaited quality of life improvements, and some are major-league-holy-crap game changers! Let's explore both.

Download our FREE After Effects template and learn how to design once, then deliver in multiple aspect ratios in After Effect. These tips will save you from having to redesign your artwork for various screens, saving you an insane amount of time.

The new cloth system in Cinema 4D 2023 is a massive improvement over the old one. It's faster, more powerful, and part of a unified simulation framework that will be utilized more and more in the future. In this tutorial, EJ Hassenfratz shows you some of the powerful features in the new cloth system.

10 After Effects tricks from industry pros to help you make your renders better when you're short on time and inspiration. These are battle-tested effects stacks and hacks that will come in handy on almost any project.

Adobe recently acquired Figma for $20 billion. Why did they pay so much, and what does this mean for motion designers? Let's explore the significance of the Figma deal, and talk about how it affects you.

Over the years, we've always strived to be the premium option for learning to do animation, design, 3D, or visual effects. We've also tried very hard to make education accessible to more people in more places. These two goals are difficult to balance, and we feel that we could be doing a better job. So we're doing something about it.

Standing up your own business is a challenge, but there are a ton of affordable (even free) tools that can make your life so much easier. Freelance designer and art director Sherene Strausberg is here to show you a few tricks to get started.

How would you approach a project that needs to show the illustrious history of one of the world's premier timepiece manufacturers? This is the kind of video that makes—or breaks—your brand, so no pressure. Fortunately for Italian-based Taxfreefilm, their brilliant idea arrived just in time.

AI art programs such as Midjourney and Dall-E sure are impressive, but how do they really work? What do you need to know to get the most out of them, and how can they be used by artists, animators, and designers? We brought in John LePore to find out.

Are you stuck grinding on low-level projects? Do you want to attract bigger clients and larger contracts? How exactly can you go from a $4k quote to a $20k quote? Shea Lord is here to show you the path.

How do you design a title sequence that conjures the spirit of a movie while still existing outside of it? Perception took this challenge while working on the new Disney Pixar movie "Lightyear."

Climint Canal of Clim Studio believes personal projects are where you can explore new concepts, perfect your skills, and experiment with difficult techniques. In this video, he shares an exploration of how to art direct concepts and timing in order to enhance your overall animation.

Get up and running with some of Cinema4D's Extrude tools, turning 2D vectors into 3D render-ready artwork.

Sometimes the only thing you need to maximize your workflow is an understanding of shortcut keys, so we've made the ultimate guide just for you. Stretch those fingers, because it's time to dive into the most important hot keys for Cinema 4D.

What happens when you reach the limit of your skillset? Do you accept that this is the peak of your career, or do you push yourself beyond your limits and climb to even greater heights?

Fraser Davidson and Cub Studio developed Super Jonny 150k as an action-packed, 16-bit world chock full of character animation, effects, and nostalgia. In this teaser clip, learn a few 3D shading tricks to enhance your After Effects projects.

Getting started in ZBrush can be intimidating, but it is a powerful tool for designing and polishing 3D models. We're going to familiarize you with the interface, learn the key tools of the trade, and show you how to complete your first project.

Working closely with the team at Microsoft Design, VFX Studio Tendril conceptualized, designed, and executed a complete refresh of over 1800 smileys, people, animals, objects and symbols. We asked Cofounder and Creative Director Alexander “Xande” Torres, Creative Director Leo Mateus and Lead Modeler Flavio Diniz to tell us about the challenges and rewards of this complex project.

If you want to hear what a real VO session sounds like, then you've come to the right place! In this podcast you'll get to be a fly on the wall for a VO session lead by Jake and Joey. Along the way Joey is going to be dropping some golden nuggets of VO directing advice to help you direct VO like a pro the next time you need to.

If you want to learn a 3D program for design and animation, there are many strong competitors on the market. But if you had to choose, which offers the best experience and the most versatility? We're comparing Cinema 4D to Blender to see which program will work best for you.

What happens when you grab a pen and paper and let your creativity take the wheel? Sofie Lee discusses how free-writing a poem led to her amazing animation, Dream.

Something’s Awry Productions is a family-run animation studio known for creating whimsical, intelligently funny, 3D-animated content from a “slightly awry perspective.” We talked with Kris Theorin, the studio’s lead animation director, about their most recent release, a 3D-animated short film called “Grump in the Night.”

A behind-the-scenes look at how our Creative Director Kyle Hamrick created motion graphics elements for an exciting collaborative film project with Valentina Vee, Ryan Connolly & Jon Brandon Cruz. The team made use of Frame.io for Creative Cloud and the Camera to Cloud feature to create this short film trailer from 4 different locations on a very short deadline.

What does it take to build a legendary career? A LOT of legwork. Director/Illustrator Aaron Ray talks about his work and journey through motion design, and shares his fresh perspective on the industry.

We are witnessing the dawn of computer-generated artwork, but how good is it really? Can Midjourney, Dall-E, and others really affect the industry? Well let's dive in and see what we can create!

What happens when two talented artists turn their passion into a viral fan-fiction video? You get Knights of Ren, a love letter to Star Wars that showcases what's possible with Cinema 4D and Redshift.

Unreal Engine 5 is amazing for far more than just creating video games. From Hollywood to Twitch, look at the incredible versatility of this real-time render engine.

What happens if you take an unpolished render from Cinema 4D and bring it into After Effects? Turns out, you can create some stunning, stylized compositions using common tools. Jordan Bergren has the tips you need to take your work in a new direction.

Creating a title sequence is no easy task. How did Penny Nederlander and Shine combined 2D and 3D to get just the right look for Disney's "The Mysterious Benedict Society?" You'll have to read to find out.

How can a passion project turn into a game changer? Will your pursuit of new skills and talent lead to brand recognition? We talked with Kevin and Theresa from Chromoshphere about Yuki-7 and Unreal Engine.

School of Motion just acquired MoGraph Mentor! What does this mean for you, for the future, and for our amazing community?

Digital artists are gaining international renown in the NFT space, but there are so many new faces to learn. How can you decide which artists you want to support? We asked Emonee LaRussa to share her top ten artists on the NFT scene.

Looking for the best sites to find free and paid 3D models? We did the legwork for you.

Looking to design simple 3D characters in Cinema 4D? Today, we’re going to focus on creating a stylized character in Cinema 4D, and talking about the tools and techniques you can use to enhance the originality of your character!

Learn how Wes Cockx and Nando Costa visualized Microsoft's new Fluent User Interface.

What do NFTs really mean for the future of our industry? We have Buck's Justin Cone here to discuss what's coming next.

Want a sneak peek at an amazing Holdframe Workshop? Echoic X Ident is a jam-packed animation made by Nidia Dias for Echoic Audio. The 11-second ident is bursting with particle sims, graphic compositions, and bold colors, and is a brilliant display of Nidia’s voice and vision.

Join Jesus Suarez as he introduces you to Redshift for Cinema 4D. He'll walk you through essential concepts like how to use node materials, lights and cameras techniques, and covering important render settings that help create beautiful renders.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at Psyop's latest two-minute film, “The Whoopsery.” What can ZBrush do for your next project?

Doing personal projects is a great way to experiment and flex your creative muscles. Personal projects can also be part of a strategy of beefing up your portfolio or reel, especially if you're just starting out in the industry. Our guest today is Nicolaj Larsson, the founder and creative director of the Copenhagen based studio ccccccc.tv.

NAB, the largest media trade show in the world, is back after three years. Whether this is your first time or your fifteenth, we've got an insider guide to make sure your trip is unforgettable.

If you want to step up your 3D animation and design game, you need to learn keyboard shortcuts in Cinema 4D. Knowing your hotkeys speeds up your workflow and allows you to focus on the creative aspect of the program rather than hunting through mentions to find a certain function. In this tutorial, we’re going to take you from beginner to keyboard king.

Running a company requires you to have vision, drive, and just a hint of madness. It also means finding and hiring incredibly talented people.

Do you need a third-party renderer? Tune is as we talk with Chad Ashley from Greyscale Gorilla about all of the third-party rendering options out there!

Need help identifying a font? We have the 5 best tools for tackling typography right here.

Want to add motion to your social media feed? Learn how to create an animated sticker in Procreate in under 5 minutes.

Andy Needham discusses his short film ‘Peace & Turmoil,’ and how feelings self doubt shouldn't stop a person from expressing themselves creatively.

How much money can you make in the creative world? No matter what career you’re aiming for, it can be hard to find a direct answer. So how can you find out the real dollar value of your work? That’s why we reached out to Carole Neal, the Marketing Director at Aquent.

Procreate is a very powerful illustration app which can be loaded up with tons of free brushes to give you more options. Here is a guide to finding and using free brushes in Procreate.

Learn how to design, animate, and export with the free browser-based design app Spline!

What is like working on a mega-blockbuster like Dune? Check out this behind-the-scenes interview with Paul Lambert and Patrick Heinen.

What is the artist / studio relationship really like in 2022? Were we wrong in our end-of-the-year podcast? Jay Grandin from Giant Ant is back to respond.

Adobe Creative Cloud comes with a collection of amazing programs for designers and animators, but what are they all for? We've put together an alphabetical guide for the apps in Creative Cloud.

If you've ever struggled with make your images stand out , we explore the creative possibilities with the amazing Boris FX Optics – a VFX-grade Photoshop plugin that will change the way you work in Photoshop.

What happens when you mix a talented team of 3D artists, Cinema 4D and Unity, and Emmy-winner Tony Hale? You get the new animated film "Carrier!"

Having trouble standing out from the pack when applying for work? We talked with Frank Suarez about how you can standout as a candidate for any position.

There are so many career paths available to digital artists, but do you know them all? What software do you need to know to be a web designer or game developer? How much does it pay? We explore the different options and offer our takes in this guide to pathways and salaries.

Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate are 3 of the most widely used design apps on earth. Find out when to use each one, and the strengths & weaknesses of each app.

Having trouble finding work? Perhaps your focus is too limited. There are a ton of gigs out there for designers and animators, and we're going to show you the unique opportunities you might have missed.

Learn about color palettes, how to make color palettes, and tools to help you generate color palettes.

Easily animate your designs for social media using After Effects.

Take a behind the scenes look at Taehoon Park's latest award-winning film “0110”—which was made with Cinema 4D, After Effects, Redshift, Marvelous Designer and ZBrush.

With tools like Webflow and Lottie, creating animation for websites is easier than ever. Check out these 10 killer websites that showcase great uses of animation.

What is it like leading a live commercial event for the biggest name in tech? We spoke with Shane Griffin who directed the Apple M1 Max launch event.

Learn 6 ways to resize an image in Photoshop and when you might use each method.

With over 20,000 fonts to choose, Adobe Fonts is a gluttony of selection. Here's our guide to our favorite typefaces for 2022.

Photoshop is a great place for designing content to animate in After Effects - but knowing how to prep your files and think like an animator is crucial for success!

Digital Domain has worked on Marvel films in the past—“Avengers Endgame” and “Thor Ragnarok”—but handling the visual effects behind the cataclysmic ending of “Black Widow” was an enormous undertaking. Check out this behind the scenes interview with the creative team.

With over 20,000 fonts available, Adobe Fonts is an incredible resource. Here is how to use Adobe Fonts, available with your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

Many artists don’t take time to develop their personal projects. They worry they can’t find an audience, or that there just isn’t enough time in the day. Today, we want to encourage you to find your passion. What is the story you’ve always wanted to tell, but just never found the time to start?

One of the best features of Adobe’s Creative Cloud is the ability to import layers and elements between programs. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to import layers from Photoshop into After Effects so you're ready to animate your designs.