Animated Micro-Stories with After Effects

Want to captivate your audience with a compelling story? Learn how alongside Sociedad Fantasma, a studio specialized in illustration and 2D animation founded by Carlos Rupit, Gabriel Pichardo, and Lizeth Rodríguez. The trio has created visually stunning branded content for the likes of Google, Gatorade, Pepsi, Jose Cuervo, and more.

In this online course, they teach you the fundamentals of storytelling, character design, and 2D animation with After Effects to bring your ideas to life. Discover the art of visual storytelling and how you can use it to connect with your audience on multiple levels.

Begin by getting to know the members of Sociedad Fantasma as they tell you about who they are and their philosophy as a studio. They also share how some of their biggest influences have shaped their work.

Continue by laying the groundwork for your micro-story. Extract key concepts from the client brief and put together a mood board to define the look and feel of your animated piece before mapping out its structure in three acts. Develop the concept for your main character and determine what After Effects assets you need.

Next, your teachers guide you through the character design process, from the first sketches and the style sheet to their final form ready for animation.

Now it’s time to set your characters in motion! The Sociedad Fantasma team teaches you some basic concepts such as precomposing, parenting, and what animation curves are used for.