This was my first exploration using shape layers, in After Effects, while taking School of Motion’s After Effects Kickstart. The Kickstart class moves QUICKLY, and I struggled to produce something decent in the time frame. This 16-second animation gave me a new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into making complex animations involving shapes, color, and music.

In this lesson 5 the Kickstart class covers Geometric Shapes, the Pen Tool Shapes and Strokes, and Hold Keyframes, the lesson on hold keyframes covered the learning gap I faced when designing my school projects and my shapes were moving continuously between keyframes.

The lesson also covers track mattes and alpha mattes, a lesson I have used, however, still need to reference while using in the program. Clearly I need to create another project that forces me to use them.

After Effects Kickstart https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/after-effects-kickstart