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Animated Loops with James Curran
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What is this course about?

James will use his 15+ years of experience as a professional animator to teach you everything he knows about making animated loops, which he’s made A LOT of. Whether you want your characters to be running, jumping, or spinning in 2D, 3D, or isometric scenes, this course covers it all.

From fundamental loop theory through to inspiration on how to generate your own loop ideas, you’ll come out of this course fully prepared to start taking on the world with your own never-ending animations. Whether you’re an experienced animator or an illustrator looking to spice up your portfolio with some motion, you can quickly learn how to create seamlessly infinite animations perfect for posting on social media.

Level

Basic

Format

Online

Lessons

10

Duration

4h+

Required Software

Adobe After Effects

Language

English

About the author

Author photo Author icon

About the author

Hi I’m James Curran aka SlimJim Studios!

I’m a British illustrator, animator and director based in Los Angeles with over 15 years experience in working on a wide variety of projects including video games, music videos, commercials, and print.

Most recently I’ve specialised in creating animated loops, regularly working with clients such as Samsung, eBay, Nike and Disney while also making many loops just for fun, including for my Gifathons – 30 GIFs in 30 days in New York City, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

COURSE CURRICULUM

What will I learn in Animated Loops?

LESSON #1

Loop Theory

Learn the fundamental theory behind creating great animated loops, then we’ll get into the swing of things by creating your first looping animation with the basic shape of what will later become your character.

Loop Theory

LESSON #2

Loop Design

Expand your design into a fully rigged character, ready to throw into any kind of loop you can think of, by learning how to create simple character designs suitable for many different loop techniques. We’ll also discuss best practices for creating loops that still look great after being put through the dreaded GIF compression.

Loop Design

LESSON #3

Bouncing Loops

Let’s animate your new character! We’ll get them warmed up on a trampoline in a bouncing loop, showing how to use overlapping animation to make short repeating actions feel continuous, while adding lots of detail by animating every single part of their body.

Bouncing Loops

LESSON #4

Scrolling Loops

We’ll exercise your character a bit more by taking them out for a run, then give them somewhere to run to by animating a scrolling looping background. Learn how to effectively create a parallax effect to give your scene depth and a sense of speed.

Scrolling Loops

LESSON #5

Isometric Loops

We’ll look at your run cycle from a new perspective by learning how to animate isometric loops. Then, we’ll give your character some friends by showing how to create a loop with multiple characters running in different intersecting directions at once.

Isometric Loops

LESSON #6

Zooming Loops

It’s time to keep looking closer at loops by learning how to create a continuous zoom. We’ll work with the graph editor to show how to give your loop a constant zoom speed, then combine this zoom with camera rotation to create a hypnotic spin that sucks you in forever.

Zooming Loops

LESSON #7

Particle Loops

Your character deserves a break, so let them take a seat on a rocking chair, while you learn how to use a particle system to create a continuous looping smoke effect from a moving source – their pipe.

Particle Loops

LESSON #8

3D Loops

Let’s get moving again, this time in 3D! Learn how to combine cameras, 3D layers, and 2D animation to seamlessly roll your character through a three-dimensional racing scene.

3D Loops

LESSON #9

Spinning Loops

If rolling didn’t get them dizzy, let’s try a spin instead. We’ll use 3D in a different way, with a real spinning 3D object as a guide, to make your 2D character appear to fluidly spin around and around while floating on water which we’ll learn to create with a simple wave effect.

Spinning Loops

LESSON #10

Loop Ideas

What’s next for your characters? Let’s talk about it! We’ll learn how to find inspiration for loop ideas from real-world situations, combining all of the techniques you’ve now learned into new and exciting animated loops of your own!

Loop Ideas
+ Bonus

Get Our Scripts for Free

Get our bestseller scripts for free for 3 months together with the course.
We’ve included them to ensure you will get the best experience
without buying additional products!

Check Scripts

What you will get?

Take a look at the student’s project after the completion of the course and

prepare yourself to participate in our next collaboration!

Level

Basic

Format

Online

Lessons

10

Duration

4h+

Required Software

Adobe After Effects

Language

English

Animated Loops with James Curran

Learn the fundamental principles behind making great animated loops, which can be applied to any style of animation

Smooth out your character animation with techniques for creating hypnotically fluid motion, useful for non-looping animation too.

Give your animations depth by learning to create convincing three-dimensional movements with your 2D characters.

Learn how to design and animate loops which always look great when posted to social media platforms.

Become a versatile loop animator, with several different looping animation techniques that can all be combined in any way you like to create your own loops.

Develop your own loop ideas further with exercises on how to find inspiration, using James’ many years of experience creating hundreds of his own animated loops.

Animated Loops with James Curran

An in depth course covering a wide variety of looping animation techniques in After Effects. You’ll learn how to design and animate hypnotic character based loops that people will want to watch again and again and again, forever.

LEVEL

You’ve already started taking the first steps in the sphere and have a basic understanding of the work principles of this soft.

Basic

LESSONS

10

DURATION

4h+

Product guarantee
100% money back guarantee

If unhappy with the course, you can request a refund within 14 days after the purchase and get every cent back. Courses purchased before the actual starting date refund can be requested up to 14 days after the first lesson becomes available. Note: not applicable if purchased with a discount coupon

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