Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics and compositing software. It’s used in the post-production process of movies creation and television production. Adobe After Effects is used worldwide in creating visual effects and motion graphics, it was used in movies like Sin City, Iron Man, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Stranger Than Fiction, many gaming studios also rely on Adobe After Effects to create cut scenes in their games.

But how can learning Adobe After Effects help anyone? the answer is simple; do you’ve a product that you want to put on Kickstarter or Indiegogo to be funded and you want to create a short video about the product? Do you have an idea and you want to create a short video to start pitching investors? Do you want to have a part/full time job in motion graphics? If the answer is yes then this article is for you. All of this can be created using Adobe After effects.

This post is a road map for anyone willing to start learning Adobe After Effects online for free from scratch, the post will present and compare between the best online sources where beginners can start from and follow along, the sources stated in this post is for full structured courses so you won’t find a link to a single video or a group of unrelated tutorials.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Adobe After Effects) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Start Learning Adobe After Effects for Free from Scratch

Adobe Blog

Adobe Blog is the first place where beginners can start learning Adobe After Effects for free through video tutorials. You don’t have to register in order to have access to the video tutorials, just go to the website and you’re ready to go.

Structure: The training is well-structured and organized for beginners; the training is divided into 57 video tutorials, each video tutorial covers a certain topic in Adobe After Effects.

Interface: The interface is very simple just click on the tutorial you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the “Creative Cow” website (where the video tutorials where actually created) there you shall find the video tutorial tab, click on it and the video will start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured and organized for beginners.
3. The course covers every aspect a beginner should be aware of in order to start using Adobe After Effects.

Cons

1. The course covers an old version of Adobe After Effects, which won’t be a big problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is the best place for any beginner willing to start learning Adobe After effects online from scratch for free.

Floqq

Floqq is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning adobe after effects through video tutorials. You need to register in order to have access to the video course; you just register with your email no credit card information required.

Structure: The course is divided into 30 video tutorials; each video tutorial covers certain topics in Adobe After Effects. The course is well-organized for beginners.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the video tutorials you’re interested in at the side menu and the video tutorial will start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-organized for beginners.

Cons

1. Some of the tutorials might not directly start from the main window and will only work on YouTube.
2. The training covers an old version of Adobe After Effects.

Verdict: Adobe Blog training covers more topics than this source, so it’s better to start from Adobe Blog.

Precompressed

Precompressed is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Adobe After Effects through video tutorials. You don’t need to register in order to have access to the video training, just go to the website and you’re ready to go.

Structure: The training is divided into 6 sections, each section is divided into a group of video tutorials and each video tutorial covers a certain topic in Adobe After Effects.

Interface: the interface is very simple, just click on the video tutorial you’re interested in and it’ll start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The instructor is using assets (drawings, videos, etc.) that don’t seem to be available on the website so it’s very hard to follow along.

Verdict: The absence of the assets the instructor is working with makes it very difficult to follow along, so that source isn’t the best place for beginners to start from.

Mamo World

Mamo World is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Adobe After Effects through video tutorials, you don’t need to register in order to start the video tutorials, just go to the website and you’re ready to go.

Structure: The training is divided into 5 lessons; each lesson has a group of video tutorials that covers certain topics in Adobe After Effects. The training is more of a “learn by doing” than just a walkthrough around the software.

Interface: The interface is very simple; you click on the lesson and you’ll be directed to a new window where the video tutorials are sited, just click on the video tutorial and it’ll start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is more of a “learn by doing”.
3. The instructor is excellent and makes it very easy to follow along.

Cons

1. The course covers an old version of Adobe After Effects, though that might not be a problem for many.

Verdict: It’s a good source to start from for those who prefer to jump directly to the software through an actual big project.

Learners TV

Learners TV is the fifth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Adobe After Effects through video tutorials, you don’t need to register in order to have access to the video tutorials, just go to the website and you’re ready to go.

Structure: The training is divided into 39 video tutorials; each video tutorial covers certain topics in Adobe After Effects.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the video tutorial you’re interested in and the YouTube video will start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured for beginners.

Cons

1. The course covers an old version of Adobe After Effects, though that might not be a problem for many beginners.

Verdict: This is a good source for beginners to start learning Adobe After Effects.

Alison

Alison is the sixth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Adobe After Effects through video tutorials, you need to register in order to have access to the course. What’s unique about Alison is that you can receive a certificate after finishing the course and passing the assessment but I’ve to state a warning here; the course is free and the assessment is free but the certificate will cost you round 10$.

Structure: The training is divided into two sections; the course sections where you can find the video tutorials that cover certain topics in Adobe After Effects. The second section is the assessment section.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the video tutorial you’re interested in and the video will start in the same window.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The certificate is really encouraging (if you’re willing to pay for it).
3. The assessment is helpful to test your understanding of the software.

Cons

1. The course doesn’t cover everything beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using Adobe After Effects.

Verdict: The course is suitable for those who are interested in the certificate; also it’s suitable for those who want to get a general idea about the software.

Udemy

Udemy is seventh online outlet where you can learn Adobe After effects; you can learn literally anything on Udemy for free or for free (depending on the course provider). To join Udemy just register using your email. Go to the search bar and type what you want to learn (Adobe After Effects in our case), of course you should choose the free courses and at the time of writing this post the following courses were present:

You can choose one of these courses and start it. Each course is divided into lessons (depending on the instructor). The following are the pros and cons of Udemy.

Pros

1. There is some good material for beginners.
2. The free courses are more suitable for someone who wants to get a general idea about Adobe After Effects.

Cons

1. You’ll have to pay per course to proceed with your learning journey.
2. It’s a trial and error process for both the free and paid courses as it depends on the instructor (stars aren’t that convenient as the instructor might be new that’s why he/she has no stars).

Verdict: It’s a trial and error experience; so it’s better to try other free outlet from the sources stated in this post.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe creative cloud is the 8^th free online outlet where beginners can start learning Adobe After Effects through video tutorials. You don’t need to register in order to have access to the video library, just go to the website and you’re ready to go. The course doesn’t only cover beginner’s topics but it also covers intermediate and advanced topics.

Structure: The course is divided into 6 groups, each group is divided into sections and the sections are divided into lessons, each lesson covers a certain topic in Adobe After Effects.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the topics you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the video tutorial page.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured for beginners.
3. The course covers some of the intermediate and advanced topics in Adobe After Effects.

Cons

1. The course is organized in a very bad way that makes it very hard for beginners to follow along.

Verdict: The course is well-structured but abysmally organized which ruins the entire experience for beginners; of course if you’ve used any of the Adobe products before the organization problem won’t be much of an issue for you.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning Adobe After Effects online for free from scratch

1. Adobe Blog is the place to start from for any beginner.
2. If you prefer the “learn by doing” model then Mamo World is the outlet for you.
3. If you want to get a certificate then Alison is the place for you.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in Adobe After Effects.