If you do a Google search of After Effects tutorials your results will probably come from three different websites: Video Co-Pilot, Tuts+, and Creative Cow. These websites can be great resources for After Effects tutorials, but you can’t help but wonder if there are more options out there than just those three. Recently on Reddit someone was wondering that same question and fortunately for you there were plenty of people who answered with their favorite places to learn more about After Effects. After going through all of them I found that there were 13 sites listed that had these three characteristics:

Taught important skills/techniques/tips/looks for anyone that uses After Effects Taught in a very clear and easy to learn style Taught regularly and kept and stayed current with today’s trends and CC updates

In no particular order here is a list of After Effects tutorials that will help you learn whatever it is you care to learn about.

Creative Dojo is a blog by VinhSon Nguyen that focuses on motion graphics and VFX tutorials using both After Effects and/or Cinema 4D. His tutorials are for the advanced user and often talk about how to use Trapcode, Plexus, Element 3D, or Cinema 4D with After Effects. If you are looking for tutorials on any of those plugins/software he is one of the guys you will want to keep up with.

Matt Trunks has some very amazing tutorials on his site focusing on all aspects of Motion Graphics. His tutorials are all very modern and trendy and are divided by skill level. I love that because I hate getting half way into a tutorial and find out that I have no idea what is going on because it is way over my head. He has free tutorials but he also has a few premium tutorials that you have to pay for. Usually they cost between 2 and 3 euros each. They are well worth the price because they show you those tricks you want to do but don’t know where to start and you can’t find it anywhere else on the internet.

Motion Works is run by John Dickinson who has been working with motion graphics for 17 years (longer than most of “those” kids who do AE tutorials on YouTube have even been alive) and is an ambassador for Adobe. The thing that I like about Motion Works is that there are After Effects tutorials (along with Cinema 4D if you are interested in that) but there are also breakdowns of movie titles and other motion graphics work using only pictures. This is great because sometimes I am watching a tutorial and they will stop to explain why they are doing what they are doing (which is great if you don’t know) and I just have to skip ahead to get to the next step. In this John just shows the steps so as soon as you are done you can move on to the next step.

Mikey was the first resource I went to so that I could learn After Effects. Granted, that was three years ago when I was still at college and he taught there, but his knack at teaching at college is still very apparent in his tutorials. Mikey focuses more on the motion graphics side of After Effects instead of VFX and compositing but he still touches on them once in a while. The other thing that you can count on learning from Mikey is working with shape layers and using expressions.

All Bets Are Off Productions is the website of Aahron Rabinowitz who works for Red Giant and hosts Red Giant TV. His tutorials feature how to use Red Giant products but I don’t think that I’ve met anyone who doesn’t own something by Red Giant. Odds are you have a product from them and if you don’t – you should make sure to check them out.

EC Abrams is another great resource if you are interested in motion graphics. His tutorials are usually short (under 20 minutes) and to the point. This is great because instead of focusing on a whole look he focuses on specific tips and tricks for motion graphics and that allows you to take it from there and make it your own.

(zacklovatt.com)

Zack is a great resource if you want to learn more about expressions/scripting in After Effects. His tutorials are blog posts instead of video walkthroughs so if you are completely new to using expressions it is probably best to wait just a bit. If you have been using them for a while though Zack has some great posts that will show you how to use expressions and scripts with After Effects.

Mt. Mograph is a YouTube channel filled with great tutorials by Matt Jylkka. His tutorials are about motion graphics and usually go over the whole process from start to finish; which sometimes includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and Cinema 4D. The good news is that they show you everything but the downside is that they are really long. If you are a user that needs to see every little step along the way then Mt. Mograph is a place to go.

Lester Banks is a blog that posts great tutorials from anywhere that relate to After Effects, Cinema 4D, Maya, Blender, Nuke, and most any other VFX software. The thing that I love about Lester Banks is that you know that the tutorials posted are going to teach you what you want to learn. I’m sure we all know the feeling of spending ten minutes watching a tutorial and realizing that you haven’t learned anything or can’t understand anything that is being taught. Next time you know what you want to learn check out Lester Banks first and you’ll avoid that.

Premium Beat has been releasing tutorials for quite a while now done by multiple people (including EC Abrams and Mikey who are already listed). They are great tutorials and focus on a wide range of topics. If you want to be a well rounded After Effects user, Premium Beat would be a great place to follow. BONUS: Premium Beat worked with Mikey to put together an After Effects fundamental course made up of 10 videos going over the basics of After Effects. If you are a new user or even someone who doesn’t know everything thing in After Effects then this is a good place to start.

Greyscale Gorilla has both after effects tutorials and 3D tools. Although their focus is on Cinema 4D they have a lot of tutorials on working with Cinema 4D and After Effects together. If you are use Cinema 4D with After Effects (or want to start) Greyscale Gorilla is going to be one of your best resources.

Finally – the After Effects subreddit on Reddit. It is a very active subreddit where people share tutorials that they like along with ask questions and get help from each other. If you aren’t subscribed to this subreddit you need to.

Those are the ones that I found to be the most helpful but I am sure there are still many more out there that weren’t mentioned. If you have any that you think deserve to be on the list I would love to hear what they are. Leave a comment telling us and if we get any more good suggestions I’ll make sure to update this post with any new suggestions from you guys.