Michael Jones Motion Designer Video Tutorial Series

Michael Jones Portrait

Michael Jones

Photoshop & Illustrator 101: A Kickstart Guide

Learn the fundamentals of using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to make better Motion Design. These are the foundational design tools every motion designer must use to create their work. This workshop will walk you through the essential tools for creating designs for your motion work.

WATCH COURSE TRAILER

Photoshop & Illustrator 101

Fundamentals of Ai & PSD for Motion Designers

Course Format: On-Demand Training

Skill Level: Beginner

Materials: Ai & PSD

Duration: ~3 hours

Prerequisites: None

Designing for Motion video cover

Created for motion designers

Photoshop and Illustrator are incredibly deep tools. They are used across industries and are capable of a million different uses. This workshop is designed for Motion Designers and the way we use these tools while ultimately ending up in After Effects.

Project based learning

Follow along with the examples given in this workshop and create your own projects. We learn by doing so this workshop is designed to show you how to use the tools so you can jump in and create your own artwork.

Design principles & case studies

While it's important to understand the technical tools, it's also important to establish design principles. This workshop includes an overview of foundational design principles and looks at project examples to see how those principles apply to modern motion design work.

What you'll learn

If you are interested in using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to make better Motion Design, then this course is for you.

Photoshop Painting & Texturing

Photoshop is a powerful tool for creating pixel-based artwork. This module will show you the fundamental processes you need to know including; Clipping Masks, Shape Layers & Texturing.

Illustrator Design Tools

Adobe Illustrator is the standard in vector-based artwork. This module will cover tools available to you in creating original artwork. This will include a look at vector brushes, the grid tool and using gradients.

Perspective Grids

Giving your work dimension and depth is an important part of being a motion designer. This module will cover the process in both photoshop and illustrator. Using perspective grids is a good way to block out shapes that maintain solid perspective.

Mixed Media Techniques

Adobe Photoshop is powerful, in part, because of the ability to combine photographs, vectors and pixel art into a single scene. This module is an overview of creating a mixed-media style frame. A step by step breakdown to help you create your own artwork.

Large Scale Structures

This step by step tutorial will show you how to create a sense of scale in a 2d scene. We'll touch on proper perspective and how to block out a scene to show a sense of scale. You'll learn how to use gradients and shape layers to achieve this.

Tech Illustration

This step by step tutorial will show the process of creating a scene in Illustrator and Photoshop. We'll start by sketching out the concepts, using layers in Illustrator and finishing the scene in Photoshop with some added, subtle textures.

This workshop is all about learning how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator in a Motion Design context. Artist, Michael Jones walks through his process in a series of training videos, while focusing on the basic tools and processes involved in creating appealing artwork.

Michael Jones

Artist & Animator | CEO - Mograph Mentor

Michael Jones is an animator, designer and VFX artist. He is also the founder of MoGraph Mentor and has a passion for creating clear and detailed, educational materials for motion designers everywhere.

Michael emphasizes the role of core disciplines in the development of every motion designer. Without an understanding of art, design and animation, a modern artist may be relegated to the status of technician. It is an emphasis on fundamental understanding that inspires Michael's courses, as well as MoGraph Mentor at large.

Michael Jones

What do our students say?

It was very basic but great content and quality. Learned some new things and was great to see Michael Jones working.

Rafael Potenza

The course helped me to understand basic principles and most importantly I am more sure about which way I should follow. I now have a more solid understanding of Photoshop and Illustrator, important tools to use.

Sinan

The grid tool tips were great. Some of the techniques were new to me too.

Jeff Russell

Texturing is no longer a mystery!

Travis Blake

Learning more about the design principles have made me more confident in my work. I also really liked to see the workflow of illustration combining Photoshop and Illustrator. Thank you very much!

Oscar S.

I've been using Photoshop and Illustrator for years but I still learnt some new shortcuts and strategies that I wasn't aware of before.

Richard G.

This gave me a solid foundation to feel more comfortable with the tools.

Jorge Losilla

Motion Design Toolkit

A volume of free elements, tools and project files to help your projects or help you learn. As a thank you to the motion design community we've put together this free resource to help students jumpstart their projects.

This library contains custom paint builds, animated textures, sound effects, project files, storyboard templates and more. If you're just starting out in Motion Design it can be helpful to have free animated elements that you can practice with or serve clients with.

You are totally free to use any of it in your personal or client work.

Community Illustration

Join a supportive community

When the video training ends, the conversation continues on our Discord Server. This platform allows us to engage with you while you're working throughout the workshop.

Sign Up Any Time

Tons of content

Design project examples
Workflow tips & tricks
Project case studies
Lifetime access

Supportive Community

Lifetime access to the Discord forum

Photoshop & Illustrator 101 with Michael Jones

The basics of design in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Photoshop process
Illustrator process
Mix Media Techniques

You'll be redirect to our checkout page

Have questions?

We've got you covered. Check out the answers below or visit the help center for anything else.

Why this course?

This course is designed to help guide beginners. We want you to understand the right things to study, such as design and animation, but also want to equip you with enough to get started and practicing.

Is there A Live forum?

Yes. Registering for this workshop will give you access to the MoGraph Mentor Discord forum. There you can ask questions, post work and share resources with the wider community.

What will I know by the end?

How to use these tools to better serve your motion design needs. You'll understand how to create artwork and techniques using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

When does it start?

Right when you sign up! This is an online course is ready when you are.

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like – across any and all devices you own.

Can I communicate with the mentor?

Yes! Join our Discord forum and ask questions directly.

"Creativity is the last jobs frontier. As manual work gets automated away, creativity, entertainment and culture will create the jobs of the future."