5 Motion Graphics and Visual Effects Resources for Editors

In today’s world, video editors are often expected to have Motion Graphics/VFX Skills. The following resources are beneficial for extending your graphics skill set. Check out the useful VFX freebies as well!

The days of ‘just being an editor’ are over. Most editors are now required to wear multiple hats and juggle various video editing, motion design, encoding and color grading applications on a daily basis. On most freelance jobs I am often using Adobe Photoshop and After Effects for graphics tasks, Maxon Cinema 4D for 3D work, along with Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer for video editing.

With the recent free addition of Cinema 4D Lite into After Effects Creative Cloud, more video editors will now be integrating 3D into their work. In this post, we’ve rounded up 10 resources will help you strengthen your After Effects and Cinema 4D skills – free After Effects templates, motion graphics plugins and loads of free training and tutorials!

If you’re new to working with motion graphics, start with my previous post on “10 Free After Effects Training Resources” and check out the After Effects section on the Premiumbeat blog.

AESCRIPTS + AEPLUGINS



aescripts + aeplugins offers quality scripts and plugins for a variety of video editing and motion design applications (After Effects, Cinema 4D, NLEs). These are particularly helpful when you are looking to extend what you can do in an app. For instance, need to animate characters mouths in After Effectswithout losing your sanity? No problem, there is Auto Lip-Sync ($39.99)


MOGRAPH



Mograph is a collection of forums for working in motion graphics.
The site covers the art and business of the industry along with forums on resources, jobs, and tutorials. There’s also a reels and portfolio page where the best motion designers share their work – great for inspiration. Mograph is a good place to network to and learn more about the industry.



VFXER



Vfxer is a Cinema 4D & After Effects resource run by a husband and wife team (Simon & Claire). Besides useful AE and Cinema 4D tutorials, they have sections on visual effects news, inspiration and free stuff (weekly mailing list). Be sure to check out their collection of 10 free pre-fractured 3D models that can be used in Element 3D or Cinema 4D. 

GREYSCALE GORILLA



Greyscale Gorilla is the brainchild of VFX guru Nick Campbell. Over the last few years Greyscale Gorilla has become a leading motion design and visual effects force online, with frequently updated tutorials, news and their own 3D and visual effects products.

TOOLFARM/AE FREEMART



Motion Graphics artist Michele Yamazaki runs/writes for both of these sites.AE Freemart covers cool resources for After Effects, including free After Effects templates and plugins. Toolfarm sells plugins but has evolved into a resource for editors/artists. They cover the latest motion design and visual effects news, as well as having a blog and free After Effects tutorials.