Whether you want to tell stories, design immersive worlds, or bring your own illustrated characters to life, you’re in luck – the demand for skilled animators continues to grow.

In this post, we look at eight of the best online animation courses and tutorials for taking you from beginner to advanced skills in 2D and 3D animation and motion design, game animation, and even animation for web and mobile apps.

While you’re at it, you’ll also learn how to use industry-standard software like Autodesk Maya and Blender.

Let’s get started!

Best 2D animation courses

Learn to Animate: Classical 2D Animation for Beginners (Udemy)

Udemy is probably my favorite site for learning any new skill. With its user review-driven model, it’s kind of like the Amazon of online learning platforms.

Taught by professional artist and animator Siobhan Twomey, Learn to Animate has an average 4.6 star rating from its 7000+ students.

The course packs a lot into 1.5 hours of video tutorials, taking you from zero experience to a fully developed 2D character animation using Adobe Animate.

You’ll start with the basic foundations for animating anything, learning common terminology and Adobe’s drawing tools along the way. Through hands-on projects, you’ll learn how to ease in and out of key frames, apply timing and spacing effectively, squash and stretch your animations, and more.

Intermediate students, including storyboard artists, filmmakers, and storytellers, can also use the course as a refresher, revisiting key animation principles to take their skills to the next level.

If you’re looking to diversify your technical skill set, Udemy also has some courses on creating AI-generated films.

Pricing

The course is a one-time purchase of $64.99. However, Udemy frequently runs huge promotions where you can get courses for 80% off or more, so keep an eye out for that.

2D Animation for Beginners (Animation Mentor)

For more in-depth study of 2D animation, 2D Animation for Beginners by Animation Mentor is a 6-week workshop in traditional animation with the help of modern digital software like Harmony by Toon Boom and Rough Animator.

The program is taught by T. Dan Hofstedt, animation supervisor with a resume spanning the likes of Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony Imageworks. Dan has worked on Disney classics like Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan, and Mulan.

The course includes weekly 1-hour live Q&As, homework assignments, and one-on-one feedback on your work from expert mentors.

2D Animation for Beginners runs from 9:00 to 10:00 PM (Pacific Time) on Tuesdays for the duration of the 6-week program. Here’s a rundown of the course curriculum:

  • Fundamentals of 2D Animation
  • The Mechanics of Weight
  • Fundamental Concepts of Animation
  • Drawing with Emotion
  • Pose to Pose Animation
  • Review and Recap

To get the most out of this course, it’s recommended that you have a basic drawing ability.

Although the course is beginner friendly, experienced 2D animators looking to improve their skills in digital mediums – as well as 3D character animators wishing to upgrade their skills in posing, timing, and framing – will get a lot out of this program.

Pricing

The course costs $899. It runs on a periodic basis, so if you’re considering enrolling, be sure to check the start date in advance.

Mastering Motion (Animator Guild)

Mastering Motion is an advanced course in 2D animation by Animator Guild. It’s designed to take you from amateur animator to professional level with guidance from an award-winning animator and the support of a community of fellow students.

Created by Howard Wimhurst, award-winning animator from London, the course covers the following topics:

  • Drawing and character design
  • Creating animation effects, fight choreography, and believable character performances
  • Anime and western styles
  • Simulating 3D movement in your 2D animations
  • Timing keyframes
  • 3D parallax principles
  • Full workflow, from concept to final render

The course takes approximately six months of full-time study, or a year for part-time students. You can work at your own pace, following along with the weekly schedule or skipping around as you please.

Animator Guild also has a comprehensive beginner-level program in 2D animation if you need an in-depth primer.

Pricing

Mastering Motion costs $497 for a lifetime membership. You can also purchase the beginner and advanced classes as a bundle for $647. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Best 3D animation courses

Maya for Beginners: Complete Guide to 3D Animation in Maya (Udemy)

Autodesk Maya is widely used software in the film, television, and gaming industries for 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering. Its advanced features for character animation, dynamics, and effects make it a favorite among professionals for creating high-quality 3D animations.

While Maya is powerful and versatile, it does have a steeper learning curve compared to some other 3D animation software. However, for those serious about a career in 3D animation or related fields, it's definitely worth learning.

In Maya for Beginners, you’ll get 29.5 hours of in-depth video tutorials showing you how to create your own 3D animations using this industry-standard software.

The course is taught by Lucas Ridley, a commercial director and award-winning animator. It has over 38,000 students and an average of 4.7 stars.

Pricing

The regular price of the course is $159.99. Remember that Udemy frequently offers steep discounts of 80% off or more.

Blender Fundamentals (Motion Design School)

Blender is a top choice among aspiring animators and working professionals looking for versatile 3D animation software. For starters, it’s free and open-source, making it accessible to anyone who wants to learn animation without investing in an expensive pro software license.

It also has an intuitive interface, a comprehensive suite of features, and an active online community who contribute tutorials and addons and offer support to other users.

Motion Design School’s Blender Fundamentals is a six-hour deep dive into 3D design and animation using this powerful software.

Beginning with an introduction to the Blender interface, you’ll gradually master the basics of 3D modeling, from shaping simple objects to more advanced techniques like sculpting, modifiers, texturing, and lighting.

By the end of the training, you’ll have a solid understanding of workflows in Blender, having crafted multiple 3D models and animations of your own.

The course is taught by Iaroslav Kononov, founder of Motion Design School and long-time expert in motion graphics.

Pricing

Blender Fundamentals is a one-time cost of $299. All courses on the platform have a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Best game animation courses

Game Animation Workshops (iAnimate.net)

iAnimate.net is a popular training platform for aspiring game animators. They offer an 11-week series of workshops covering 3D animation for the game industry. Through multiple live talks and demonstrations, you’ll master the gaming production pipeline and participate in assignments.

For the duration of the program, you’ll have full access to the live and recorded classes and game rigs.

The workshops cover:

Animation and Game Principles. An entry-level class covering video game animation using Maya.

Advanced Body Mechanics and Workflows. Advanced training in body mechanics, actions, and reactions. You’ll also learn gameplay foundations.

Combat, Takedowns, and Advanced Techniques. A workshop covering character timing, rhythm, dynamic actions, and embellishment and polishing.

Battle Sequences, Cinematic, Interactive Gameplay. A series of live trainings taking you through the game production pipeline. The course instructors will demonstrate a variety of game animation techniques, and you’ll also learn how to create interactive battles and cinematics and integrate with top game engines like Unity.

Besides game animation, iAnimate.net offers online animation training in the following areas:

  • Maya
  • Feature Animation
  • Creature Animation
  • Character Rigging
  • Blender
  • Motion Capture
  • Pre-Visualization
  • Photoshop & After Effects

Pricing

The 11-week game animation workshop costs $1,698. Check the website for the next start and end dates for your chosen program.

Game Animation Fundamentals (Animation Mentor)

Game Animation Fundamentals is an introduction to game animation for students who already have a working knowledge of Autodesk Maya and body mechanics. After completing the course, you’ll know how to migrate your work from Maya to Unreal engine, the industry standard for game animation studios.

This means you’ll be able to move your own character using a keyboard or game controller!

The course includes six weekly one-hour Q&As, six pre-recorded lectures, and five animation exercises.

The course curriculum is as follows:

  • Week 1: Learn the basics of game animation workflow by understanding and animating idle and posed character positions.
  • Week 2: Gain proficiency in using the Unreal game engine to animate characters within a game environment.
  • Week 3: Discover the challenges and constraints faced by game animators and begin creating basic attack sequences.
  • Week 4: Learn to integrate animation cycles into the Unreal Engine.
  • Week 5: Polish and embellish animations to improve gameplay smoothness.
  • Week 6: Import and control all created animations in Unreal Engine to create a basic game level.

Game Animation Fundamentals is taught by professional animators Olivier Zurcher and Elliott Roberts, who have worked on Call of Duty and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, respectively. You’ll get one-to-one feedback and industry insights from them as you complete your assignments.

Pricing

The six-week program costs $899. Check the website to see the next start date.

Best animation tutorials for web and mobile

LottieFiles Tutorials

Lottie is an open-source, JSON-based animation file format that lets designers and developers easily integrate complex vector animations into web, mobile, and desktop applications.

Whether you're an animator, designer, or developer, it's worth learning more about how to work with Lottie files across a variety of popular platforms.

LottieFiles Tutorials are a series of free video-based tutorials exploring everything Lottie, from how to create animations using Figma, to working with your files in platforms like Canva and Elementor.

If you need some inspiration as you work through the tutorials, browse the world's biggest collection of free Lottie animations and over 400,000 premium animations.

Or if you’d rather hire someone to create a custom design for you, browse the community of animators creating Lottie animations for a diverse array of projects, from websites and social media campaigns to iOS and Android apps.

Pricing

These tutorials are free, along with many hundreds of thousands of animations on the site.

In short …

For the aspiring 2D or 3D animator, there’s no shortage of quality online tutorials, courses, and live workshops – including some fantastic free resources too!

A versatile skill set is highly prized in any creative profession – not least of all animation – so don’t be afraid to explore areas that are outside of your usual expertise or interest. These top animation courses will put you on the right track.

Author bio: Chloe Brittain is a freelance writer and the founder of Monday Roadmap, a blog for content creators navigating the new landscape of GenAI tools.