A Collection Of Resources For Motion Graphics Addicts

Tweet I have always loved motion graphics and animation and I’m sure many of you web and graphic designers do too (if not, don’t worry, it’ll grow on you!) So, I thought I’d make a list of resources, sites and blogs on the topic since it’s something I really enjoy, I hope you find it useful! :)

Before we go on, let’s start with a quick introduction and some basic infos for those of you not too familiar with the topic:

Motion graphics are generally short pieces of time-based visual media which combine the languages of film and graphic design. This can be accomplished by incorporating a number of different elements such as 2d and 3d animation, video, film, typography, illustration, photography, and music. Common applications of motion graphics are film title sequences, animated logos at the end of commercials, lower-third elements, etc. – MoGraphWiki

Flickr Groups

It’s amazing what you can find on Flickr! A simple search for ‘motion graphics’ will return a ton of results. Here are some Flickr groups to get you started and find some inspiration:

• Motion Graphics
• MoGrapher
• Mograph
• Motion Design
• Motionograohy
• Generative Visuals
• Digital and Audio Visual Arts Directory
• openFrameworks

Vimeo Groups

Vimeo, being a video site, is of course a great place to find some inspiration and ideas!

• Motion Graphics Spring09
• Motion Arts
• CC Motion Graphics 3
• Dirudi Motion Graphics
• OpenEndedGroup
• Newspeak
• Genki Ito

Blogs, Resources And Tutorials

Of course there’s a lot of motion graphics resource sites and blogs out there, but these are some of my favorites – mind sharing your faves in the comment section? :)

Motionographer ↓

Motionographer is a fantastic site and a great source of news and inspiration that features work from studios, filmmakers, students and freelancers. They also have a discussion forum.

Motion Served ↓

Motion Served is part of The Served network of sites run by the cool folks at Behance. It features work from leading motion graphics professionals. A must bookmark for sure! You can also check out the ‘Motion Graphics‘ section on the Behance Network!

FEED Here ↓

FEED Here is brought to us by the same publishers of Stash DVD Magazine. A great site for anyone interested in animation, VFX and design.

Create Digital Motion ↓

Create Digital Motion is a great site for everything motion graphics related, from news and reviews to tutorials and features. There’s also a forum at Create Digital Noise.

Motionspire ↓

Motionspire is a great inspirational gallery that focusses on motion graphics. This is a great place to find some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing!

AE TUTS+ ↓

AE TUTS+: From the popular TUTS+ network of sites created by Envato, AE TUTS+ publishes awesome tutorials and articles about Adobe After Effects, motion graphics and animation. They also have a membership program that costs $9 a month that gives you access to the whole network (with exclusive tutorials on Photoshop, web-development and Illustrator – though all AE TUTS content is free for now it seems)

Layers Magazine ↓

Layers Magazine, the how-to magazine for all things Adobe has a section on Adobe After Effects (of course!). There are some excellent tutorials on there! Check it out!

Ayato Web ↓

Ayato Web is a site in Japanese that offers great AE tutorials. There’s an english version of the site, but there seems to be more content in Japanses. Still great tutorials and ya never know, maybe you’ll learn some Japanese while you’re at it! ;)

Video Copilot ↓

Video Copilot is another excellent resource for tutorials and all things After Effects and motion graphics. Andrew Kramer puts together some awesome video tutorials! You can’t go wrong here!

MoGraph Forums ↓

MoGraph is a discussion forum and online community where motion graphics artists and enthousiasts go to ask for help, find inspiration, ask for reviews and tips or just to chill. Worth registering to for sure!

Mattrunks ↓

Last but definitely not least, Mattrunks (blog here) is an incredible resource for After Effects and motion design tutorials. (thanks to Loic for the heads up!) This one is in french, so for all of you who don’t speak french here’s your chance to learn! :)

Some More Resources

Of course it’d be very difficult to mention every site related to motion graphics, film and animation, but here are some blog posts you might want to check out:

• Motion Graphics On Fubiz.net
• Design In Motion – Kinetic Typography
• Top 28 Best Motion Graphics Blogs and Resources
• 30 Fantastic Websites For Your Daily Video Inspiration
• 20 Beautiful Video Motion Pieces
• Graphics In Motion
• Megalongcat Motion Graphics Category

Artists, Studios And Portfolios

I wouldn’t be able to list all of my favorites, but here are some extremely talented artists and studios (in no particular order):

• Boca
• Grow Design Work
• Slanted.org
• Mate Steinforth
• Mutant Hands

Your Turn To Talk

I hope you found this post useful! Please share with us you favorite motion graphics resources and sites! See ya in the comment section! :)