Last Updated on September, 2024
Trying to master the art of visual effects (VFX) by yourself can be challenging. The complex software can be hard to grasp, even for the most seasoned VFX artists.
Structured guidance and quality teaching patterns are key to grasping VFX fully. This is why we have compiled a list of the best VFX courses you can access online, taught by entertainment industry professionals with experience.
Since all the courses on our list are virtual, all you will need is a PC, Internet access, and dedication to complete each program.
Contents
- Beginner-Level VFX Courses
- Intermediate and Advanced Level VFX Courses
- 7. VFX Shot Creation From Scratch With Maya And After Effects (Udemy)
- 8. Maya 2018 VFX – Learn To Create Visual Effects Using Maya (Udemy)
- 9. Arnold For Maya Workshop (Academy of Animated Art)
- 10. Katana Workshop (Academy of Animated Art)
- 11. Lighting VFX Workflows With Katana And RenderMan (Pluralsight)
- 12. Bringing 3D Objects Into Live-Action Footage (Skillshare)
- What are the Best Online VFX Schools?
- What are Visual Effects (VFX)?
- What Should You Look for When Choosing a VFX Course?
- Advantages of Following a VFX Course
- FAQs
- Final Thoughts
Beginner-Level VFX Courses
If you are passionate about VFX and looking for courses to master fundamental VFX skills, the programs below are for you.
1. 3D Animation & Modeling Master Class (Udemy)
Udemy’s 3D Animation & Modeling Master Class offers comprehensive online training for individuals aspiring to master different visual effects software programs like 3DSMax and Mudbox.
It covers the core fundamentals of animation and advanced techniques using fun and simple projects in each section to simplify the learning process.
The course covers:
This program is priced at $59.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee. And since it’s on Udemy, you can expect it to go on sale frequently. Who knows? It’s entirely possible that it’s discounted at this very moment.
2. Foundations Of VFX Diploma (CG Spectrum)
CG Spectrum, a reputable online learning platform, offers the Foundations of VFX Diploma- a comprehensive introduction course providing a solid foundation in skills like 3D modeling, FX animation, and visual effects production.
The program on CG Spectrum spans three terms (36 weeks).
Term 1: Animation and Modeling for VFX
Term 2: Character Art, Animation, and Environment Modeling
Term 3: FX for VFX
You can pay for The Foundations of VFX Diploma by CG Spectrum in 9 installments of $1,185. For those seeking a more personalized experience, one-on-one private classes are offered at $1,750 monthly.
3. VFX: Complete Houdini Bootcamp (Udemy)
Complete Houdini Bootcamp is a course offered by Udemy with an impressive rating of 4.6. With 19 hours of video content, this course delves into Houdini FX, a powerful visual effects application widely used in VFX, 3D animation, and game studios.
The course dives into specifics of animation, like creating professional explosions, crafting realistic oceans, and generating rain effects for dynamic visuals.
The program consists of 14 informative articles, 31 downloadable resources, lifetime accessibility to course content, accessible both on mobile and TV, and a certificate on completion.
This program is priced at $74.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
4. Fundamentals Of VFX (Udemy)
Udemy’s Fundamentals of VFX has a rating of 4.1 and has 3 hours’ worth of video content. It focuses on integrating 3D models into your designs, adjusting contrasts, and effectively manipulating colors to create realistic visual effects that would otherwise be time-consuming.
It covers the basics of crafting photorealistic effects and explores advanced VFX techniques like 3D camera animation, Nuke compositing, and planar tracking.
It allows access to 13 downloadable resources, full lifetime access to course content accessible on both mobile and TV, and a digital certificate on course completion.
This course is priced at $64.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
VFX for beginners using Adobe After Effects offers an insightful course tailored for students just starting off.
It has a duration of just 12 minutes and provides an excellent introduction to particle effects, teaching the creation of realistic situations like smoke, fire, explosions, and other natural phenomena.
Course designer Lanier provides Harry Potter movie-style special effects tutorials, guiding students to create particles using After Effects’ built-in plugins, adjusting appearances, and coloring scenes to evoke a magical mood.
The course can be accessed on both tablet and phone, and a digital certificate is provided upon completion.
Skillshare offers a free one-month trial on signing up for this course.
6. After Effects CC: Beginner’s Guide To VFX Visual Effects (Udemy)
Udemy’s After Effects CC: Beginner’s Guide to VFX Visual Effects has a high rating of 4.9. It has 4.5 hours of video content and is a beginner-level course that provides a complete guide to every aspect of visual effects in After Effects.
The course helps you understand critical concepts behind visual effects in After Effects, develop the skills needed to create complete projects using various effects, videos, and graphics, and create inspiring visual animations, effects, and cinematic components.
As you progress through this special effects course, you’ll not only become a master of visual effects but also acquire the knowledge and skills to navigate and manipulate other elements as well confidently.
This course provides access to 14 articles, 13 downloadable resources, lifetime access to course content, and convenient access on mobile and TV.
This course is priced at $54.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Intermediate and Advanced Level VFX Courses
Once you have mastered the fundamentals, here are a few courses that can help enhance what you have already learned.
7. VFX Shot Creation From Scratch With Maya And After Effects (Udemy)
Udemy’s VFX Shot Creation From Scratch With Maya And After Effects offers a 1-month free trial and is designed for intermediate students.
Led by course designer Vicki Lau, this online course enables you to understand how to create short films through a step-by-step process. It gives insight into essential tools like Mocha Pro and After Effects to construct captivating and realistic animation elements.
Other features include practice with motion tracking, creation of CG worlds, crafting aerial shots, and how to master rotoscope animation.
The course has downloadable resources that can be accessed on both tablets and phones, and a digital certificate is provided upon completion.
Priced at $59.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee, this course is practical and provides creative insights into bringing a short film to life.
8. Maya 2018 VFX – Learn To Create Visual Effects Using Maya (Udemy)
Maya 2018 VFX – Learn To Create Visual Effects Using Maya by Udemy has a rating of 4.1, with 12.5 hours of video content. This intermediate-level course equips you with the skills required to master visual effects creation.
You will learn how to use the VFX pipeline for a shot, match or track a camera’s motion using Matchmover, learn basic hard surface modeling, and learn Nuke compositing.
It has 5 downloadable resources, with lifetime access to the course content accessible on mobiles and tablets and a certificate on completion.
It is priced at $54.99 with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
9. Arnold For Maya Workshop (Academy of Animated Art)
Arnold for Maya Workshop, offered by the Academy of Animated Art, focuses solely on how to use Arnold with Maya 3D software and is especially useful if you are a lighting artist.
Arnold is the same renderer used to produce world-class visual effects in blockbuster movies like Blade Runner, Gravity, and Marvel films; therefore, learning your way around this software is beneficial.
This course provides detailed coverage of every aspect of using Arnold in Maya and a detailed analysis of all available options, like object settings, shaders, and lighting functionality.
The Arnold for Maya Workshop is priced at $199.
10. Katana Workshop (Academy of Animated Art)
Katana is a lighting tool that simplifies the management of assets, materials, shaders, and output files to speed up the workflow. This tool allows any VFX artist to work on several large files simultaneously.
It has a node-based workflow for streamlined project organization and allows simultaneous work on multiple shots, frames, assets, and variations within one lighting project file.
The Katana Workshop is conducted by Abel Vargas, an experienced lighting compositor who has worked with studios like Sony Imageworks, Animal Logic, Method Studios, and Double Negative.
It is priced at $599 and is perfect for an FX artist seeking an efficient and simplified lighting and look development workflow.
11. Lighting VFX Workflows With Katana And RenderMan (Pluralsight)
Pluralsight’s Lighting VFX Workflows with Katana and RenderMan is an expanded online course focusing on two essential software programs used widely by top animation studios.
This course covers the basic workflows of Katana and RenderMan and also includes Nuke software in the curriculum.
It provides a detailed understanding of concepts like VFX lighting workflows, calibrating lighting renders using Nuke, integrating CG assets, Nuke compositing, and an overall robust understanding of visual effects workflows.
The course is almost 3 hours long. You can subscribe to Pluralsight for a subscription fee of $29 monthly to gain access to this course and a library of 7,000+ courses. They also offer a free 10-day trial.
Bringing 3D Objects Into Live-Action Footage, offered by Manning Moore on Skillshare, explains how to integrate 3D objects seamlessly into live-action footage.
You will learn about software like After Effects, Cinema 4D, and the Octane render engine. You will also cover a comprehensive portion of Nuke compositing for realistic results, animating 3D objects, rendering, and final color grading.
Moore is a VFX generalist who works for Mutiny FX and is highly experienced in the VFX field.
There are 14 lessons with a duration of 1 hour and 12 minutes, where you can gain hands-on experience with popular software tools in the industry.
Skillshare offers a 30-day free trial, followed by a $29 monthly membership fee.
What are the Best Online VFX Schools?
The best online VFX schools should be tailored for a VFX artist of any proficiency level. Here are a few platforms that only focus on visual arts:
Rebelway:
Gnomon:
CG Spectrum:
CGMA (Computer Graphics Master Academy)
Fxphd
What are Visual Effects (VFX)?
Visual effects is the art of seamlessly merging live-action footage with computer-generated elements to create captivity imagery in films, games, and series.
This includes Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), composing, and Motion Capture (Mocap). CGI is where entire worlds and characters are crafted using specialized software.
Composting is the final stage of VFX, which seamlessly integrates digital assets like alien invasions with live-action scenes of a film. Mocap is the recording and translation of actor movements into 3D models.
VFX is integral to filmmaking; talented artists can specialize through online courses without needing a traditional art school. This makes VFX careers accessible to students who are passionate about it.
What Should You Look for When Choosing a VFX Course?
Before choosing an online course or an online class to learn VFX software, here are a few key points to consider::
Advantages of Following a VFX Course
Given below are some of the most significant advantages you gain by following VFX courses:
Other course categories you might like:
FAQs
Final Thoughts
Learning VFX opens many creative opportunities and prospective job options for digital artists anywhere in the world. This could be in the games or film industry.
As the demand for VFX professionals and talented artists continues to grow across various industries worldwide, structured learning, networking, and continuous skill development offered by reputable online VFX courses are essential.
Whether you choose to invest in a renowned online VFX institution like Rebelway and CGMA or you prefer the flexibility of online studying platforms like Udemy and Pluralsight, investing in a standard online course is an investment that will help your job and portfolio immensely.
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