Thursdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, V107
This course explores the generation and manipulation of motion photographic and graphic images using industry standard software, Adobe Animate. Topics include composition, nesting, resolution, layers, effects, RAM preview and animation, mask and track mattes, text and presets. Students will use effective visual communication as they explore various publication scenarios.
COGT 1213 or consent of instructor
General Education Outcomes are the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and behaviors that students are expected to develop as a result of their overall experiences with any aspect of the college, including courses, programs, and student services, both inside and outside of the classroom. The General Education Outcomes specifically learned in this course are:
- Communication
Course Outcome
Create a Create a 2D animation using
Adobe Animate/After Effects.
Course Objectives
*Recognize the Animate/AE workspace
*Implement design principles and copyright rules
*Create, animate and apply filters to animation symbols
*Recognize the different tweens and when and how to use them
*Create and control an animation camera for use of different angles
*Apply interactive navigation to web projects
*Create a working virtual reality environment
*Implement sound and video to animated projects
*Publish animated projects to a variety of platforms
*Demonstrate using a Wacom tablet with Adobe Animate
Faculty Contact Information
Thursdays, 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM, or by appointment
agocken@kcc.edu
Course Information
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Recognize the Animate workspace
- Implement design principles and copyright rules
- Create, animate and apply filters to animation symbols
- Recognize the different tweens and when and how to use them
- Create and control an animation camera for use of different angles
- Apply interactive navigation to web projects
- Create a working virtual reality environment
- Implement sound and video to animated projects
- Publish animated projects to a variety of platforms
- Demonstrate using a Wacom tablet with Adobe Animate
- Welcome to Adobe Animate
- Introduction to Interactive Media
- Getting Acquainted with Adobe Animate CC
- Creating Graphics and Text
- Creating and Editing Symbols
- Animating Symbols
- Advanced Motion Tweening
- Animating Shapes and Using Masks
- Natural and Character Animation
- Creating Interactive Navigation
- Working with Sound and Video
Adobe After Effects Classroom in a Book
2026 Release
Gyncild & Fridsma
ISBN - 13:
978-0-13-556143-0
1000-900 = A
899 - 800 = B
799 - 700 = C
699 - 600 = D
599 - 0 = F
Projects - 400 points
Assignments - 300 points
Quizzes - (Low score drops) - 100 points
Final Exam - 100 points
Attendance - 50 points
Participation - 50 points
Business, Technology & Human Services
Dean, Paul Carlson; 815-802-8858; V105; pcarlson@kcc.edu; Division Office – W102; 815-802-8650
Late Work - Late work will be accepted, but with a point penalty. Any work, including homework, projects, and study questions, will have a 15% point deduction given after the work is graded. For example, if you hand in late work and it is given a 90%, then your final grade would be 76%.
Attendance - Students are expected to be in class on time. Don't be late. Students are responsible for all materials presented during their absence(s).
Check CANVAS if you are absent, all due materials will be listed according to weekly modules. Regular attendance is expected to all scheduled classes, there are
NO excused absences.
If you need to contact me, PLEASE EMAIL ME.
I typically check this course daily, but on weekends
it isn't my top priority. That in NO WAY means that I don't want to hear from you if you have a question.
Plagiarism - KCC defines plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one's own. Plagiarism includes claiming credit for assignments completed by someone else. MoMA defines appropriation:
the intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of existing images and objects. A strategy that has been used by artists for millennia, it took on new significance in the mid-20th century with the rise of consumerism and the proliferation of images through mass media outlets from magazines to television.
AI Content - In all academic work, the ideas and contributions of others must be appropriately acknowledged and work that is presented as original must be, in fact, original. Using an AI-content generator (such as ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly) t complete coursework without proper attribution or authorization is a form of academic dishonesty. If you are unsure about whether something may be plagiarism or academic dishonesty, please contact your instructor to discuss the issue .First violation will result in a zero for the assignment. The second violation will result in "F" failing of the course.
Final Exam The final presentation
in this class is mandatory. It is worth 100 points.
If you fail to present, you will lose your attendance and participation points (100) and your final grade will not be an "A" or a "B."
Computer Graphic Technology Lab Safety - Students will be allowed to work in V107 (Graphic Design Lab) outside of scheduled COGT
class times during open building hours. Lab schedules are posted on the door.
Students will not be allowed to work in V111 (Innovation Lab) outside of enrolled class times without prior approval or consent of instructor or program coordinator and direct supervision of tutor, instructor or program.
Obligation - At a minimum, the average person can expect to spend at least three to six additional hours outside the classroom dedicating time to studying for quizzes, and working on homework assignments and projects.
No games, no Facebook, no Instagram, no phones, no X - no socials! We are all adults. You paid money to take this class for a future career. Don't waste your time when you can do that other stuff at home. Learn what you need to learn and then go home and space out!
Week 1 (Thursday), 8/20/2026 — Welcome to the Land of Creative Cloud;
Designing for the Client
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Week 2 (Thursday), 8/27/2026 — Chapter 1 - Getting to Know the Work Area
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Creating a project and importing footage
Creating a composition and arranging layers
Editing imported text
Changing Transform properties
Animating properties
Previewing your work
Adding effects
Optimizing performance in After Effects
Rendering and exporting your composition
Customizing workspaces
Controlling the brightness of the user interface
Collaborating in After Effects
Finding resources for using After Effects
Review Syllabus
Review E-Mail and Canvas Info
The Mac OS Environment
Managing Files and Folders
Organizing Your Desktop
Adobe Firefly
Elements of Design
Design Principles
Design Stages: From Concept to Completion
Imagery Uses
Understanding the Importance of Color
• Discussion: Creative Cloud, Adobe After Effects
• Assignment: After Effects Practice, Due Week 3, Thursday 9/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Project: Simple ID Graphic, Due Week 4, Thursday 9/10/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 3 (Thursday), 9/3/2026 —Chapter 2 Creating a Basic Animation Using
Effects and Presets
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
Creating a project and importing footage
Creating a composition and arranging layers
Editing imported text
Changing Transform properties
Animating properties
Previewing your work
Adding effects
Optimizing performance in After Effects
Rendering and exporting your composition
Customizing workspaces
Controlling the brightness of the user interface
Collaborating in After Effects
Finding resources for using After Effects
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 3, Thursday 9/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Assignment: Photoshop Practice
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Quiz #1 – Toolbar Quiz
• Project: Simple ID Graphic, Due Week 4, Thursday 9/10/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 4 (Thursday), 9/10/2026 —Chapter 3 Animating Text
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
About text layers
Installing a font using Adobe Fonts
Creating and formatting point text
Animating with scale keyframes
Using a text animation preset
Animating imported Photoshop text
Animating type tracking
Animating text opacity
Animating an image to replace text
Using a text animator group
Animating a layerʼs position
Adding motion blur
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 4, Thursday 9/10/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Quiz #2
• Project: Simple ID Graphic, Due Week 4, Thursday 9/10/2026 at 6:00
PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Assignment: Promo Design, Due Week 5, Thursday 9/17/2026 at 6:00
PM
Week 5 (Thursday), 9/17/2026 Chapter 4 Working with Shape Layers
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Creating the composition
Adding a shape layer
Creating a self-animating shape
Duplicating a shape
Creating custom shapes with the Pen tool
Positioning layers with snapping
Animating a shape
Animating using parenting
Using nulls to connect points
Previewing the composition
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 5, Thursday 9/17/2026 AT 6:00PM:
• Assignment: Promo Design, Due Week 5, Thursday 9/17/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Quiz #3
• Assignment: Whimsical Animation, Due Week 6, Thursday 9/24/2026
at 6:00 PM
Week 6 (Thursday), 9/24/2026 —Chapter 5 Animating a Multimedia
Presentation
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Creating the composition
Adding a shape layer
Creating a self-animating shape
Duplicating a shape
Creating custom shapes with the Pen
tool
Positioning layers with snapping
Animating a shape
Animating using parenting
Using nulls to connect points
Previewing the composition
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 6, Thursday 9/24/2026 AT 6:00PM:
• Assignment: Whimsical Animation, Due Week 6, Thursday
9/24/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Project: Motion Path Animation, Due Week 7, Thursday 10/1/2026 at
6:00 PM
Week 7 (Thursday), 10/1/2026 —Chapter 6 Animating Layers
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Simulating lighting changes
Duplicating an animation using the
pick whip
Using a track matte to confine
animation
Animating using the Corner Pin effect
Simulating a darkening sky
Viewing render times for layers
Retiming the composition
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 7, Thursday 10/1/2026 AT 6:00PM:
Project: Motion Path Animation, Due Week 7, Thursday 10/1/2026 at 6:00
PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Quiz #4
• Assignment: Animated Theater Marquee, Due Week 8, Thursday
10/8/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 8 (Thursday), 10/8/2026 —Chapter 7 Working with Masks
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
About masks
Getting started
Creating a mask with the Pen tool
Editing a mask
Feathering the edges of a mask
Replacing the content of the mask
Adjusting the opacity
Adding a shadow
Creating a vignette
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 8, Thursday 10/8/2026 AT 6:00PM:
• Assignment: Animated Theater Marquee, Due Week 8, Thursday
10/8/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Assignment: Masking Effects for Tablets, Due Week 9, Thursday
10/15/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 9 (Thursday), 10/15/2026 —Chapter 8 Distorting
Objects with the Puppet Tool
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 9, Thursday 10/15/2026 AT 6:00PM:
Assignment: Masking Effects for Tablets, Due Week 9, Thursday
10/15/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Quiz #5
• Assignment: Natural Motion to Raster and Vector, Due Week 9, Thursday
10/15/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 10 (Thursday), 10/22/2026 —Chapter 9 Using the Roto Brush Tool
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
About the Puppet tools
Adding Position pins
Adding Advanced and Bend pins
Stiffening an area
Animating pin positions
Using the Puppet tools to animate video
Recording animation
About rotoscoping
Getting started
Creating a segmentation boundary
Fine-tuning the matte
Freezing your Roto Brush tool results
Changing the background
Adding animated text
Outputting your project
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 10, Thursday 10/22/2026 AT 6:00PM:
• Assignment: Natural Motion to Raster and Vector, Due Week 9, Thursday
10/15/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Project: Roto Brush, Due Week 11, Thursday 10/29/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Tutorial: Extra credit – Animated Presentation, Due Week 16, Thursday
12/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 11 (Thursday), 10/29/2026 —Chapter 10 Adjusting Color
and Mood
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Assignment: Color Correction, Due Week 12, Thursday 11/5/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Tutorial: Extra credit – Animated Presentation, Due Week 16, Thursday
12/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Introduce Final Presentation, Due Finals Week, 12/10/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 12 (Thursday), 11/5/2026 — Chapter 11 Creating
Motion Graphics Templates
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Detecting scenes in a composition
Making color enhancements
Adding a colorized effect
Replacing a background
Color-correcting using Auto Contrast
Cloning an object in a scene
Darkening a scene
Freezing the action
Adding transitions
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 11, Thursday 10/29/2026 AT 6:00PM:
• Project: Roto Brush, Due Week 11, Thursday 10/29/2026 at 6:00 PM
Preparing a master composition
Setting up a template
Adding properties to the Essential
Graphics panel
Protecting the timing of a section
Exporting the template
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 12, Thursday 11/5/2026 AT 6:00PM:
• Assignment: Color Correction, Due Week 12, Thursday
11/5/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Project: Motion Graphics Template, Due Week 13, Thursday 11/12/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Introduce Final Presentation, Due Finals Week, 12/10/2026 at 6:00
PM
Week 13 (Thursday), 11/12/2026 —Chapter 12 Using 3D Features, Chapter13
Working with the 3D Camera Tracker
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 13, Thursday 11/12/2026 AT 6:00PM:
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Final Presentation, Due Finals Week, 12/10/2026 at 6:00 PM
Week 14 (Thursday), 11/19/2026 — Chapter 14 Advanced Editing
Techniques, Chapter 15 Rendering and Outputting
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES:
Creating a 3D mesh in After Effects
Viewing the 3D ground plane
Importing 3D objects
Creating 3D text
Using 3D views
Using the camera tools
Adding a background
Lighting a scene
Adding a camera
Animating objects in a 3D scene
Animating lights and cameras
About the 3D Camera Tracker effect
Tracking the footage
Creating a ground plane, a camera, and the initial text
Creating additional text elements
Locking an image to a plane with a solid layer
Tidying the composition
Adding a final object
Creating realistic shadows
Adding ambient light
Adding an effect
Previewing the composition
Project: Motion Graphics Template, Due Week 13, Thursday 11/12/2026 at 6:00 PM
Stabilizing a shot
Using single-point motion tracking
Removing unwanted objects
Creating a particle simulation
Retiming playback using the Timewarp effect
About rendering and output
Exporting using the Render Queue
Creating templates for the Render Queue
Rendering movies with Adobe Media Encoder
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Tutorial: Extra credit – Animated Presentation, Due Week 16, Thursday
12/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Final Presentation, Due Finals Week, 12/10/2026 at 6:00
PM
Week 15 (Thursday), 11/26/2026 — Thanksgiving Break - No Class -
Final Project Production
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Tutorial: Extra credit – Animated Presentation, Due Week 16, Thursday
12/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
• Final Presentation, Due Finals Week, 12/10/2026 at 6:00
• PM
Week 16 (Thursday), 12/3/2026 — Final Project Production
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, WEEK 16, Thursday 12/3/2026 AT 6:00 PM:
• Tutorial: Extra credit – Animated Presentation, Due Week 16, Thursday
12/3/2026 at 6:00 PM
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• Final Exam Presentation
Finals Week (Thursday), 12/10/2026 — Final Exam
WHAT’S DUE TODAY, Thursday 12/8/2026 AT 6:00 PM:
• Final Exam Presentation
ITEMS TO ADDRESS:
• FINAL EXAM - Final Exam Presentation
Copyright
The materials on this course are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes
associated with this course. Further Information regarding KCC's copyright policy is available at
http://www.kcc.edu/students/collegeinfo/copyright/index.asp .
Syllabus Disclaimer : The instructor may change this syllabus according to instructional needs or time constraints.
College Policies, Resources and Supports
For information related to the Student Code of Conduct Policy, Withdrawal Policy, Email Policy, and Non- Attendance/Non-Participation Policy, please review the college’s Code of Campus Affairs and Regulations webpage, which can be found at catalog.kcc.edu under the Academic Regulations & Conduct Guide.
KCC offers various academic and personal resources for all students. Many services are offered virtually, as well as in person. Please visit Student Resources - Kankakee Community College to access student resources services such as:
- Clubs and organizations
- Counseling and referral services
- Office of disability services
- Student complaint policy
- Transfer services
- Tutoring services, etc.
The materials on this course are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course. Further information regarding KCC's copyright policy is available at https://kcc.libguides.com/copyright.
|Course syllabus/calendar is subject to change.