The 10 Biggest Motion Graphics Mistakes That ALL Beginners Make

[@BenMarriott]

Extra video this week! The regularly scheduled video one still happening on Thursday. What mistakes did you make when starting out?

[@craftycurate]

I am still starting out!

[@zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz127]

all of them :D

[@soniavivosarria8385]

Definitely not understanding the graph editor!! And going straight to After Effects without any storyboard or planning. As you said you lose so my time understanding what you are going to do and how...

[@tanyunnhorng9222]

Thank you for creating this video. I am lost when I'm doing my work. I was thinking.. is it need a plugin to make it better or how I should go further to make an interesting video. I was in the neck of the bottle. After seeing this I will continue to do what I'm doing now and its the right thing to make it better. The mistake I had done is the design part. I was much focusing on developing good and detailed animation. But as you said.. focus on animation without a good design, can't impress the audience...Thank you for all your sharing and tips. Please do also let me know if there is suggested group that I can join to learn more. Much appreciated.

[@GreatestSportsHighLights]

Great video we so needed this! We are extremely new to AE and this helped big time! Thanx again and please keep making more AE tuts!

[@mangoapple66]

Im just gonna leave the principles of animation here 1. Squash and stretch 2. Anticipation 3. Staging 4. Straight ahead action and pose to pose 5. Follow through and overlapping action 6. Slow in and slow out (basically easing and using the scary graph editor) 7. Arc (things tend to move in arcs like limbs and when stuff is thrown) 8. Secondary action 9. Timing 10. Exaggeration 11. Solid drawing 12. Appeal

[@jaejaejaey]

1. Collecting Plugins 2. Relying on Templates 3. Ignoring Design 4. Unorganized Projects 5. Foregoing Fundamentals 6. Fearing the Graph Editor 7. Always using Tutorials 8. Skipping Animatics 9. Limited References 10. Not Taking Your Time

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks for this :D

[@anarmovsumov5112]

Wow, you've paid much attention!

[@FineBoi]

11. Not labeling your layers

[@rnep2448]

@@FineBoi That was under "Unorganized Projects".

[@iamtrazed]

the first one hit me like a truck

[@samazoid]

"10: not taking your time" me, deadline in three days, barely started: hmmm... yes....

[@BenMarriott]

haha, animate like the wind! :D

[@Zengane]

Is this comment a personal attack towards me ? Jokes aside, good luck with your gig

[@oiganamitio]

Hahaha :(

[@kaninepete]

I love using templates to “scrap for parts” just pulling out the pieces I need, and leaving the rest behind.

[@BenMarriott]

Definitely a useful technique. :D knowing what to leave is the hard part haha

[@MegaHellx]

@@BenMarriott there is nothing as to be left behind. i just use stuff from those templates that i need and then keep those files as backup junk. there is always something that is useful but it's use isn't at the current time but definitely is in future. edit: also these mistakes are like so on spot mistakes 😂 i think 90% of us have definitely gone through them. mine? fear of graph editing

[@aymazy]

@@MegaHellx would you use the project on your portfolio even if you took bits and pieces from templates?

[@ema_colombo]

Agree with every single point

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks so much mate! :D

[@integza]

I learn so much in your channel

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks so much for watching, glad you find the videos helpful :)

[@melindeer]

oh my stars Ben if you could make a value graph editor tutorial i would be so happy, been using AE for years and I still can't wrap my head around it

[@LeFoustica]

Ben, this is the first time I have ever commented on a KZbin video, so please accept my complements on your engaging style. Well done. I’m an old guy with no aspirations to design motion for a living, but you have helped me make art and challenge myself and for that I am grateful. Keep making weird stuff and teaching us to explore motion. Thanks!

[@juligvazquez]

03:58 Totally. When I learned more about the principles, I started learning how the curves work and the impact that made between my keyframes. On that moment, everything made sence!

[@언제나웃음-u8p]

Thank advice!

[@JUSTINBUISSON]

When n°4 came I was like YES THIS IS MY BEN

[@BenMarriott]

Haha, should have been #1 - #10 to be honest :D

[@Zengane]

ALWAYS LABEL YOUR LAYERS

[@AndrewMarston]

I'm not sure I agree that every project doesn't need a lightsaber. Otherwise, very helpful tips and made me realize some areas I could improve like spending more time in design and making animatics. Would love to see a video where you show an overview of the whole process of taking an initial concept to final animation. Seems like there might be steps I'm skipping or just flat unaware of.

[@BenMarriott]

Haha, perhaps I was quick to judge. That's a great idea for a video, I'm adding that to the list :D

[@AndrewMarston]

@pilanceboil "EVERY project NEEDS a lightsaber, sadly so many projects don't WANT a lightsaber." Truth right here. I hope every CD out there reads this. Huge missed opportunity for so many productions to leave out lightsabers. A few that especially come to mind are Breaking Bad, Titanic, 50 Shades of Gray, Babe, Our Planet... what a waste. Keep preaching the good word and maybe we can finally see the #lightsabersEqualsQuality movement finally take off. People need to be aware.

[@AndrewMarston]

@pilanceboil And also with you.

[@imageiseverything_creative]

Blasphemy. If a project doesn't need a lightsaber... its not worth your time hahahahaha

[@nhutruong4459]

The sound effect for the Graph Editor scene is ACCURATE

[@jippalippa]

11-Don't be envious. I'm pertpetually consumed by envy (for other motion designers) and it's a horrible life...sucks the living energy out of you...

[@aim__freakz8499]

Feel this so bad....

[@johannestonnies7898]

Y'all need to shift the focus from the result to the process :)

[@aim__freakz8499]

@@johannestonnies7898 true. the past like 6 months I've been so damn depressed, I just used ae once for a project. I usually used to use ae on a daily basis bc I love editing. I gotta start to make some stuff again

[@vikachu19]

why does this happen to all of us :( i started out with so much passion and motivation but then got consumed by comparing myself to others :(

[@Qlex86]

Comparison is the thief of all joy. The only person you should be comparing your work to is your past self. :)

[@LoganPinney]

Yes!!! So happy you added the template for all to use! Cheers boss!!! Sidebar, you rule Ben!

[@jerendraws]

Favorite KZbin channel by a long shot. Thanks for being helpful and always labeling your layers

[@anarmovsumov5112]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Ben. It'd be great to know more about animatics and how to integrate it in the workflow.

[@iandoesdesign4827]

Was waiting to see the "we always label our layers" great video love your work!!!

[@TheNetaG]

You're my fav motion designer

[@LurksLessons]

It's reassuring to hear that I wasn't the only one fretting over purchasing Plexus, Trapcode Suite and other plugins to feel like I was now apart of the MoGraph club. Aside from doing 3D motion backgrounds that loop, I rarely use those plugins for my animation projects today. All of your topics were on point for I was able to relate to the majority of them. Well done!

[@VOMotion]

Awesome video Ben!

[@albalugoillustration]

Thank you so much for doing what you do! I just started with animation and actually almost quit at the start, but with your videos I started to feel more and more motivated! 🌻✨ They're SO helpful! 🌻✨🍃

[@kaylyn3996]

i saw the title of this video and my mind automatically went "not labeling our layers"

[@BenMarriott]

Haha, I should've mentioned that first! :)

[@imageiseverything_creative]

Some peoples internal house keeping is horendous, you can usually pick the artists that havent worked in a team environment because of it.

[@Transc3nder]

I've just gotten into motion graphics (about a year now), but coming into it from a background in music production. I tutor for that and I'm fully relentless about getting my students to label and colour their tracks, for exactly the same reasons. It's good to know I have at least one skill which transfers...

[@ErichZannnn]

What i do with templates that i found really cool is to find out how they are made of. Opening the hiding layers, seeing all the frames, the masks, the shapes and effects. Then i figured what things do i know and what not, if i know all the tricks i immediately recreate the proyect.

[@mrbuckets5445]

Addendum: Being overly agreeable and serving up a "Can-Do Attitude" when they have concerns or see red flags in the design or project timeline. Beginners may not notice all the brewing issues, but they definitely notice (and then sit on) a few, and nobody is happy down the road when they want to stick to the promise of big delivery and cannot, whether it's down to rookie mistakes or expectations may have been unrealistic from the start.

[@BenMarriott]

100% I did this myself too. It's so much better to speak up soon and say "we can't do that in 4 days, what about this instead..."

[@Npolowy]

This was great. Simple refresh on the basics that we all forget, at any experience level.

[@stephmakeslyrics4982]

I started off pretty well then. But I will say that plugins such as flow improve my workflow massively, and sometimes produce better results than the graph editor. I switched to flow halfway through a project, and you can see the difference in smoothness.

[@BenMarriott]

I absolutely love flow. Plugins can be great, when I was starting though. I thought they were the key to great work, no I think they're a great accessory.

[@mahiwagangpilipinas8976]

On point, honest, and useful. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Ben. As for the templates, I don't use any, I just watch how they animate and try to make them myself.

[@Louis-fh4sh]

really reassuring to see I avoided most of these. First thing I focused on were the transform options, masks, and the graph editor, so it's good to see that pay off now, a few months later. I do need to spend more time designing and to be better organised though Thanks for making this :D

[@OscarUnderdog]

Thanks for all this!

[@sitaauksx]

It would be awesome if you could make a video about animatics, and maybe show examples. Thanks for the useful content!

[@sharpywilliam4513]

Thank you Master Ben for sharing your wisdom.

[@craftycurate]

Excellent thanks!

[@strikingtwice]

Man this cuts deep....but very true. You get so in the weeds thinking about all of the shit that you don’t know and that you’re not good enough that, but 80 to 90% of most of the projects that you end up getting paid for our good design and clean animation. Yes, the tricks look cool, but very very rarely has a complex particle system told a story.

[@moboxgraphics]

I think motion V2 gets me about 90% of the way, especially when doing repetitive. Then hop into graph editor when something just needs a hand tuned ease. It's just so annoying when there's a bunch of layers needing the same easing.

[@BenMarriott]

I think that's the smartest way to approach it. When I was starting I'd just stop when it was 'good enough;

[@moboxgraphics]

@@BenMarriott I'd be interested in seeing how you manage multiple layers needing the same easing. That's the number one reason I stop at good enough with complex stuff.

[@sidejua]

@@moboxgraphics I'm no seasoned pro, but you might wanna look into EaseCopy - aescripts + plugins, really helps me maintain the ease timing over multiple layers. Do get back if this helped out :))

[@mpbMKE]

That's what EaseCopy is for.

[@mborok]

​@@moboxgraphics parent to a null?

[@MrJoeFuego]

we need more of these sir ben

[@Esttefanialopez]

Amazing! I laugh through the whole video because I had made all these mistakes haha, I love your videos, thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@delusionalunicorn5324]

Always giving valuable tips, Ben. Thank you

[@muhammadbilalmemon271]

You know what, A minute before opening this video, I was searching for the plugins, All mistakes you mentioned are to the point.

[@mohamedharsha9344]

No. 10 - not taking ur time Me: I am gonna do Follow-Through animations Director: Our deadline is yesterday we should deliver at least tomorrow

[@re_animatedabby6791]

Omg I'm not the only one who is terrified of that stupid graph editor!!!

[@angimation]

Of course not....when I saw this first in Maya, I cried. I mean literally!!!! But just breath, check out some tutorials and the GE will be your friend, I mean it :)

[@maxlinker44]

Really love your stuff Ben! thx a lot. Kisses from France

[@BenMarriott]

Merci! I really appreciate it :D

[@ElD4d4]

Cool. Very useful.

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks for watching :D glad you enjoyed it

[@brucekennedy5274]

Ben these are brilliant and so true.

[@wwingz438]

This really helped, im trying to learn how to do Everything and it was a little overwhelming but i pushed through, its nice to have a blueprint like this to kind of base how to learn more.

[@magspurvis7479]

I will be continuing your frame by frame after I have finished James Curran’s course loops both courses are brilliant and so different

[@sayt.calligraphy]

Thanks ben! I agree with all the tips! I work with a team and i hate when i found names like: Comp1 or No title.aep everything should be named folks!

[@YosoiJavi]

After watching this, it gave me a new perspective 😁

[@santinx6185]

Can you make a video about designing and creating your animatics? I would find ir really helpful.

[@medhatmohamad82]

#1 is gold. I literally have tens of plugins that I don't know what they are for!

[@Audiotechnical]

Really, really enjoyed that video Ben. I'm at the relatively new comer level to AE, and it was just the sort of video I've been looking for. New sub straight away! Look forward to browsing through your channel over the next few days!

[@MoJoJoDoh]

Thanks so much again for an amazing video. I am literally just starting out so your Etho's and tips have been helping me massivley!

[@BenMarriott]

Happy to help! Thank you for watching :)

[@DallasWade]

I don’t usually comment, but I just wanted to tell you THANK YOU. I’ve learned so much from your channel over the last week. Really fantastic stuff.

[@ObiUchennaGregory]

Yay! new tutorial!

[@realmynameshiro]

Thank you so much! Your tips and tutorials help and inspire me to make the videos I never thought would be possible before

[@excellenceadigun9093]

Rule 4 is a key one! So glad I came upon your channel. Thank you for teaching me that “We always name our layers” 😌

[@BenMarriott]

You're so welcome! :)

[@winakyanti]

Omg, the fear of graph editor is so relatable, lol! I'm still learning to get better at it...

[@majuki2]

You Ben this is great!

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks so much!

[@joeybivo]

Always good advice, one of my top 5 youtubers... kudos dude

[@Jonathan__B]

I made/am making most of the mistakes u talked about, but tbh the graph editor was so fantastic to me! When I started realizing what you could do with the graph animator i just fell in love with after effects xD

[@1WillyDAVID]

thanks a lot Ben, really awesome stuff you shared with us

[@TeamHactor]

Cool one.. Thanks for creating a content based on this topic..

[@ankursalunke5974]

Graph editor🤣🤣🤣, you are amazing ben!!!!!!

[@MenaceManTV]

I have met so many young new artists that say they "don't need drawing classes because they just want to animate or design" well you do and should learn to draw (or at least rough sketch out your idea) So Yes sketch out your design and work outside after-effects (or almost any animation software) not only for timing but also for layout and look. also storyboard/animatic you work for timing and composition. Thanks @benmarriott These tips are very helpful THANKS YOU!!!

[@___KS___]

Thanks 😊😊

[@OnlyEsquite]

Biggest mistake a beginner motion designer can make: Not subscribing to Ben Marriott. o_o

[@nicogonx]

Thanks Ben! This was super helpful! *Deletes templates folder*

[@srikanthshankar8871]

No words man, just sending hugs Thank you 😭🙏

[@itsOri_]

Thanks Ben, that was really helpful and somehow relaxing to know my mistakes are more common then I thought :)

[@matthewschmidt5548]

Hey Ben, Great video. I’ve been animating in Maya and other 3d app graph editors for 20+ years and I remember how intimidating it was. I find AEs graph editor frustrating to work with! I’m getting used to it but it is lacking compared to 3d app GEs. I wish they would bring it online with those standards. It’s particularly frustrating to zoom in and out of, the fact you can’t see beyond the comp frame range, and a bunch of other things are missing I believe!

[@fry9638]

Hey Ben you say what is matter you make it easier thank you 👍

[@OkhyBonk]

This is actually useful, kudos!

[@mreclecticguy]

Great advice! I also agree about avoiding puppet pins if you can. Although they have their place, puppet pins are a pain. I prefer shape layers as well. I’m not a pro, and I can’t afford many plugs, but the two I use the most are Duik Bassel (free animation tool set) and Overlord (cheap tool that quickly moves Illustrator shapes to AE as shape layers).

[@gibo2234]

I'm out of breath. I teach AE and man you're like so good at teaching it, like not only you know the software well you're eloquent. thanks for your work.

[@ianaamauba6547]

I haven't watched you in a while but your videos are all wonderful--this one in particular though I wished I would have watched something like this when I first started. Not being organized up front, whether it be with the design, the storyboards, animatics and project organization was something I had no idea was so valuable. Jumping into AE was all I did. As soon as I started including all of those things in my workflow, my projects made sense and worked. The part about being able to go back and edit and pull from files is crucial because you'll do that all the time with client work and personal projects that you put on hold for a while but want to restart. Thanks so much for all your videos!!!

[@blastyy6102]

This was really helpful

[@bhattjignesh9]

Thank you for sharing this. Can you make one video explaining graph editors and how do you approach it?

[@BenMarriott]

I'll absolutely be doing that in the future, it's such a big one that I want to tackle it properly :D

[@bhattjignesh9]

@@BenMarriott a big thank you in advance. I've been watching your videos and it's really helpful.

[@AlegreFranz]

Ye a boss, Ben. Thanks for the tips 👍

[@ellimaanpaa]

”Good animation takes time. Great animation... takes even longer” 😂

[@delusionalunicorn5324]

No. 9 I realised on my own recently and trying to find inspiration from fine art and old graphic designs, still keep forgetting, looking at only new animators for inspiration. But hearing it from you should plaster it in my mind.

[@Rockberries]

Thanks for the great content Ben! You're a tasty designer, very down to earth and I love your sense of humor! I'd also love to see your take on the graph editor, I know this is big, but that would be absolutely amazing. Cheers from Switzerland

[@BenMarriott]

Great suggestion! Thanks man :)

[@EdaliaDayCreative]

These are great. 9 especially chimed for me

[@NullStaticVoid]

I've been getting into motion graphics lately, but I used to work in broadcast supporting a motion graphics team for sports content. The head of that dept and I worked closely together on tech stuff. It was his budget but I had to implement it. One day I asked him "why all the bloody plugins". They had Red Giant everything, Trapcode etc He replied that you can pretty much do anything the plugins do in AE. It just takes longer. Since we had hard deadlines and only 12 machines in the render farm, every minute saved on the front end is worth 5-10 rendering. So dont sweat plugins. You can always figure out a way.

[@ifeanyiekeoma3432]

I gave this video a like and I finally subscribed.

[@Sebastianbap]

Just got here randomly and I was skeptical at the beginning of the video but I can't agree more with you, Ben. Specially point 4!! ;)

[@Robertmillsjr]

Thanks for the info. You’re very well spoken and succinct on camera! If you made a motion graphics course focusing on After Effects and animation fundamentals for professional work. I would buy it for my crew immediately. Perhaps use mockups (swap out branding for copyright issues) of existing professional projects? And, course files for step by step follow along. Learning by doing. If you look at the highest ranking courses on Udemy, they’re pulling in pretty good money.

[@obv_design9310]

Thank you, Ben, the video is awesome!!! 👏👏👏

[@BenMarriott]

Glad you liked it! Thank you so much! :)

[@keilapedraza-cates5008]

Thank you so much for the advice!

[@Veronicatastic]

I'm a couple months into After Effects and I'm pleasantly surprised I don't do most of these! I have been almost exclusively using position, scale, and rotation and was worried I was getting too caught up in those and not progressing with more advanced functions but I'm happy to know that's not the case :) Also even after using AE for only a short time I already learned that organizing layers and assets is very important when revisiting projects! #alwaysnameyourlayers

[@florianbednarski7099]

I am considering myself as a Beginner in After Effects, but coming from the Graphic Design and typography scene and working for clients for years all of your Mistakes except for one aren't an issue. The one mistake i still do a lot is not naming the layers. I usually do the prework in Photoshop and Illustrator with an idea in mind, design them, name groups and then add the Animation in the last step. But sometimes I still dont name my Text/Image layers. At least they are still grouped. :D

[@mindthebumpproductions]

Thanks for this great video, Ben! Looking forward to more.

[@rachaelmarcum6928]

Thank you for this! Incredibly helpful and just what I needed to hear!

[@laughinggas5060]

It is awesome video again, from first to the last!. and i more like explaining graphic editor scene. Oneday I hope to see Showreel review again. thanks :D

[@deasuin]

Thanks Ben. Would you consider doing an in-depth value graph tutorial?

[@Buklen]

Templates can be a nice learning tool, if you get them for the purpose of diving through them and seeing how the effects are created

[@edofaravelli]

Super stuff, thanks

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks for watching :D

[@BoldBreak]

I completely agree on your point about plug-ins. I'm both surprised and jealous you've never used particular on a commercial project :P !!

[@suongtv5866]

ur face is so peace, i think u're a good friend.

[@marcsrel4mpn]

absolute tip. thanks