Design Bootcamp
Master Professional Style Frames & Storyboards
Design Bootcamp shows you how to put design knowledge into practice through several real-world client jobs. You’ll create style frames and storyboards while watching typography, composition, and color theory lessons in a challenging, social environment.
Cohort-based learning
Exercises & Project Files for Every Lesson
Technical & Creative Support Along the Way
Verified Credential Upon Course Completion
Course Overview
Design is hard, but it is probably the most important aspect of your artwork—especially if it moves! Not only does your work need to look good as a still, but it also needs to look amazing when animated. If your work just doesn’t look right, then look no further than Design Bootcamp.
This course builds up your design skills, taking you from beginner to natural in no time at all—though we recommend you come in with a little knowledge. We've crafted each lesson to be practical, essential design principles in the context of real-world jobs. Learn about gathering references, building an overall concept for your design, and creating style frames and multiple full sets of storyboards throughout the course.
What You'll Learn
Each week is jam-packed with intense learning. While you have some flexibility in how you tackle your workload, the course is curated in a specific order. We build up foundations that support more and more advanced techniques with lessons to practice your new skills along the way.
We’ll start with a quick evaluation of your skills and a refresher from Design Kickstart. You’ll orient yourself to the primary tools for the course, and start collecting great references for future projects.
You’ve got a new TV pilot, but it needs an epic title. Flex your typography muscles as you practice with hierarchy and contrast. You’ll learn how to choose the right colors for your compositions and quickly build on an idea using simple shapes. Finally, you’ll create a series of polished design boards that convey a sense of motion.
Get a handle on Value Structure, and learn how to create techy graphic elements to use on your style-frames and storyboards for a promo that takes the viewer to the Red Planet. You’ll learn how to properly pace and flow throughout your promo, present a range of ideas to a client, and direct the viewer's eye using value and image placement.
By now you’re feeling the burn. Take a week to focus on your work, learn how to “Steal Good Taste,” and dip your feet into the world of Art History.
Design starts way before you've ever opened up Illustrator or Photoshop. You need to understand who your client is and how to nail what they actually want. This week, dig into Branding, Art Direction, Mood Boards, and how to come up with ideas in the first place. You'll also learn about the importance of research to nail a style and vibe.
You'll kick things off by honing your Photoshop skills as you learn to incorporate massive amounts of texture and mood into your boards. Then we’re giving you a taste of title design as you learn to match elements for a horror movie trailer. Finally, you'll learn concepts such as Balance, Tension, and Visual Language as you tackle an explainer video for a new brand.
Learn about the business side of being a Designer in the MoGraph field. How are these new design skills going to help you in your career? Find out in this focus week.
It’s time to bring a new dimension into your designs. We'll give you crash-course in using the free Cinema 4D Lite which ships with Adobe CC, and then we'll show you how to incorporate 3D into your designs in a slick, adjustable way. After that, you'll move on to starting one of your last projects: a full set of boards for a visual essay.
Start the week by finishing those Visual Essay boards from the last lesson. Your final project is the ultimate test of your new design skills. Your task is to take the elements a client has provided, along with their style guide, to create a set of boards for a :30 spot promoting their “Premium” brand. We’ve got 10GB of photos and videos for you to use, so it’s your time to shine!
The final 3 weeks of class are Extended Critique. You can use this time to catch up, complete your final project, and then turn it in for critique.
What You'll Get
School of Motion courses are custom-built to provide you with an unmatched learning experience. We want you to actually enjoy logging into your classes, and we’ve designed our programs to be the most effective form of online education out there. In every course, you’ll get:
Join artists from around the world on our custom learning platform. Never learn alone, as you’ll have immediate access to a forum of fellow students to share work, ask questions, and improve together.
Each course comes packed with free project files, assets, and additional material to keep you learning and growing long after the course ends. Our exercises are designed from real world briefs, so you’re learning the skills you need to excel on your next project or venture.
You’ll be assigned a Teaching Assistant with years of experience in your chosen course. They’ll provide technical and creative feedback to guide you through new skills, improve your techniques, and provide encouragement along your journey.
Completing a course isn’t just about bragging rights. Once you’ve completed at least 70% of your work in a given course, you’ll earn a verified credential that can show current and future employers exactly what you’ve accomplished.
We all need a refresher now and again, which is why you’ll keep access to your course—and all the assets and project files—for the rest of your life. Come back to listen to exclusive interviews, review old lessons, and try out new techniques using your old assets.
You’ll gain instant access to our alumni platform, The Square. Here you can network with professional artists at every stage of their career. You’ll get access to new job opportunities and exclusive alumni events, such as meetups, virtual hangouts and reel reviews.
Upcoming Course Dates
Enroll Now
Our cohort-based leaning program runs on a designated schedule, so you’ll always have a group of like-minded artists working alongside you for support and encouragement. We offer multiple sessions each year, so choose the best start date for you and get ready to go!
Pay the full amount all at once. The simplest, lowest-cost option.
Pay the full amount all at once. The simplest, lowest-cost option.
One payment now, two more 30 and 60 days from now = $1245.
Pay the full amount all at once. The simplest, lowest-cost option.
Pay the full amount all at once. The simplest, lowest-cost option.
One payment now, two more 30 and 60 days from now = $1245.
Pay the full amount all at once. The simplest, lowest-cost option.
Pay the full amount all at once. The simplest, lowest-cost option.
One payment now, two more 30 and 60 days from now = $1245.
Course Instructor
Your fearless leader on this journey is Mike Frederick, Emmy-Award winning Designer & Art Director who has been working in the field of Motion Design for over 20 years. His roster of advertising and broadcast clients is massive.
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Our alumni are hired by companies like
FAQs
How do I know if this course is right for me?
This course is a good fit for those that are comfortable using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. To excel in this course you should also understand the basic principles of design. Design Bootcamp shows you how to put your design knowledge into practice through real world projects. You will learn how to solve problems visually through the use of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator in a practical manner and be doing professional style frames and storyboards in no time!
What are the prerequisites?
To take this course you need to be comfortable using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, if you are not there yet, we recommend taking Photoshop and Illustrator Unleashed first. It's also important you have an understanding of the basic principles of design, if this isn't you yet, we recommend checking out Design Kickstart.
What are the differences in the School of Motion design courses?
Photoshop and Illustrator Unleashed is the perfect introductory design course for those unfamiliar with the softwares. You'll be confident using both Photoshop and Illustrator after completing the course. If you have experience with software but are not confident in your understanding or implementation of the Design Principles we recommend Design Kickstart.
If you're comfortable with the software and the principles, you can skip ahead to Design Bootcamp in which you'll create style frames and storyboards while learning to master typography, composition, and color theory. If you want to improve your actual drawing and illustration abilities Illustration for Motion is probably the best fit for you as long as you are comfortable with the software and Design Principles.
If you are debating between which course to enroll in, there is no wrong choice! It just depends on which skills you want or need to strengthen. For more on our design curriculum you can check out this article, The School of Motion Design Courses in a Nutshell and our Design for Motion Student Showcase.
What is the required software?
Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (18.0 or Higher)
Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 (17.0 or Higher)
What is the course format?
Design Bootcamp is an 12-week course. Lessons become available at a specific time each week but you can watch them and do your work whenever it is convenient for you. The lessons include pre-recorded videos, podcasts, PDFs and assignments with working files.
All student work is critiqued by our highly trained Teaching Assistants. School of Motion TA's are professional Animators with real life experience in the industry.
During the course you will be invited to a private classroom that contains all of the students and Teaching Assistants in your session. This is a great tool for connecting, asking or answering questions, sharing thoughts or insights, and winning cool contests!
How much time do I need to commit?
Design Bootcamp is a 12-week course. You'll have the flexibility to watch the course content and complete your course work on your schedule. However, you can expect to commit at least 15 - 20 hours per week on course material. The video lesson are 1-2 hours in length. There are 12 assignments total. Assignments are typically assigned on Mondays and Thursdays with soft deadlines the next day. We have designated catch-up weeks built into the schedule so students have extra time to complete their assignments if needed. There is also an extended critique add-on for those that want more time with a Teaching Assistant after the 12-week course or need more time to complete assignments towards earning a credential.
Do I get a certificate at the end of the course?
Yes, if you complete, submit, and have 70% of your course assignments approved by your Teaching Assistant you will be eligible for a Course Credential through Credly. With your Credly Course Credential, you can share your accomplishments across your social networks, the blockchain, or to print out yourself.
Can I access my course content after the course ends?
Yes! Once you complete Design Bootcamp, you’ll have lifetime access to all the course lessons and materials, so you can revisit them whenever you like. Also, if we make any changes to Design Bootcamp following your session, you’ll automatically receive access to the latest version.
Please note: Video critiques change each session, so you’ll only have access to the video critiques during the session you're enrolled in. The written critiques you receive in your homework locker as well as the classroom content will also remain available to you forever!
