Megan Friesth

Featured course

After Effects, Explained

Build real-world animation skills through 7 hands-on projects that come together as a final explainer animation. For beginner and intermediate animators ready to build real projects.

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Animation Explained

Want to Learn Animation? Start Here.

Watch the free beginner After Effects video series and download the project file to follow along with a hands-on exercise.

Free series

After Effects Fundamentals

This video series comes with a hands-on exercise and visual guides designed to help you quickly learn or remember fundamental skills.

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Animation Explained

Online Motion Design Courses

Learn or level up your animation skills with classes covering After Effects, Illustrator, character rigging, expressions, and more.

Winter scene with A-frame cabin at night

Beginner

Create then Animate: Beginner Workflow in Illustrator & After Effects

Intermediate

Bring a Logo to Life: Principles of Animation for Motion Designers

Beginner

Reusable Motion Graphics for Video: From Adobe After Effects to Premiere

Beginner

Illustrate with Shapes: Design Vector Graphics in Adobe Illustrator

Beginner

Text Animators: Custom Text Animation in Adobe After Effects

Intermediate

Create then Animate: A Fall-Themed Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, & After Effects Workflow

Intermediate

Smooth Moves: Better Motion with Animation Curves in the Graph Editor

The word expressions made of different shapes

Advanced

11 Expressions for Animation Efficiency in Adobe After Effects

Intermediate

Animation Efficiency: Work Faster in Adobe After Effects

Intermediate

Character Rigging & Animation FUNdamentals in After Effects

Intermediate

Limber Character Rigging to Secondary Animation in After Effects

Abstract illustration representing the uses of After Effects plugins

Intermediate

Top 5 Plugins for Efficiency in Adobe After Effects
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Beginner

Animated Lettering in After Effects
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Travel icons - ticket and passport, suitcase, plane, globe, map and location pin, camera

Intermediate

Animating Morphing Icons in After Effects
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Underwater scene with fish, seaweed and coral

Intermediate

Looping Animated Scenes in After Effects
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Intermediate

Animated Typography in After Effects: Layering Simple Effects for a Complex Look

Intermediate

3D Animated Lettering in After Effects: 9 Styles, Infinite Possibilities

Design icons - camera, color swatches, eye dropper tool, pencil, paintbrush, scissors, shape tool, photos, pen tool

Beginner

Easy Animated Icons in After Effects

Intermediate

Create an Auto-Resizing Text Box for Adobe After Effects & Premiere

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Explanimated

Explained Through Animation

Explainer videos that bring clarity to complex concepts — making healthier choices easier for us and our planet.

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Work with me

Bring Clarity to Complex Concepts

Need an idea explained through animation? I work with organizations to create clear, engaging animated content that educates and inspires action.

Work with me

I'm Megan Friesth

I’m an explanimator (yes, I made up that word) and multidisciplinary designer who turns complex ideas into clear, engaging visual stories. From research and script writing to illustration, graphic design, data visualization, and animation, I create educational content about science, health, and the environment.

I also teach motion design through Animation Explained, where I've helped 40,000+ students learn the skills to make their own ideas move.

Explained through animation

I create explainer videos about human and planetary health under Explanimated.

And I teach motion design so you can do it too, under Animation Explained.

After Effects, Explained

Want to Learn Animation? Start Here.

Watch the free beginner After Effects video series and download the project file to follow along with a hands-on exercise.

After Effects Fundamentals

Online Motion Design Courses

Learn or level up your animation skills with classes covering After Effects, Illustrator, character rigging, expressions, and more.

Explained Through Animation

Explainer videos that bring clarity to complex concepts — making healthier choices easier for us and our planet.

Bring Clarity to Complex Concepts

I'm Megan Friesth

The Latest Tutorials

Explained through animation

I create explainer videos about human and planetary health under Explanimated.And I teach motion design so you can do it too, under Animation Explained.

After Effects, Explained

Want to Learn Animation? Start Here.

Watch the free beginner After Effects video series and download the project file to follow along with a hands-on exercise.

After Effects Fundamentals

Online Motion Design Courses

Learn or level up your animation skills with classes covering After Effects, Illustrator, character rigging, expressions, and more.

Explained Through Animation

Explainer videos that bring clarity to complex concepts — making healthier choices easier for us and our planet.

Bring Clarity to Complex Concepts

I'm Megan Friesth

The Latest Tutorials

I create explainer videos about human and planetary health under Explanimated.

And I teach motion design so you can do it too, under Animation Explained.