On a mission to build ladders of opportunity for motion designers.
I started MoGraph Mentor, the online school for motion graphics, in 2012. The goal was to help motion designers develop their artistic, technical, and professional skills.
It was acquired by School Of Motion in spring of 2022.
Online Mentorship.
Online education has seen experienced a flourishing over the last decade. Thanks in large part to the internet and technology platforms that help organize online communities, online education has become a serious fixture of modern life.
I started MoGraph Mentor to provide the kind of education I had received studying Character Animation at Animation Mentor. The experience was so impactful that years later I felt inspired to bring that model into motion graphics.
We offered a 9-month mentorship designed to prepare students to work as commercial motion designers. This means studying design, animation, and filmmaking principles. It also means learning to operate Adobe After Effects and Maxon Cinema 4D.
MoGraph Mentor is an online school that was built on a mission-driven approach. I’m proud to have served thousands of students across 70 different countries.
Why this project?
I decided to start MoGraph Mentor during my time in Portland, Oregon when I was working in studios and agencies as a freelancer. Even though I was far from the most talented motion designer at that point in my career the demand for my services was massive. I would have one studio willing to pay me for not working just to put me on hold.
At the same time there was a blossoming online community of sharing tutorials, resources and classes. The obvious demand for more motion designers mixed with innovative platforms for building online programs made the idea attractive.
I’m a very analytical person and I enjoy dreaming up new things. Entrepreneurship and brand building had always been a fascination of mine. I got this from my father who loved to dream about having his own restaurant and thinking about how great it would be.
So I decided to give it a go and offering a mentorship program specific to motion designers. The first cohort of 19 people started in January 2013. Now roughly 9 years later we’ve got a platform of 17,000 people that we serve through online training and mentorships.
I’m so grateful to have been a part of this project and gotten to know countless amazing people in the process. Every student and mentor has impacted me and my understanding of the world. Grateful, to say the least.
Mentorship.
Video Training.
