Last summer I wrote an lengthy review of the Motionworks’ Making It Look Great 6 training series, where Tim Clapham did a great job covering the integration of Cinema 4D and After Effects. I mentioned my wish for Tim to do a full series on using Cinema’s MoGraph module, and little did I know that such a series was already in the works. Not wanting to wait, I offered to proof it as it was being developed (crafty, huh!), and now it’s arrived in a store near you as Making It Look Great 7.

MILG7 consists of six projects produced using a wide variety of MoGraph objects and effectors. Not only will you learn tons of MoGraph techniques as you create some fun animations, but sprinkled throughout are a great many solid Cinema working practices that will serve you well in any project.

If you have just a little experience in Cinema, you’ll be able to follow the MILG7 course easily. I found in the earlier series (MILG6) that Tim packed a lot of clicks and moves into a few seconds and it was easy to miss a vital clue. The pace is more deliberate in this series; I found it much easier to follow along with the step-by-step instructions (the only way to really learn). The only times I went astray was when I had to create something from scratch without the aid of set values (like drawing the elegant flowing ribbon in the Flourish section – my ribbon was a sad looking thing with spikes in all the wrong places…).

I was happy to see so many real-world techniques covered that will be useful for almost any MoGraph project – these are not what we call “Spirograph” tutorials (as in “cool, an animated Spirograph – but what would I use that for?”). At the end of the series I had pages of notes and a list of more ideas to try out. I was particularly chuffed to learn how to better control the color and timing of individual clones, create visible lights, and drive animations with sound, plus there are many tips shared for texturing clones. No doubt Tim has lots of other cool ideas on how to piece together MoGraph objects; let’s hope there’ll be a volume two of MoGraph Unleashed!

Reviews are designed to spell out the pros and cons of a product and help you decide whether you should shell out your hard-earned money. The reason I’m not going to write an in-depth review of MILG7 is because buying this course is a no-brainer for anyone interested in learning MoGraph (which should include every motion graphics artist). For $98, you will get more than your money’s worth. A long review would just delay you from getting over to the Motionworks store and checking out…!

If you missed out on MILG6 (reviewed here), Motionworks are offering a MILG 6 + 7 Cinema bundle for just $159. (If you do get both at once, you don’t have to watch them in order. If anything, if you are new to Cinema you might watch MILG7 first; working through six self-contained projects is more rewarding than one complex project, plus the pace is a little slower.)

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