10 of the BIGGEST Motion Design Stories of 2026 (So Far!) | Motion Mondays

Ten of the biggest motion design stories of 2026 so far trace a year of artists building their own software, free apps challenging After Effects, and AI promises meeting production demands.

Get the full show notes: https://schoolofmotion.com/blog/motion-mondays-november-9-2026

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Build AI-assisted motion design workflows with creative control and practical production skills.
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📌 IN THIS VIDEO
00:00 Coming Up
0:13 Artists Build Their Own Tools
1:32 The Challenge to After Effects’ Dominance
2:45 SOM News
3:25 Talking to Creative Software
4:22 AI Motion Design Meets the Client Revision
5:42 Keying and Matting Leap Forward
6:42 Rive’s Year
7:50 Duolingo Buys Animade
8:31 KitBash’s Creative Ecosystem
9:10 The Junior Artist Problem
10:26 FrameRate’s Year
11:21 That's A Wrap

🎓 SCHOOL OF MOTION COURSES MENTIONED
School of Motion All-Access: https://schoolofmotion.com/
School of Motion Team Training: https://schoolofmotion.com/training-for-teams
AI Foundations for Motion: https://schoolofmotion.com/courses/ai-foundations-for-motion
Rive Academy Kickstart: https://schoolofmotion.com/courses/rive-academy-kickstart
Animation Bootcamp: https://schoolofmotion.com/courses/animation-bootcamp
Courses & workshops coming soon: https://schoolofmotion.com/coming-soon

🗒️ SHOW NOTES
Artists Building Their Own Tools - Jake Bartlett: https://www.jakeinmotion.com/
Free Professional Animation Software - Cavalry: https://cavalry.studio/en/
AI Assistants in Creative Software - Cinema 4D MCP Server: https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d/features/mcp-server
AI Marketing Reality Check - Jake Bartlett Tests Higgsfield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLZNiwaKqWg
Keying and Matting Advances - CorridorKey: https://github.com/nikopueringer/CorridorKey
Rive’s Year - Interactive Motion Design: https://rive.app/
Duolingo Acquires Animade: https://duolingo.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/duolingo-invests-world-class-motion-design-acquisition-animade
KitBash Acquires ArtStation and Sketchfab: https://kitbash3d.com/pages/kitbash-acquires-sketchfab-and-artstation-kitbash3d
The Junior Artist Problem - Who’s Training the Next Generation?: https://www.brandsinmotion.xyz/resource/whos-training-the-next-generation
FrameRate - Video Hosting and Creative Community: https://framerate.tv/

🎨 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
SOM Student of the Week - Christalle Chow: https://hub.schoolofmotion.com/c/student-showcase/animation-bootcamp-deskunmess-7c9d9b33-d1a5-41bf-8ce3-e46ce241acbd
Christalle Chow’s Portfolio: https://christallechow.webflow.io/

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