School of Motion - Cavalry Kickstart Free Download

School of Motion – Cavalry Kickstart Free Download

Procedural animation has become one of the fastest-growing areas of motion design, allowing artists to build flexible animation systems instead of manually keyframing every element. While Adobe After Effects remains the industry standard for many workflows, applications like Cavalry introduce a procedural approach that makes it easier to create dynamic typography, motion graphics, data-driven animations, and reusable templates. Learning this mindset requires more than understanding a new interface. It involves thinking in systems rather than individual animations.

School of Motion – Cavalry Kickstart is an intermediate online course taught by motion designer Greg Stewart, Lead Animator at BibleProject. According to the official course page, the course teaches artists how to build procedural animation systems using Cavalry, covering duplicators, behaviors, falloffs, text animation, Sub Mesh Deformers, automated templates, and real-world production workflows. The course contains 13 hours of training, includes downloadable project files, PDF cheat sheets, unlimited critique, and a verified completion credential.

Designed for experienced motion designers looking to expand beyond traditional keyframe animation, the course provides a practical introduction to Cavalry’s procedural workflow.

What is Cavalry Kickstart?

Cavalry Kickstart is an online procedural motion graphics course available through School of Motion that teaches artists how to create flexible animation systems using Cavalry.

Rather than animating every object individually, students learn how to construct reusable procedural setups that automatically update when content changes. According to the official curriculum, the course focuses on practical production workflows commonly used for motion graphics, kinetic typography, broadcast graphics, and template creation.

The curriculum covers:

Cavalry interface
Procedural workflows
Shape tools
Keyframe animation
Duplicators
Behaviors
Sub Mesh Deformers
Falloffs
Text animation
Automated systems
Rendering workflows

The lessons gradually introduce students to Cavalry’s unique animation philosophy.

Learn the Cavalry Interface and Workflow

The course begins by introducing the Cavalry workspace.

According to School of Motion, students learn how familiar After Effects concepts translate into Cavalry while also understanding the major differences that make Cavalry especially suited for procedural animation.

Topics include:

Workspace layout
Layer system
Attribute Editor
Scene organization
Animation workflow

This foundation helps experienced motion designers transition more comfortably into Cavalry.

Master Shape Tools and Layer Basics

Every Cavalry project begins with creating and organizing graphic elements.

According to the official syllabus, students explore Cavalry’s shape creation tools, layer system, and attribute controls that form the building blocks of procedural animation.

Students learn to create:

Vector shapes
Layer hierarchies
Basic graphic elements
Editable procedural objects

These concepts establish the groundwork for later procedural workflows.

Keyframing and Graph Editing

Although Cavalry emphasizes procedural animation, traditional keyframing remains an important part of the workflow.

According to School of Motion, the course teaches students how to create polished motion using:

Keyframes
Timeline controls
Graph Editor
Easing
Motion refinement

These techniques are combined with procedural systems to create more flexible animations.

Build Procedural Systems with Duplicators

Duplicators are one of Cavalry’s defining features.

According to the official course description, students learn how to generate complex motion graphics by combining duplicators with Index Context, allowing large groups of objects to animate through procedural rules rather than manual keyframes.

Applications include:

Motion graphics
Pattern animation
Repeating layouts
Broadcast graphics
Abstract animation

This workflow significantly reduces repetitive animation work.

Create Organic Motion Using Behaviors

The course also introduces Cavalry’s procedural Behaviors.

According to School of Motion, students work with tools including:

Noise
Oscillators
Travel
Procedural modifiers

These behaviors generate natural motion and looping animation that would typically require complex expressions inside After Effects.

Animate Complex Artwork with Sub Mesh Deformers

Managing large Illustrator or Figma files can be challenging inside traditional animation software.

According to the official curriculum, students learn how to use Sub Mesh Deformers to animate dense multi-layer artwork efficiently without manually separating every object.

This workflow is particularly useful for:

Illustrator artwork
Figma assets
Character graphics
Complex vector illustrations

Control Animation with Falloffs

Falloffs provide localized procedural control.

According to School of Motion, students learn how Falloffs can influence:

Timing
Scale
Rotation
Opacity
Distribution

across duplicated objects, allowing artists to build more dynamic procedural animations.

Create Advanced Text Animations

Typography is another major focus of the course.

According to the syllabus, students animate text at multiple levels using:

Characters
Words
Lines
Sub Mesh Deformers

These techniques demonstrate Cavalry’s procedural approach to kinetic typography.

Build Automated Motion Graphics Systems

One of the final topics focuses on reusable animation systems.

According to School of Motion, students create responsive templates that automatically update when data changes, making them suitable for projects such as:

Lower thirds
Broadcast graphics
Chapter titles
Motion templates
Reusable client assets

These systems reduce repetitive production work while improving scalability.

For complete course information, syllabus, enrollment options, and instructor details, visit the official course page:

https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/cavalry-kickstart

Rendering and Production Workflows

The course concludes by demonstrating how Cavalry integrates into professional production pipelines.

According to School of Motion, students learn rendering workflows alongside integration with tools already used in motion graphics production.

Course Resources

According to the official course page, students receive:

13 hours of video training
Downloadable project files
PDF cheat sheets
Unlimited assignment critique
24/7 community access
Verified completion credential

Who Should Take This Course?

Motion Designers

Learn procedural animation workflows beyond traditional keyframing.

After Effects Artists

Expand your toolkit with Cavalry’s procedural animation system.

Broadcast Designers

Create scalable lower thirds and broadcast graphics.

Kinetic Typography Artists

Build advanced procedural text animations.

Freelancers and Studios

Develop reusable animation systems that improve production efficiency.

Software Used

According to School of Motion, the primary software used is:

Cavalry (Free version supported)
Adobe Illustrator (Recommended)
Adobe Photoshop (Recommended)
Figma (Supported for artwork preparation)

Course Highlights

Students will learn:

Procedural animation
Duplicators
Index Context
Behaviors
Sub Mesh Deformers
Falloffs
Kinetic typography
Automated templates
Production workflows
Rendering and export

Final Thoughts

School of Motion – Cavalry Kickstart provides a structured introduction to procedural motion design using Cavalry. By combining duplicators, behaviors, Sub Mesh Deformers, falloffs, procedural typography, automated systems, and production-ready workflows, the course helps experienced motion designers transition from traditional keyframe animation to scalable procedural techniques. With 13 hours of instruction, downloadable resources, and feedback from professional artists, it serves as a practical foundation for integrating Cavalry into modern motion graphics pipelines.