The difficulty level of C4D and AE varies from person to person, generally speaking, C4D is relatively difficult and AE is relatively low.
First of all, C4D is a 3D modeling software, which requires certain modeling knowledge and skills. For beginners, learning C4D requires more time and effort, understanding concepts such as 3D space, materials, lighting, etc., mastering modeling tools and techniques, and being familiar with the animation production process. In contrast, AE pays more attention to the production of 2D special effects, and for beginners, they only need to master some basic animation principles and the operation skills of AE software to make some simple animation effects.
Secondly, the operation interface of C4D is relatively complex, and you need to be familiar with how to use various panels and tools. The operation interface of AE is relatively simple, mainly including timeline, compositing window, toolbar, etc., which is relatively easy to operate.
If you want to improve your professional and technical skills, I recommend signing up for a training course.
Here I have summarized the relevant domestic educational institutions and selected a few for your reference
Wang's Education
A school with a large scale and a relatively high reputation in the industry, with a high degree of recognition in the professional teaching fields such as animation games and the later stage, the management is relatively formal, and the teaching and auxiliary experience is good, which is suitable for beginners and professionals who want to improve.
cgwang
I have friends who have studied film and television post-production in their Zhengzhou campus, and the feedback is still very high, it seems that it has been very stable for so many years, I always thought that their strength was the first-tier city campus and CG painting classes, and it turned out that other courses were also very good.
Painter Scholar
The main cost-effective, there are physical classes and online classes, the teachers are relatively strong in professional strength, suitable for people with average economic conditions, but with a certain degree of self-discipline.
Goo
Teaching and recruitment are done at the same time, and they are both doing very well. Whether it is teaching, school-enterprise incubation, or employing enterprises, the three parties are very satisfied, which is why I recommend it.
Finally, C4D is rendered more realistically and requires higher computing performance and hardware support. C4D can be rendered at a very realistic level, but it requires high computing power and graphics card support, which can take a long time for normal computer configurations. The rendering effect of AE is relatively simple, and can be achieved through some preset effects and plug-ins, and the rendering speed is relatively fast for ordinary computer configurations.
In general, both C4D and AE have their own difficulties and advantages and disadvantages. The main learning goal of AE is to master the basic operations and skills of AE, as well as some advanced functions and techniques. You can also learn how to use AE to work with other software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. As to whether the Zeignick effect can be explained by AE, the answer to this question is no. The Zeignick effect is a psychological phenomenon that refers to the fact that people pay more attention and remember unfinished tasks, while AE is a digital editing software, and the two are completely different fields.