Introducing the 3D VFX Team at Escape Studios

3D VFX Team at Escape Studios

Meet the 3D VFX Team at Escape Studios. VFX is at the heart of Escape Studios; it's where we began 20 years ago - when the industry was just starting to expand and grow.

Back in the early 2000s there were few places in the UK where students could learn the necessary skills to land that crucial first job in the VFX industry.  Below are our talented tutors who teach the art and craft of VFX at Escape Studios, helping to ensure we remain the UK's leading centre for the study of VFX.

How Animators Find Industry Mentors

One question I sometimes get asked by students at Escape Studios is "How Do I Find a Mentor?"  The answer (of course!) is to start with your tutors, and then broaden out from there.  Over the course of a long animation career our Escapees are likely to have many mentors, though very few of these (if any) will be formal mentorship roles; most will be informal, and you might not even realise these people were mentors until many years later.   In my case I have been lucky enough to be mentored by animators such as James Baxter (Road to El Dorado), Andreas Deja (Lion King), Duncan Marjoribanks (Pocahontas) and also Glen Keane, whose notes on planning animation I still refer to today.  But mentorship is, in each and every case, very much what you make of it.

"Ongo" Wins "Best Super Short" in Florence

Congratulations to the makers of Ongo, which has won Best Super Short Film at the Florence Film Awards.  Ongo was created by our third year graduating class of 3D animation students at Escape Studios.  

Ongo was written and directed by Anna Reyes Ramirez and produced by Stephanie Quelal Castaneda. Industry feedback was generously provided by Charlie Tetlow and Felipe De Lanteuil from Industrial Light & Magic.  This is the third festival award for Ongo,

Escapeverse Live 2025 - Now at YouTube

 

For anyone who missed the EscapeVerse Live Festival at the end of February, we've now uploaded the full schedule of talks, panels and webinars to our YouTube channel.  Above is the Teamwork Panel I hosted on 25 February, with Escapees Adam Dewhirst, Ricardo Ferreira, Stefano Ferron and Harry Symonds.  They were all great guests and had many entertaining insights into the importance of good teamwork - as well as some horror stories about teamwork gone wrong (such as Adam's fishy tale at 31:31).  You can find the full EscapeVerse 2025 playlist here. 

Introducing "Save Yourself"

Introducing Save Yourself, the latest VFX short from Escape Studios.  Save Yourself was created by our third year graduating class of VFX students at Escape Studios.  The short film was written and directed by Jasmine Patel and produced by Charlie Cope.  Harrison Davies was the 3D VFX lead, and Fiona Lee was the 2D VFX Lead.  Cinematography was by Irene Gomez-Emilsson.  Industry feedback was generously provided by Industrial Light & Magic. 

"Ongo" Wins "Best Animation" at NYC Awards

Ongo wins Best Animated Film at NYC Movie Awards

Congratulations to the makers of Ongo, which has won Best Animated Film at the New York Movie Awards.  Ongo was created by our third year graduating class of 3D animation students at Escape Studios.  

Ongo was written and directed by Anna Reyes Ramirez and produced by Stephanie Quelal Castaneda. Industry feedback was generously provided by Charlie Tetlow and Felipe De Lanteuil from Industrial Light & Magic.  This is the second festival award for Ongo,

Introducing The 2D VFX Team at Escape Studios

Meet the 2D VFX Team at Escape Studios. 2D VFX is all about compositing, and is primarily taught in Nuke, by The Foundry.  

Our graduates in 2D Compositing have enjoyed considerable success in recent years, with a very high proportion of our students finding work in their chosen field. Compositing continues to be a vital part of the VFX Pipeline.   

Below are the talented tutors who teach the art and craft of 2D VFX at Escape Studios, helping to ensure we remain the UK's leading centre for the study of VFX.

We also have hundreds of tutorials in compositing in Nuke at our Tutorial Channel to support our students.

Introducing "Cursed Bond"

Introducing "Cursed Bond", the story of a mysterious hermit who finds a strange creature in the forest. "Cursed Bond" was created by our third year graduating class of VFX students at Escape Studios.  The short film was written and directed by Ted Walker, and produced by Mahak Chowdhary.  Cinematography was by Irene Gomez Emilsson and the VFX Supervisor was Oliver Eveson.  Art direction was by Quimey Dasso.  

Escape Studios and The Art of The Ident

Ident created by Maria Robertson

At Escape Studios, students are encouraged to create idents—short animated sequences used for branding, such as the charming animation created by Maria Robertson on left. 

Many students have also created custom idents for their short film projects, and in 2022 our students created a series of custom idents for the British Animation Awards (BAAs).  Scroll down to see some of the best Escape Studios idents below. 

"Vivid" Wins Best VFX in Makizhmithran Fest

"Vivid" Wins "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Film Festival

Congratulations to the makers of "Vivid", the latest short VFX film from Escape Studios, which has won an award for "Best VFX" at the Makizhmithran Film Festival.

"Vivid" was created by our third year graduating class of VFX students.  Vivid was written and directed by Kia Claire, and produced by Amber Coventry.  Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead and William Griffith was the 2D VFX Lead.  

This is the film's fourth festival award. 

Meet The Motion Graphics Team at Escape Studios

Motion Graphics Team at Escape Studios

Meet the growing Motion Graphics team at Escape Studios. Motion Graphics is a key part of the animation industry, an expanding area of jobs and creativity.  

Our new Master's Degree in Motion Graphics (just launched) teaches the art of motion graphics as well as the underlying theory and structure.

In September 2025 we launch our new BA/MArt in Motion Graphics, offering an undergraduate study route for the first time.  

We also offer an Evening Class in Motion Graphics for part-time distance learners. 

All our tutors come from industry, with experience in 2D and 3D Motion Graphics. 

"Ongo" Wins "Best Super Short Film" in London

Ongo wins Best Super Short at London Movie Awards 

Congratulations to the makers of Ongo, which has won Best Super Short Film at the London Movie Awards with a live screening at the CloseUp Theatre in Shoreditch.  Ongo was created by our third year graduating class of 3D animation students at Escape Studios.  

Ongo was written and directed by Anna Reyes Ramirez and produced by Stephanie Quelal Castaneda. Industry feedback was generously provided by Charlie Tetlow and Felipe De Lanteuil from Industrial Light & Magic.  This is the first festival award for Ongo,

How Long Does It Take To Learn Autodesk Maya?

Many of our first year students at Escape Studios will never have opened Maya before.  Or, at least, they won't be very familiar with it.  Maya is a big, complex piece of software - the interface can look daunting at first.  But don't be discouraged, with time and practice - you will get there in the end. 

"Vivid" Wins Best VFX at EE Film Fest

"Vivid" wins "Best VFX" at Eastern Europe Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Vivid", the latest short VFX film from Escape Studios, which has won an award for "Best VFX" at the Eastern Europe Film Festival.

"Vivid" was created by our third year graduating class of VFX students.  Vivid was written and directed by Kia Claire, and produced by Amber Coventry.  Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead and William Griffith was the 2D VFX Lead.  

This is the film's third festival award. 

Why Disney Always Rejected 1st Time Applicants

Back in the 1980s when I was starting my animation career, it was said by the old-timers in the animation business that anyone wanting to be an animator at Disney had to apply twice —because the first application would be rejected by default. This wasn’t an official policy, but rather an unspoken test of determination.

Disney, at the time, was the global animation leader (arguably it still is), and competition for jobs was very fierce.  The idea was that only those with true passion and perseverance would push through rejection, refine their portfolios, and reapply. It separated the dreamers from the truly committed.

Racing Stripes - My First VFX

Way back in 2004 I got my first job as animation supervisor, on Frederic Du Chau's live action VFX movie "Racing Stripes" - a family film about a zebra that wants to be a racehorse.  Racing Stripes' live action was filmed mainly in South Africa - where zebras are plentiful. The VFX work was done at Digiscope in Santa Monica, with Hybride VFX in Montreal animating the two horseflies "Buzz and Scuzz".  About 30 VFX shots were also completed in London at the Peerless Camera Co.  Part of the animation process was to create expression sheets for the characters in the film, to inform the CG modelling process and to make sure the animation would be as realistic and expressive as possible. 

Why Animators Shouldn't Worry About Copyright

Copyright Law - Stop Worrying

If you’re studying animation at Escape Studios, you’ve probably heard other artists talk about copyright—how important it is to protect your ideas and ensure no one steals your work.  

And while it's important to understand the copyright law (to learn the basics of copright law, watch this video), it's equally important that students shouldn’t worry about copyright too much.  

Here’s why it's important not to panic:

How To Animate Lipsync - With No Lips

One of the first dialogue exercises tackled by students at Escape Studios is how to animate a character speaking a line of dialogue - but with no mouth.  Students almost always look skeptical at this idea - how can you animate Lipsync - with no lips? 

The answer, of course, is that it's all in the acting and the performance.  If the body language is working, then the audience will believe that the character is speaking - even if the character itself has no mouth.

Why Animators Hold Ms Bs & Ps for Two Frames

Hold Ms Bs and Ps for 2 frames minimum

One of the rules of animating lipsync is that you should always hold Ms Bs and Ps for at least two frames if you want them to "read" clearly.

The reason for this is that we need to compress our lips together to make these shapes, after which there is a little expulsion of air. 

For Ms Bs and Ps to read clearly, they need to be making the shape on the screen for at least two frames, even if the dialogue is rapid.

Meet the 3D Animation Team at Escape Studios

Who teaches 3D Animation at Escape Studios? We are fortunate to have many talented tutors in our large and growing animation department.  

We have a depth of talent and skills among our staff that ensures we can teach all aspects of the animation pipeline, from concept art through storyboarding, animation and final render. 

Below (in no particular order) are some of our talented tutors you will find teaching 3D Animation in our classrooms at Escape Studios.