Life Drawing for Escape Animation Students at DNEG

Our 2D Animation undergraduate students will soon be attending life drawing classes at DNEG, one of the UK's leading animation & VFX houses, courtesy of DNEG's Andrew Schlussel and Dara McGarry.  

Character Design is Back on 10 Feb 2026

Character Design by Luzia Soares

Our 2D Character Design evening class returns to Escape Studios on 10 February 2026. 

Character Design is an eight week evening class taught by industry veteran and Escape Studios' Head of Character Design Steve Sole.

Steve guides students through the principles of character design, building up to an industry brief.

MA 3D Animation Returns 23 Feb 2026

Animation by Jamie Floodgate

Our next Short Course and MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation returns on 23 February 2026.

The Short Course and MA in animation is taught both online and in-class at our new North Greenwich Campus.

Our Short Course and MA animation students have created many award-winning film projects such as "Alma", "Flame", "Hat Shop", "Mafia Mix-Up" and "Moon Rockz".  

"Keep Cooking" Wins Best Animation at EEFF

"Keep Cooking" wins "Best Animation" at Eastern Europe Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Keep Cooking", which has won "Best Animation" at the Eastern Europe Film Festival.   Keep Cooking was created by our third year graduating class of 2D Animation students at Escape Studios.  

Keep Cooking was written and directed by Nathan Blackman and produced by Mai Lu.  Chieri Kagata was the Lead Animator, and Gustav Chin was the Art Director.  This is its first festival award. 

Storyboarding Evening Class Returns 26 Jan 2026

Our Evening Class in

Giles & Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament - Storyboards

Storyboarding returns on 26 January 2026.  This evening class in storyboarding is an online class, taught from 7-10pm, and runs for ten weeks.

Storyboarding is a growing area of the animation industry; one which has recorded significant skills shortages in recent years.

Our storyboard students have gone on to successful careers at studios such as Walt Disney, Brown Bag Films and Blue Zoo Animation.

MoGraph Evening Class Returns on 20 Jan 2026

Motion Graphics Evening Class returns on 20 Jan 2026

Our Motion Graphics 12 Week Evening Class returns on 20 Janaury 2026.  The course is taught by experienced industry professionals, and aims to prepare students for careers in the motion graphic and motion design industries.

The market for skilled motion designers has never been bigger, and London is host to the world’s largest motion design community.   To find out more, visit the official course page here.

"Hubris" Wins "Best Animation" in Makizhmithran

"Hubris" wins "Best Animation" at the Makizhmithran Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Hubris" which has won "Best Animation" at the Makizhmithran Film Awards.  

"Hubris" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "Hubris" was written and directed by Sohaib Mehar and produced by Secander Sadat.  The editor was Gleb Migas, and the art director was Leona Lu.  This is its fifth festival award. 

"Meet The Masters" with Kevin Richards 16 Dec 2025

"Meet The Masters" with Kevin Richards 16 Dec at 6pm

Join us on Tuesday 16 December at 6pm for our next "Meet The Masters" events with Escape Studios' animation tutor Kevin Richards.  To sign up for this free event, follow this link. 

Escapeverse Live is Back: 24th - 26th Feb 2026

Escapeverse Live is back!  Escapeverse Live  is a free, global online event celebrating VFX, animation, games and tech art. 

Escapeverse Live  runs from 24th - 26th February 2026, and we'll be sharing behind-the-scenes insights from the best of the screen industries. 

To find out more, and learn when tickets become available, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/hs5d67rh

Alex Williams 2D Animation Demo Reel

2D Animation has been expanding at Escape Studios, with a growing student body, many new short films - and many festival awards.  Our 2D animation tutors include Shane Woodson, Rebecca Perrone, Kevin Richards, Steve Lall and Iliana Franklin - all have many years of experience working on 2D animated projects.  Above is a selection of 2D animation on various films by our Dean of Animation & VFX Alexander Williams.  Edit by Escapee Miguel Teixeira, music by Pixabay.  

"Father's Blade" Wins "Best Trailer" at Vesuvio Fest

"Father's Blade" wins "Best Trailer" Vesuvio Film Fest 

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "Father's Blade", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Vesuvio Film Festival. 

"Father's Blade" was directed by Thomas Husband and produced by Hugo Whitworth; the editor was Alfie Williams and the lead animator was Brandon Rai.  This is the latest of many festival awards for Father's Blade. 

Meet The MoCap Masters: Adam Bennett 17 Dec 2025

Join us for our next "Meet the Masters" event at Escape Studios with Motion Graphics veteran Adam Bennett on Wednesday December 17th at 6pm GMT.  Adam will introduce motion graphics beginners to "Five Motion Graphics Techniques That Actually Work", focusing on practical solutions that bring fast results.  To sign up for this event, follow this link. 

Escapees on "Wicked: For Good"

Congratulations to Escapees Sofia Caldeira and Harry Pearson who contributed their skills to the new feature film "Wicked: For Good". 

Sofia Caldeira and Harry Pearson have been working as Visualisation Artists at The Third Floor in London.  

Undergraduate Taster Day 6 December 2025

Sat 6th Dec 2025 - Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day

Join us on Saturday 6th December 2025 for our next Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day for an introduction to our undergraduate degrees in animation, games and vfx.  Come along and find out what it's like to study at Escape Studios. 

"Meet The Masters" with Dan Shutt 15 Dec 2025

Meet The Masters with Dan Shutt 15th Dec 2025

Join us on Monday 15th December at 6pm for a free "Meet The Masters" Event with veteran VFX artist Dan Shutt. 

Dan Shutt is one of our most experienced VFX tutors, with over 23 years’ experience in a wide variety of 3D fields, from feature film effects and games graphics, to TV commercials and architectural rendering.  Dan has been with Escape Studios since 2009.  To sign up, follow this link. 

"Dusty Memories" Wins "Best Super Short" in NYC

Dusty Memories wins "Best Super Short Film"  in NYC  

Many congratulations to the makers of "Dusty Memories", which has won "Best Super Short Film"  at the New York Movie Awards.  

"Dusty Memories" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.   "Dusty Memories" was written and directed by Grace Lam, and edited and produced by Max Ebdon.  This is its third festival award. 

Why Animators Always Start With a Story

Storytelling animation by Sunny Asadi

Animators are story tellers; animation should always have an idea behind it, one that tells a story.

Junior animators focus on learning technique - and technique is important. But it is also important to think carefully about the story behind your shot.

Who is your character, and why are they doing what they are doing?  What is the scene about? What do they want, and what do they fear?  These things are important because if your shots forms part of an interesting story, it will be much more interesting to watch.

Escapee Erminas Surgautas Joins Framestore

Erminas Surgautas

Many congratulations to Escapee Erminas Surgautas who has joined Framestore, one of the UK's leading VFX and animation houses. 

Erminas Surgautas studied the Art of Animation at Escape Studios, and contributed to many award-winning short film projects, including Checkmate, Mob Boss Barkino, Night Terrors and Reconnected.  

Undergraduate Q&A with Ian Palmer 9 Dec 2025

Join us on Tuesday 9th Dec from 5pm - 6pm GMT for an online undergraduate Q&A with Escape Studios' Principal Ian Palmer. 

This online event is an opportunity to find out more about Escape Studios from the man who knows us best - Professor Ian Palmer.  To sign up for this free event, follow this link. 

"Keep Cooking" Wins Best Super Short at Gold Awards

"Keep Cooking" wins "Best Animation" at Int'l Gold Awards

Congratulations to the makers of "Keep Cooking", which has won "Best Animation" at the International Gold Awards.   Keep Cooking was created by our third year graduating class of 2D Animation students at Escape Studios.  

Keep Cooking was written and directed by Nathan Blackman and produced by Mai Lu.  Chieri Kagata was the Lead Animator, and Gustav Chin was the Art Director.  This is its third festival award.