Thursday, 15 October 2026

Time to Enter the 2026 VES Awards

The 25th Annual VES Awards are now open and taking student entries.  

Here at Escape Studios we encourage all our students to enter Category 25: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project. 

The VES awards are sponsored by Autodesk, who make Maya, the leading animation and VFX software.  

The VES Awards deadline is midnight on 31st October 2026.

Animation Jobs with Producer Anna Lord 16 Oct 2026

Animation Producer Anna Lord 
Veteran animation producer Anna Lord will join us on Friday 16 October at 11.30am for a talk with our 3rd Year 2D animation students about Animation Jobs and Careers, part of Professional Practice Module PS6003. 

Anna Lord has thirty years of experience working in the animation industry; her film credits include Quest For Camelot (1998), Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron (2002).

Wednesday, 14 October 2026

An Evening With… Larian Studios Thurs 26th Nov 2026

We're delighted to announce our next "Evening With… " event at Escape Studios on Thursday 26 November 2026 at 5.30pm in the 10th Floor Breakout Space. 

We'll be joined by Greg Lidstone, Head of Animation at Larian Studios, as well as four other artists from Larian Studios. 


Martyn Niman & King Bee Animation Fri 30 Oct

Martyn Niman of King Bee Animation
Escape Studios is delighted to welcome King Bee Animation Founder Martyn Niman to talk to our third year animation students about jobs and careers in the animation industry on Friday October 30th at 10.30am.

Martyn Niman has been running King Bee Animation at Elstree Studios in North London for well over a decade, and  has offered a number of internships and jobs to Escape Studios students and Escapees over the years.

Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Escapee Alfie Williams Layout Artist at Blue Zoo

Escapee Alfie Williams joins Blue Zoo 
Many congratulations to Escapee Alfie Williams who has started work as a Layout Artist at Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation companies and one of our key industry partners at Escape Studios. 

Alfie Williams studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, where he contributed to a number of award-winning short films including "Father's Blade" and "Infestation".  

Escape Studios Visits Comic Con Fri 23 Oct 2026

Escape Studios visits MCM Comic Con 2026
Escape Studios is organising a study tour at MCM Comic Con 2026 on Friday 23 October from Noon onwards for our third year undergraduate students, for a specially discounted price. 

MCM Comic Con 2026 returns to the ExceL London in Newham from October 23-25 for another 3-day celebration of all things gaming, anime and pop culture. 

Our Year 3 graduating class of students are invited to join us at MCM Comic Con 2026 on Friday 23 October from Noon onwards. 

Monday, 12 October 2026

Escape Students Meet "Ray Gunn" Director Brad Bird

Escape Studios' animation students had the chance to meet "Incredibles" Director Brad Bird at a pre-screening of his new movie "Ray Gunn" at Soho House last week. 

The event was organised by Netflix for AMPAS and BAFTA members, but Escape Studios was able to secure a few tickets for our animation students at this pre-premiere event. 

After the film, director Brad Bird took questions about the making of the film and then chatted with guests over drinks in the bar at Soho House.

Sunday, 11 October 2026

International Student Webinar Wed 2 Dec 2026

Our next International Student webinar takes place on Wednesday 2 December from 1pm to 2pm GMT via Zoom.

Join us for a chance to learn more about our creative degrees, discuss student visas and answer questions in a Q&A session. 

To sign up or learn more about the event, follow this link.

Saturday, 10 October 2026

"Venus Tie Trap" Wins "Best VFX" Award

"Venus Tie Trap" wins Best VFX award
Congratulations to the makers of "Venus Tie Trap",  which has won Best VFX at the Makizhmithran International Film Festival.  

Venus Tie Trap was written, directed and produced by Edie Queen-Jones, and co-written and co-directed by Rupin Odedra, who was also the 2D Lead.  

Mark Youssef was the 3D Lead, and John Heberden stars as the office worker.   You can watch Venus Tie Trap here at Vimeo. 

This is its first festival award. 

Friday, 9 October 2026

Grant Orchard Creator of "Hey Duggee" Visits Escape

Grant Orchard creator of "Hey Duggee"
On Wednesday night Grant Orchard, the Oscar-nominated creator of "Hey Duggee" was our guest at Escape Studios to talk about his work and career in animation. 

Grant showed us some of his early work, his 2011 Oscar-nominated short film A Morning Stroll, and the early pitches for the TV series that became Hey Duggee.  

The evening was a great opportunity for our students to meet one of Britain's leading animators.

Thursday, 8 October 2026

BYOA in Covent GardenTuesday October 20 2026

The next Bring Your Own Animation (BYOA) event in London is taking place on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. 

The free event will run from 7:15 pm to 10:00 pm upstairs at the Nell of Old Drury, 29 Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5JS). Organized by London ACM SIGGRAPH, this monthly animation gathering is a chance for students, self-taught artists, and industry pros to bring their laptops, share their latest shots or showreels, and get feedback from professional animators.  To sign up, follow this link to Eventbrite.

Wednesday, 7 October 2026

Escape Studios Students Visit Cinesite

"Rainbow Spotlight" event at Cinesite in Soho
Escape Studios Students visited the London VFX and animation studio Cinesite recently for  a "Rainbow Spotlight" event - hosted by Cinesite at their Soho premises.  

This special animation and vfx event was hosted by Siggraph and "Bring Your Own Animation" (BYOA) and took place on 24 September 2026 at Cinesite in London from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. 

Among the guests were a number of our students as well as Escape Studios' animation tutor Kevin Richards - who reported on the event. 

Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Undergraduate Open Days on 24 & 28 Oct 2026

Undergraduate Open Days on 24 Oct and Wed 28 Oct 2026
Escape Studios is hosting two new Undergraduate Open Days on Saturday 24 October and Wednesday 28 October 2026.

These Open Day events take place at 6 Mitre Passage in our North Greenwich Campus and also online.  

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees - join us and find out more about what we do and how we teach. 

Monday, 5 October 2026

Careers in Immersive Media on 21 Oct at 6pm

Wednesday October 21st at 6pm
Join us on Wednesday October 21st at 6pm for a free webinar on careers in Immersive Media. Where can a career in Immersive Media take you? 

Learn from our in-house expert Dan Shutt about the variety of opportunities in this fast developing field, from gallery experiences to immersive theatre, music tours and festivals.  

Saturday, 3 October 2026

Disney's "Illusion of Life" in The Animation Library

The original animation bible
Escape Studios Animation Library has acquired a new copy of the original "animation bible": The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnstone, two of Walt Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men" - his top team of animators.

The Illusion of Life was first published in the 1970s, and was the first book to reveal in print the secrets of the Disney studio.   

The 1970s were a lean time for animation; Walt Disney was dead and the revival that would come with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid (and, later, 3D animation) was still far in the future.

The Illusion of Life remains just as relevant today. The technology has changed, but the principles remain the same. 

Friday, 2 October 2026

CR6001 Specialism Module Starts Sept 2026

"Lighthouse" storyboards by Paloma Zhu
Module CR6001 "Specialism" forms part of the Third Year of Studies at Escape Studios. 

The Specialism Module CR6001 is worth 30 Credits and starts in September 2026.  The module runs over the course of the year.  It is a largely self-study module in which students select an area of specialism and develop their skills.  

CR6001 culminates in a portfolio presentation on 20th November 2026 in which students present the work they have done.  To see Term Dates for the 2026-27 academic year, follow this link. 

Thursday, 1 October 2026

Deans Town Hall Meetings October 7-8

Deans Town Hall Meetings 7-8 October
We'll be hosting a series of "Deans Town Hall" meetings from 7-8 October to welcome our students back to our Greenwich Campus, explain some of the new things happening this year, and take questions from our student body. 

Wednesday, 30 September 2026

Escape Studios Film Society Returns Tonight

Seven Samurai (1954) Wednesday 30 September 
Escape Studios Film Society is back tonight with a new line up for the first term of this year at Escape.  

Most screenings take place at 5pm on a Wednesday. Check dates below for details.  

The new season is titled "Masters of Cinema" and is a film season showcasing some of the all time greatest films, beginning with The Seven Samurai tonight at 5pm.  You can get involved through the Teams channel: Link.

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

Escapee Jack Anderson VFX Artist at Rebellion

Escapee Jack Anderson VFX Artist at Rebellion
Many congratulations to Escapee Jack Anderson who has started a new position working as VFX Artist at Rebellion. 

Rebellion is is a British video game company based in Oxford. Founded in December 1992, Rebellion is best known for Sniper Elite and multiple games in the Alien vs. Predator series.

Monday, 28 September 2026

Escapee Amedeo Beretta on Life and Work in Japan

Amedeo Beretta in Tokyo, Japan
Escape Studios animation tutor Amedeo Beretta spoke to our students in Tokyo last week about his experience of working in Osaka for a Japanese games company.  

What is it like for a foreigner living and working in Japan? Amedeo Beretta had longed dreamed of working in Japan, and he explained to our animation students, who have been studying in Tokyo, how he came to achieve his goal.