"Sweet & Salty" Wins Hon Mention at Art Awards

Many congratulations to the makers of Sweet & Salty which has won an Honourable Mention in the category of Best Student Film at the Art Film Awards.

Sweet & Salty was created by our second year animation students; the film was directed by Oleksandra Zakorodon and produced by Sarina Musab.

This is its second festival award. 

"Bollywoof" Trailer Released Today

The trailer for "Bollywoof", the film I worked on at DNEG last year, has just been released. Bollywoof tells the story of an English springer spaniel who gets lost in the streets of Kolkata, and has to find his way back to his family.  Bollywoof was directed by veteran director Frederic Du Chau ("Underdog", "Racing Stripes") and was produced by Newscope Films and DNEG. Preproduction and post were done in London; animation was completed in Hyderabad. Voice talent was provided by Olivia Coleman, David Jonsson, Rhys Ifans and Ambika Mod. 

PR6001 Studio Project Module 2026-27

Award-winning "Shapla"

Our third year animation students (both 2D and 3D are now tackling PR6001; a Studio Project module worth 60 Credits and which runs for the whole academic year.  

In PR6001 our animation students work together in teams to create short films - winning festival awards.  To see some examples of award-winning project work, take a look at Shapla, Symphony of The Morning Rush, Kiwi's Dream, BoxBots, Little Gestures,  Home Sweet Home and Jerich0. 

"Armed" Wins "Best Animation" at the EEFF

"Armed" wins "Best Animation" at the EEFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Armed", which has won the award for "Best Animation" at the Eastern European Film Festival. 

"Armed" is one of the latest 2D animated films created by our 2026 graduating class of animation students.

Armed was written, directed and produced by Fred Mackenzie-Williams. The Art Director was Heidi Thompson.   You can find Armed at Vimeo here.  This is its second festival award. 

How to Get Hired in Animation with Anna Lord

Animation Producer Anna Lord 

Veteran animation producer Anna Lord joined us on Friday 16 October 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) and Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron (2002).  What was Anna 's advice to animators starting out in the business? Do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door. 

Oliantai Kovac and Escape Studios' La Salle Exchange

Oliantai Kovac talks about the La Salle Exchange

We asked Escapee Oliantai Kovac to tell us a little about the Escape Studios' La Salle Exchange, and what his experience was like studying in Barcelona.  

In October 2023 Oliantai Kovac took up the opportunity to study for six months as part of Escape Studios’ Student Exchange Programme with La Salle University in Barcelona.  Scroll down to find out more. 

"Project Juliet" Wins "Best Animation" in London

"Project Juliet" wins "Best Animated Film" in London

Congratulations to the makers of  "Project Juliet", which has won "Best Animated Film" at the London Movie Awards.  

In "Project Juliet", an unfortunate lab tester is forced to undergo a dangerous trial, with horrifying consequences.  

Project Juliet was created by "Team Psychosis" at Escape Studios, produced by Pahiya Rahman, and was inspired by The Outlast Trials, a survival game created by Montreal-based games company Red Barrels.  This is its first festival award. 

Escape Studios Visits Time Based Arts in Shoreditch

Escape Studios Visits Time Based Arts

Our postgraduate VFX students at Escape Studios recently got the chance to have a behind-the-scenes tour of Time Based Arts' studio in Shoreditch. 

Time Based Arts is a world-leading visual effects house whose clients include Apple, the BBC, The Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Adidas and Google Pixel. 

The Studio visit to Time Based Arts was led by our Head of Industry Engagement Will Hughes.

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).

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.

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. 

Escape Students Meet "Ray Gunn" Director Brad Bird

Brad Bird and "Ray Gunn"

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.

International Student Webinar Wed 2 Dec 2026

Wed 2 Dec at 1pm GMT via Zoom

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.

"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. 

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.

BYOA in Covent GardenTuesday October 20 2026

Next BYOA is on Tuesday, 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.

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.