Studio AKA's Phil Hunt Visits Escape Studios

Philip Hunt, Marcus Armitage and Kevin Richards

On Tuesday we were joined by 

animator and director Philip Hunt, the creative director and founder of the Emmy and BAFTA-winning Studio AKA, and Marcus Armitage, animation director at Studio AKA. 

Studio AKA is one of London's most innovative animation studios, and one of our long-standing industry partners.   Philip Hunt and Marcus Armitage talked about the work of Studio AKA, the current state of UK animation - and how Escapees can flourish in a rapidly-changing industry. 

Escapee Elissa Heath Joins King Bee Animation

Elissa Heath animation intern at King Bee Animation

Congratulations to Escapee Elissa Heath who has started an animation internship at King Bee Animation. 

Elissa Heath studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios.   She also contributed to a number of award-winning animated short films, including "Dusty Memories" and "Bloom", on which she served as lead animator.  

Escape Studios Undergraduate Term Dates 2026-27

Escape Studios Undergraduate Term Dates for 2026-27

Below are Escape Studios' Undergraduate Term Dates for 2026-27.  Classes begin on 21 September and run until Friday 18 December when we break for the Xmas holidays. Directed Study Week ("half term") is the week starting Monday 2nd November.  More details below, or you can download the PDF here. 

Introducing "Symphony of The Morning Rush"

Introducing "Symphony of The Morning Rush", the latest 2D animated film created by our graduating class of animation students.   Symphony of The Morning Rush was written, edited and directed by Eva Gifford, and produced by Michael Koden.  Emily Davidson was the art director, and Amelie Pignon was the animation director.  The original score was composed by Alexander Lidster. 

"Shapla" Wins "Best Super Short" in London

"Shapla" wins "Best Super Short" in London

Many congratulations to the makers of "Shapla", which was has won "Best Super Short" at the London Movie Awards. 

"Shapla" was directed by Ruksar Rowza Aziz and produced by Charlie Seeviour.  Erica Sanches was the art director and Tom Price composed the original score.   

Shapla has won many festival awards. 

"Father's Blade" Wins Best Animation at EEFF

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

Undergraduate Open Evening Wed 24th June 2026

Undergraduate Open Evening Wed 24th June 2026

Escape Studios is hosting a new Undergraduate Open Evening on Wednesday 24th June 2026 at 5pm UK time. Escape Studios' Open Evenings are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees, and what it's like to study at Escape Studios.

Escapee Rahil Soni Joins TriArts Games

Rahil Soni joins TriArts Games

Many congratulations to Escapee Rahil Soni  who has joined TriArts Games as a technical artist. Rahil Soni  is a VFX artist specializing in FX, who recently finished his Master’s Degree in VFX Production  at Escape Studios.   

Escapee Sebastian Kuder Joins Rebel Wolves

Escapee Sebastian Kuder joins Rebel Wolves

Many congratulations to Escapee Sebastian Kuder who has joined Warsaw games studio Rebel Wolves, leading their layout team.

Sebastian Kuder studied the Art of Animation at Escape Studios.

Young Animator of the Year Awards Are Back for 2026

Young Animator of the Year Awards 2026

The Young Animator of the Year Awards are back, with a remit to foster and encourage emerging animation talent in the UK. 

This free nationwide competition invites young animators aged 11-22 to showcase their skills in stop-motion, 2D or 3D animation. The deadline is 1 Sept 2026. 

The successful winning films will premiere in November at the Manchester Animation Festival, the UK’s largest animation event.  As always, we encourage our students here at Escape Studios to enter competitions like this one. 

Free Webinar "Test Before You Invest" on 26 May 2026

Tuesday 26th May: webinar on creative entrepreneurship 

Join us on Tuesday 26th May at 6:00pm BST for a free webinar on creative entrepreneurship with Escape Studios tutor Glyn Fairweather. 

Find out how successful creative entrepreneurs minimise their risk and test their ideas before committing significant resources. 

Got an idea for a startup? Find out how to stress test your project. 

Escapee Nick Criucovcenco Joins Framestore

Nick Criucovcenco joins Framestore

Many congratulations to Escapee Nick Criucovcenco who joined Framestore’s Immersive department as an intern after graduating from Escape Studios, and later moved into a Technical Artist role.  

Storyboards Evening Class Returns 23 June 2026

Our Evening Class in

Giles & Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament - Storyboards

Storyboarding returns on 23 June 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.

Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 20th June 2026

Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 20th June 2026

Escape Studios is hosting a new Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 20th June 2026. There are two sessions available: Morning: 10:30am - 1:00pm, Afternoon: 1:30pm - 4:00pm.  Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees.

A J Bleyer and The Future of AI in Film

A J Bleyer and The Future of AI in Film

At the "Adobe Next Live" event last week at London's Tate Modern, software giant Adobe presented their insights into changing technology and how educators and creatives can take advantage of the big changes currently facing the creative industries.  

LA-based Commercials director A J Bleyer explored "The Future of AI in Film", using Adobe Firefly.

Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day 16 May 2026

Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day on Saturday 16 May 2026

Join us on on Saturday 16 May 2026 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. 

Int'l Student Webinar Wednesday 13th May 2026

International Student webinar on Wed13th May 2026 

Join us for our International Student webinar on Wednesday 13th May 2026 (from 12pm to 1.30pm) 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. 

Escape Studios Visits Electric Theatre Collective

Escape Students Visit Electric Theatre Collective 

Many thanks to our industry partners Electric Theatre Collective (ETC) for hosting our students at their Brick lane premises.  

ETC have been generously mentoring our final year students on their graduation projects, helping our students to strive for industry standards of quality. 

MoGraph Evening Class Returns 7 July 2026

Our Motion Graphics 12 Week Evening Class returns on 7 July 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.

Adobe Next at Tate Modern - AI and Creativity

Technology Evangelist Emily Bisset at Adobe Next Live

At today's "Adobe Next Live" event at London's Tate Modern, software giant Adobe have been presenting their insights into changing technology and how educators and creatives can take advantage of the big changes currently facing the creative industries.  

"Technology Evangelist" Emily Bissett gave the keynote speech exploring how creatives can learn from and embrace the change.  She was followed by Laura Jordan-Bambach, founder and CCO of the creative agency "Uncharted".