Hamid Lotfi joins London VFX house One of Us

Hamid Lotfi has joined London VFX house One of Us 

Congratulations to Escapee Hamid Lotfi who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Hamid Lotfi  is a post-graduate student who studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, with tutors Daniel Shutt and Klaudija Cermak.  

"Night Terrors" Wins Best Short at Int'l Gold Awards

 "Night Terrors" wins "Best Super Short" at Int'l Gold Awards

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the International Gold Awards.  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

Escapee Amber Coventry Joins VFX House One of Us

Amber Coventry joins London VFX house One of Us

Congratulations to Escapee Amber Coventry who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Amber Coventry is a post-graduate student who studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, with tutors Daniel Shutt and Klaudija Cermak.  

Industry Feedback with Blue Zoo 21 May 2026

Jamie Floodgate

We're delighted to welcome back Escapee Jamie Floodgate to Escape Studios, to give feedback to our second year animation students on their short films on 21 May 2026. 

Jamie Floodgate is a Lead Animator at the London animation studio Blue Zoo.

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios, working directly with studios such as Blue Zoo to enhance industry co-operation and ensure that what we teach remains relevant to current professional needs.

Escapee Daniel Beeching Joins "One of Us"

Daniel Beeching

Congratulations to Escapee Daniel Beeching who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Daniel Beeching has worked on a number of successful short film projects at Escape Studios, including the award-winning shorts Mini Mail, Socks To Be You and Odd Socks.  Daniel has been working as a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios. 

"Spark" Wins "Best Animation" at EE Film Fest

Congratulations to "Spark", the new animated short created at Escape Studios by MA animation student Nimisha Manjunathan, which has won "Best Animation" at the Eastern European Film Festival. 

 "Spark" was written and animated by Nimisha Manjunathan who is studying for her MA in Animation with Escape Studios' animation tutor Lee Caller.  "Spark" tells the story of a girl who dreams of athletic success. 

This is the film's first festival award. 

Toonboom Harmony Evening Class Returns 5 Oct 2026

Evening class in Toonboom Harmony returns 26 March 2026

Our 2D Animation Online Evening class in Toonboom Harmony returns to Escape Studios on 5 October 2026.

Learn the fundamentals of 2D animation over 20 weeks, two evenings a week (Mondays & Thursdays 7-10pm GMT) using Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

The class is taught by experienced industry professionals.

Industry Feedback with Max Howard 14 May 2026

Max Howard

Veteran Animation producer and former Disney executive Max Howard will join us on Thursday 14 May 2026 at Escape Studios, giving feedback to our second year animation students on their short film projects.

Max has many years of experience of animation production, having run animation divisions at Disney, DreamWorks and Warner Bros Feature Animation.

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios; one of the Five Pillars of the Escape Method.  Our second year animation students are currently working in groups on their short film projects, part of Module PR5001. 

Undergraduate Open Evening 9 April 2026

UG Open Evening Online via Zoom

Escape Studios is hosting an Online "Open Evening" on Thursday 9th April (online via Zoom).

An Open Day is an opportunity for potential students to find out how they can follow in the footsteps of our award-winning alumni and to find out more about our courses. To sign up, follow this link. 

The Art of Manga Storytelling 8 April 2026

The Art of Manga Storytelling with Elena Vitagliano 8 April

Join us for a free webinar 8 April 2026 at 6pm on The Art of Manga Storytelling with Elena Vitagliano.

Elena Vitagliano was the first European manga artist to be published on Shonen Jump Plus and creator of Miriam of the Skulls.  In this webinar Elena will explain how she developed one of her own manga stories from the initial idea through to the finished page.  She will also do a short live exercise during the session, followed by a Q&A.  To sign up follow this link. 

"Producing Animation" For the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of "Producing Animation" by Katherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi for the Animation Library at Escape Studios.   

Producing Animation is an important resource for any of our students interested in the production side of creating animation.

Producing animation is an increasingly important part of what we teach at Escape Studios, as our students collaborate on short film projects, entering festivals and winning awards.

Being a successful animator isn't just about being good at animation; you also need to understand how group projects work, and learn how to collaborate with other artists in a studio environment.

Many Escapees have gone on to fill production roles at animation, games and VFX studios in recent years. 

Mock Interviews at Escape Studios 23-24 April

Interview, by Mikkel Okholm and Mikkel Brons-Frandsen

On Thursday 23 April and Friday 24th April we're hosting a series of mock interviews for our animation students at Escape Studios.  

The purpose of mock interviews is to prepare our students for a real-life job interview.  What questions will you be asked? And how should you answer them? What should you say (and also not say)?  Interviews will be held with our industry partners both online over Teams and in person at Escape Studios. 

Freefolk "Futurefolk" Internship is Back for 2026

"Futurefolk" is back, and now accepting applications

VFX House Freefolk has announced that their paid internship scheme, "Futurefolk", is back, and is now accepting applications. 

Freefolk's talent team is now "ready to spot the skill, creativity and enthusiasm required to kick-start the careers of the next generation of VFX stars".  The deadline for submissions is midnight on Friday 17th April 2026.  You can apply via the Freefolk website here.

AnimBot Licenses for Escape Studios Animators

AnimBot for 3rd Yr UG Animators at Escape

Escape Studios has acquired a number of "animbot" licenses.  animbot is a plugin for Maya, formerly known as "aTools", described as a "utility belt" for animators; it helps to speed up the animation workflow with a number of clever tools. 

The animbot licenses are intended for our third year undergraduate animators, helping them to complete their graduation films swiftly and efficiently.

Meet Will Hughes - Talent Development Manager

Will Hughes (4th from right) with Escapees at BlueBolt VFX

Will Hughes is the Talent Development Manager at Escape Studios.  One of Will's key roles is to meet with our students, recent graduates and Escapees to help them to establish their careers in the animation, games and vfx industries. 

At a time of anxiety about opportunities in the creative industries, we asked Will to tell us about his work and what, exactly, he does to support our students and Escapees. 

"Prepare To Board" for the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of the storyboarding classic Prepare to Board! by Nancy Beiman  - the main book we recommend to our students studying the art of storyboarding here at Escape Studios.  

Prepare to Board! is an excellent book from a master animator and Disney Animation veteran.  We now have several copies in the Animation and VFX Library at Escape Studios. 

Nancy Beiman was a supervising animator at Disney (most notably on Hercules) and (like many 2D animators) she does storyboards and character design as well as animation.

Storyboarding is the vital starting point for all our students' short films; without a solid story few films will enjoy a successful festival career.  

Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards

Young Cartoonists Awards at the Cartoon Museum

Thursday March 26th was awards night for the Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards, the annual competition hosted by the Cartoon Museum and the British Cartoonists' Association. 

This year the YCOTY Awards were presented by cartoonist and BCA Chair Nicola Jennings.  The awards were sponsored by Léonie Wykes-Mahood in memory of her late husband, the cartoonist Ken Mahood. 

"Night Terrors" Wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran

"Night Terrors" wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran  

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Film Festival.  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

The Art Director was Ruby Ebbs, Yusuf Saddique was the 2D VFX Lead, and Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead.  This is its third festival award. 

Escape Studios 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus

Our brand-new Undergraduate Prospectus for 2027 is here.  Download your copy of interactive guide or grab a physical copy at our upcoming fairs and events. 

The Escape Studios Undergraduate Prospectus explores our courses, outlines careers in the creative industries, and shows the pathways into those careers. 

The Escape Studios Undergraduate Prospectus is free to download. You can find it here:  https://bit.ly/4ui1vw1

Escapee Giovanni Nuzzo Joins Outpost VFX

Giovanni Nuzzo joins Outpost VFX.

Many congratulations to Escapee Giovanni Nuzzo who has joined the London VFX house Outpost VFX.

Giovanni Nuzzo studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, and worked on two award-winning short films: "Cursed Bond" and "AFK".