Cintiq: New Hardware for Our 2D Animators

Wacom Cintiq tablets

Escape Studios has recently acquired new Wacom Cintiq tablets for our 2D animation students, enabling them to draw directly onto the screen rather than onto a tablet. 

The new Wacom Cintiq drawing pads are available to our 2D animation students in the main 2D animation studio, PalletTown, on the 11th floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Wacom Cintiq tablets enable our students to draw directly onto the screen, as is now standard practice across the industry.  

Escapee Federico Guzzardo Joins ILM

Federico Guzzardo joins Industrial Light & Magic

Many congratulations to Escapee Federico Guzzardo who has joined Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) as a Senior Generalist (Environments).  

Federico Guzzardo studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in 3D VFX.

Industrial Light & Magic is a global visual effects house, setting the standard for VFX internationally and responsible for multiple blockbuster movies.

Industry Feedback with George Caton-Coult 30 April

George Caton-Coult

Escape Studios is delighted to welcome back Love Love Films Studio Manager George Caton-Coult to review our second-year animation students' film projects on 30 April 2026.

George Caton-Coult is the Studio Manager at Love Love Films, responsible for the TV hit "Pop Paper City"  developed in partnership with Aardman Animation.  

Many Escapees worked on and helped to contribute to the success of "Pop Paper City". 

Escapee Laraib Shaikh Joins Milk FX

Escapee Laraib Shaikh Studio Assistant at Milk FX

Many congratulations to Escapee Laraib Shaikh who has joined London VFX house Milk FX as a Studio Assistant.

Laraib Shaikh studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in roto/prep and 2D compositing in Nuke. 

Escape Studios' Motion Graphics Showcase

We're celebrating some of the latest motion graphics work completed at Escape Studios.  Above is the short film "Mochi World" - a Motion Graphics group project created by our MA MoGraph students at Escape Studios.  This was a collaborative studio project - with the contributions of Ayesha Said, Joel Lang, Kim Chi Nguyen, Oliver Auld, Sadaf Abd Ar-Rauf and Omar Ramadan.  "Mochi World" was supervised by Escape Studios' Motion Graphics tutor Daniel Amor.  Scroll down to see more excellent work completed by individual artists from our graduating class of MA students.

Introducing "Spark" by Nimisha Manjunathan

Introducing "Spark", a new animated short created at Escape Studios by MA animation student Nimisha Manjunathan.  "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; the short film is currently being entered into animation film festivals. 

Motion Graphics Evening Class Starts 24 March 2026

Motion Graphics Evening Class returns on 20 Jan 2026

Our Motion Graphics 12 Week Evening Class returns on 24 March 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.

"Sea Of Madness" wins "Best Short" in Florence

Sea Of Madness wins "Best Super Short Film" in Florence 

Congratulations to the makers of Sea Of Madness, which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the Florence Film Awards. 

Sea Of Madness was directed by Maria Freitas  and produced by Ivy Wang.  

Jake Hines was the editor and 2D Lead, and Sebastian McKernan was the 3D Lead.  Ian Chavez Zarate stars as The Pirate.   This is the latest of many festival awards.

Film Soc is Back: "Glorious Failures" 12 March

Film Soc is back

Escape Studios' Film Society is back. Film Soc has unveiled a new line up of films starting tomorrow Thursday 12th March and continuing every Thursday until the 23rd of April.  

Escape Studios' Film Society is a student society that screens films that will inspire students for their future projects.  

The "Glorious Failures" season is a season of films dedicated to telling the stories of great artists who failed to gain the recognition they deserved. 

"Unknown" Wins "Best Animation" in Makizhmithran

Congratulations to Escape Studios' animation student Alessia Gori whose short film "Unknown" has won the award for "Best Animated Short Film" at the Makizhmithran Film Festival. 

Alessia Gori is studying for her master's degree in the Art of 3D Animation at Escape Studios.  

This is Alessia Gori's first film, and her first film award. 

"Void" Wins Best Short Award in NYC

"Void" wins Best Super Short Film in NYC

Congratulations to the makers of "Void", which has won Best Super Short Film at the New York Movie Awards.

Void is a short films made by our third year undergraduate animation students at Escape Studios.  

"Void" was directed by Kaya Akinci, edited and produced by Luis Yarroll. This is the latest of many festival awards.

MoGraph MA Returns September 2026

Master's Degree in Motion Graphics Returns 23 Feb 2026

Our new Short Course and Master's Degree in Motion Graphics returns on 14 September 2026.

Motion Graphics is a key part of the animation industry, an expanding area of jobs and creativity.

We have been teaching Motion Graphics  at Escape Studios for many years - now for the first time we can offer a fully accredited masters-level post-graduate course.

"Theseus" Wins "Best Trailer" at VIZ Film Fest

Theseus & The Minotaur wins "Best Trailer" at VIZ Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short Theseus and The Minotaur which has won "Best Trailer" at the VIZ Film Festival.

Theseus and The Minotaur tells the story of the Greek hero's entry into the Labyrinth, and was directed by Mitchell Wright and produced by Ayesha-Ria Jina. The 3D lead was Xavier Barker, and the 2D Lead was Ethan Mainwaring-Taylor.  Industry feedback was provided by Industrial Light & Magic.  

This the latest of many festival awards. 

Evening Class in Storyboarding: 24 March 2026

Our Evening Class in

Giles & Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament - Storyboards

Storyboarding returns on 24 March 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.

Vine FX and "The Challenges of Alternate Worlds"

Simon Carr  and Jessica Lennox from Vine FX

At last week's EscapeVerse Live Festival, Vine FX's Simon Carr (Creative Director) and Jessica Lennox (CG Lead) presented "The Challenges of Visible vs Fantasy FX". 

As always, creative projects begin with a conversation with the client.  What does the client want, and how can a VFX house like Vine FX serve their vision?  

Anand Sembhi Animator at King Bee Animation

Anand Sembhi joins King Bee Animation 

Many congratulations to Escapee Anand Sembhi - who has joined King Bee Animation as an animator.

Anand Sembhi studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios.  

While at Escape Studios, Anand Sembhi contributed to a number of award-wnning short films, including Freefall, Spitfire, Tech Troubles and Good Soup. 

Jake Lee: Short Films, Awards & Festival Success

At last week's EscapeVerse Live event, Jake Lee explained how he achieved short film festival success with his short film "Am I Dreaming?".

Jake explained the need to build a team, in this case a producer, composer, singer and songwriter. Film-makers rarely work alone - you need to build a team of enthusiastic partners to collaborate and deliver the vision.

HaZ Dulull: "How to Set Up and Run an Indie Studio"

HaZ Dulull "How to Set Up and Run an Indie Studio"

At last week's EscapeVerse Live event, HaZ Dulull - founder and director at "Beyond The Pixels" - explained "How to Set Up and Run an Indie Studio with Your First Game".  

HaZ's journey into the games industry has been one of an independent entrepreneur, setting up his own company, his first game "AstroBurn" and figuring out the nuts and bolts of running a business. 

"Immersive Media & Live Events" at EscapeVerse Live

Escape Studios' tutor Dan Shutt hosted a panel on Wednesday on "Immersive Media and Live Events" at EscapeVerse Live.  Dan Shutt teaches VFX at Escape Studios and creates live installations at venues such Glastonbury and, in 2022, a live installation at the Science Museum.  

The panel explored the challenges and pitfalls of curating live events, creating imagery and ensuring that all the elements work together on the night.  They also discussed the all-important question of how students and graduates can break into the business. 

Get Ready For The Rookies - 2026

The Rookie Awards 2026

Time to get ready for The Rookies 2026.  The Rookies is an international competition for young creatives; part contest and part showcase for rising talent - all our students are strongly encouraged to enter. 

For our students and Escapees, showcasing your work in a competitive, professional environment is a crucial step toward launching a successful career.  

It helps you to build confidence in your work, and also serves as an online portfolio.   Entry for the 2026 The Rookies opens on 7 April 2026 and closes at the end of June.