Calling All Escapees: Rookies Deadline 22 June 2026

The Rookie Awards 2026

This year at our annual summer Expo our students presented some of the best work ever created at Escape Studios. 

The next step for our students, especially those graduating this summer, is to enter The Rookies, the international competition for young creatives; part contest and part showcase for rising talent - all our students are strongly encouraged to enter. 

Entry for the 2026 The Rookies closes on 22 June 2026. 

Introducing "Scars"

 

Introducing "Scars", the latest short film from Escape Studios.  Scars tells the story of an elderly veteran suffering from a flashback to the Great War.  The film was a collaboration between our graduating class of students studying the Art of Games, The Art of Animation and Character Creation - working together across disciplines to create a group project.  Scars was directed by Charlie O'Sullivan, edited by Sam Blackburn and produced by Alex Sparks. Theo Craig was the Editor and Art Director. 

Escapee Vincenzo Meola Joins FreeFolk VFX

Escapee Vincenzo Meola joins FreeFolk VFX

Many congratulations to Escapee Vincenzo Meola who has joined FreeFolk VFX.

Vincenzo Meola studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in 2D Compositing. 

Why Your Short Film Needs a Title at The Start

Put your title at the front of your film

Here at Escape Studios we make a lot of short films, many of which go on to win festival awards.  Yet one simple element is surprisingly often missing: an opening title.  

While some experimental pieces intentionally dive straight into the action, most short films benefit from displaying their title right at the beginning.  Here’s why your title should be at the start of your film. 

Introducing "Project Juliet"

Introducing "Project Juliet", the latest short film from our graduating class of students at Escape Studios. In "Project Juliet", an unfortunate lab tester is forced to undergo a dangerous trial, with horrifying consequences.  The short film was created by "Team Psychosis" at Escape Studios and was inspired by The Outlast Trials, a survival game created by Montreal-based games company Red Barrels.  The cinematic was a collaboration between our graduating class of students studying the Art of Video Games, The Art of Animation and also Character Creation - working together to create a team project. 

Blue Zoo's Jamie Floodgate Visits Escape Studios

Escapee Jamie Floodgate (right) lead animator at Blue Zoo

On Thursday 21st May we welcomed Escapee Jamie Floodgate, now a lead animator at Blue Zoo animation, to give feedback to our second year animation students. 

Jamie Floodgate gave up his time to review all twelve of the Year Two Animation Studio Projects.  

Escape Studios' tutor Kevin Richards reports on a great day of industry feedback. 

"Symphony of The Morning Rush" Wins Best Anim

Symphony of The Morning Rush wins Best Anim in Berlin

Congratulations to the makers of "Symphony of The Morning Rush", which has won "Best Super Short Animation" at the Berlin Flash Film Festival.  

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. 

Short Course & Post-Graduate Open Evening 18 June

18 June at 6pm Short Course & Post-Graduate Open Evening

Join us on Thursday 18 June 2026 at 6pm both in-person and online (via Zoom) for our next Short Course and Post-Graduate Open Evening at Escape Studios, hosted both on campus and online at Zoom. 

The event offers prospective students a chance to find out what it's like to study with us.  Meet our tutors, find out about our courses, and have your questions answered. To see more events at Escape Studios, follow this link.

"Shapla" Wins "Best Animation" at Tamizhagam Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Shapla", which was has won "Best Animated Short Film" at the Tamizhagam Film Festival. 

"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. Kam Penderly was the Lead Compositor.  

Shapla tells the story of Priya, a young woman who attempts to bring back her partner, Shapla, with the use of her power over water. Set in Bangladesh, the film explores themes of sustainability and environmentalism. 

Shapla has won many festival awards. 

Undergraduate Open Evening Wed 24th June 2026

Escape Studios is hosting a new Undergraduate Open Evening on Wednesday 24th June 2026 from 5pm to 6.30pm UK time. 

Escape Studios' Open Days and Open Evenings are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees, and also a chance to talk about the state of the creative industries in the UK. 

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.

The Open Evening on Wednesday 24th June 2026 at 5pm to 6.30pm will be led by me, Alex Williams. I've been away from Escape Studios for the past year, on industry secondment at DNEG, but now back at Escape Studios full time.   

Kevin Richards Joins "Bring Your Own Animation"

Kevin Richards (on right) joins Bring Your Own Animation

Escape Studios' animation tutor Kevin Richards has become a mentor at Bring Your Own Animation, helping to review animation portfolios at the monthly London animation meetup.

BYOA is a monthly animation event taking place upstairs in a London pub - if you're a current student or a recent Escapee who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive (best not to rely on the WiFi) and get feedback from professional animators - including Kevin.  

Escapee Priya Shah: Women in Animation 30 June

Join us on Tuesday 30 June at 1.30pm for a talk by Escapee Priya Shah on "Animating Your Ambition - Women in Digital Arts". This is an online event via Zoom. 

Priya Shah studied at Escape Studios on our integrated masters' degree in Computer Animation.  

After graduation, Priya  worked as a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios, helping to train the next generation of artists.  Priya Shah has worked for Disney, Blue Zoo and Locksmith Animation. 

While at Escape Studios, Priya won many festival awards for her work on Our Ocean, as well as many other successful short films, including Animal Lover, Box Bots and Nefertiti. 

Escapee Leon Lau joins Rekindled Studios

Leon Lau joins Rekindled Studios

Many congratulations to Escapee Leon Lau who has started work as an animator at Rekindled Studios,  a UK-based video games company.  

Leon Lau studied the Art of 3D Animation at Escape Studios, and worked on a number of award-winning short films, including Mob Boss Barkino (2025) (which he directed), Countdown (2024) and Checkmate (2024). Leon Lau has won many festival awards. 

"Mob Boss Barkino" Wins "Best Animated Short"

"Mob Boss Barkino" wins Best Animated Short Film

Congratulations to the makers of "Mob Boss Barkino", which has won Best Animated Short Film at the Makizhmithran Film Awards.

Mob Boss Barkino was written and directed by Leon Lau, and produced by Angharad Mathias.  The lead animator was Maisy Rogers, and the Editor was Tobi Ajibola.  Industry feedback was generously provided by Charlie Tetlow and Felipe De Lanteuil from Industrial Light & Magic.  

This is the latest of many awards. 

Open Toonz Free Open Source 2D Animation Software

OpenToonz Software

2D animation can be done in a variety of different software packages.  One interesting option is the "OpenToonz" Software, free software for the production of 2D animation.

Based on the software "Toonz", developed by Digital Video S.p.A. in Italy,  OpenToonz has been customized by Studio Ghibli, and used for the creation of its films for many years.  Dwango has launched the OpenToonz project in cooperation with Digital Video and Studio Ghibli. 

Escapee Samuel Baker Joins Sports Interactive

Escapee Samuel Baker has joined Sports Interactive

Many congratulations to Escapee Samuel Baker has joined Sports Interactive as a digital artist.  Samuel Baker took our MA in 3D Animation, learning the art and craft of animation with tutor Lee Caller.

Sports Interactive is a games studio founded in 1994, creating immersive gaming worlds "that let players live and breathe their passions". 

Escapee James Marland Joins Epic Games

James Marland joins Epic Games

Many congratulations to Escapee James Marland who has joined Epic Games as a Tech Art Intern.  

James Marland will graduate this summer with a BSc (Hons) in Technical Art for Games and VFX.  The course focuses on collaboration with other students in large-scale projects and developing industry standard practices and skills. 

Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive

Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive

At Hertfordshire University's annual Expo on Thursday 21 May, game designers Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive talked about their careers at the video games company, producing games such as the First Person Shooter "Ready or Not".  

One of the key messages of Mark and Joel's talk was the importance of optimising game assets for real-life game play, ensuring that the user experience is successful even on sub-optimal platforms. 

Neil Boyle Introduces "Kensuke's Kingdom"

Neil Boyle introduces "Kensuke's Kingdom" 

Animator and director Neil Boyle joined us on Tuesday 19th May at Escape Studios to talk about his BAFTA-nominated 2D animated feature film "Kensuke's Kingdom" released in 2023. 

Neil Boyle talked about the making of Kensuke's Kingdom, and also discussed the state of 2D animation in the UK.  Making independent animated feature films isn't easy, but with persistence and effort it can be done. 

Escape Studios Ranked in Top 5 in UK For Animation

#5 for Animation in the UK

The 2026 Animation Career Review International School Rankings are in.

This year Animation Career Review have ranked us #5 for Animation in the UK,  #12 for Animation in Europe and #27 for Animation Internationally. 

Congratulations to all our students on their remarkable work this past year.