Sebastian McKernan Joins Untold Studios

Sebastian McKernan Joins Untold Studios

Many congratulations to Escapee Sebastian McKernan who has joined Untold Studios, one of London's leading VFX houses. 

Sebastian McKernan has been working at Escape Studios as a Studio Assistant; prior to that he studied the Art of VFX, contributing to a number of award-winning short films including "Sea of Madness" on which he served as the 3D Lead, and also and "X-Terminate".

"An Evening With...." Studio AKA 12 May 2026

Philip Hunt and Studio AKA 12 May 2026  

All our currently enrolled students are invited to join us for our next "Evening With..." event on Tuesday 12th May at 5.30pm for an in-person meeting with animator, actor and director Philip Hunt, the creative director of the Emmy and BAFTA-winning Studio AKA.  

Studio AKA is one of London's most innovative animation studios, and one of our long-standing industry partners.   Philip Hunt will talk about the work of Studio AKA, the current state of UK animation and - as always - where the entry-level jobs and opportunities are for Escapees and recent graduates. 

Escapee Michael Shaw joins One of Us

Michael Shaw joins London VFX house One of Us 

Congratulations to Escapee Michael Shaw 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.

Michael Shaw was a post-graduate student who studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, with tutors Daniel Shutt and Klaudija Cermak.  

Robert Hagan Compositor at Framestore

Robert Hagan joins Framestore as a compositor

Many congratulations to Escapee Robert Hagan who has joined Framestore as a compositor. 

Robert Hagan was a post-graduate student at Escape Studios,. studying the Art of Visual Effects, specialising in 2D Compositing in Nuke. Framestore is one of the UK's leading visual effects houses.  

Feedback with Hammer Creative on Friday 17 April

Hammer Creative

We're delighted to welcome games industry agency Hammer Creative who are joining us tomorrow Friday April 17th to offer feedback to our 3rd year animation students on their graduation projects. 

Our 3rd year animation students are currently collaborating with games students to deliver a joint project, including a cinematics reel. 

ILM's "Jedi Academy" Now Open For Applications

Industrial Light & Magic's Jedi Academy is now open

Industrial Light & Magic's Jedi Academy, a six month paid internship at ILM, is now open for applications.

You can apply here, and the deadline is May 4th 2026.  We highly recommend that our students and Escapees apply. 

Escape Studios Toonboom Harmony ATC 2026

Escape Studios ATC for Toonboom Harmony

We're delighted to announce that Escape Studios has been re-confirmed as an ATC (Authorised Training Centre) for Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

2D Animation has been experiencing a revival, with many 2D productions being animated in the UK. 

In particular, Blue Zoo, Aardman and Passion Pictures (and others) have chosen Toonboom Harmony as their 2D animation platform.

Cutting an Animation Reel For Games

Spidey Animation by Giorgos Konstantinos

What should go into a games animation reel? An animation reel for the games industry is essentially a stunt reel - it should include a variety of physical actions - games animators need to be very proficient in body mechanics.  

Games animators are not (for the most part) actors, rather they are "stunt co-ordinators".  It takes a while to break into the games industry so you need to be uploading your work to games sites and showing your progress over time; recruiters and industry folks will watch your progress and keep an eye on you.

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

Feedback with Jamie Floodgate from Blue Zoo 21 May

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.

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.