Dominika Brodowska Story Artist at Cloth Cat

Dominika Brodowska

Many congratulations to Escapee Dominika Brodowska who has just landed a job as a storyboard artist with Cloth Cat animation in Cardiff.

Dominika took our three month intensive short course in animation here at Escape Studios, learning Maya and mastering the animation pipeline.

We asked her to talk about her new job at Cloth Cat, and what advice she can offer other Escapees looking to land their first job in the animation industry.


How has your experience at Escape been?
The Escape Studios 3D Animation Short Course has truly been an "Escape from Reality" for me.

The Escape Studios course has kept me going creatively. My decision to sign up for the 3D animation course was the best one I have made in a long time. 

I have flipped my life upside down and I decided to build it again starting from learning 3D animation - and it worked! I organised my day and managed to learn new skills. Studying at Escape has been a life-changing experience. The 3D Animation Short Course at Escape Studios has been a substantial boost to my skillset and a boost to my career as an animation professional.

How has Escape Studios helped your develop your skills?
The methodical approach taught by animation tutor Alex Williams, the organised method of creating animation, starting with thorough analysis, thumbnails, acting it out, carrying on to setting up the scene, CG animation process all the way through to render and export, upload and share the work - all that has in a compelling and profound way allowed me to organise and order my animation process. The methodical approach taught on the course combined with my 2D background helped me to re-imagine my artwork and open new possibilities of combining the 2D and 3D mediums.

How did you get the job at Cloth Cat?
The Escape Studios Course has also helped me gain more confidence in finding employment. After a little bit of uncertainty in my own skills I have found myself in a very kind and talented CG artists community which inspired me to open myself up for more opportunities. I have gathered all my strength and attended a lot of networking events, applied for a variety of jobs inside and outside of London, and refreshed my industry contacts. This has now led me to getting a position as a storyboard artist with Cloth Cat.

Storyboard Test
Cloth Cat gave me a storyboard test to complete, on which I had to spend extra time alongside the Escape course to make the deadline. Highly motivated, and using a professional, methodical approach taught on the course, I studied the show characters, read the script multiple times, figured out the staging for each scene, broken down the script into thumbnails, roughed out all the shots and submitted my entry.

What advice would you give to other Escapees looking to break into the animation industry?
Being among so many talented animators in any studio can make you feel anxious about your skills as a young artist - but in the industry world you have to learn to overcome that, know what your end goal is, never give up on your dream and push forward! Look for opportunities and hear your own voice even when others tell you otherwise.

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our new BA/MArt, now recruiting for September 2017, follow this link.   To apply, visit the official page here.