3D Animation Evening Class Starts 30 October

Sherlock Gnomes

On Tuesday 30th October we're launching a new part-time animation evening class.

Teaching the class is our newest animation tutor, MPC animator Michelle From, a graduate of the Animation Workshop in Denmark, whose credits include Sherlock Gnomes, a just-released animated feature film made right here in London. 

Michelle was also the lead animator on her graduation film ‘Tsunami’, which was included in the official Cinéfondation selection at Festival de Cannes.

3D Animation is a part-time evening class, running for 8 weeks from 7-10 pm at our High Holborn campus. The class will run two nights a week, Mondays and Wednesdays.

Acting for Animators Starts 18 February 2019

Sarah Perry of Shapes in Motion returns to Escape Studios to teach an 8 week evening class "Acting for Animators", starting on Monday 18th February 2019

Sarah is the "go-to" person to teach acting skills to animators, and we're delighted to be able to host her class at Escape Studios.

Student Showcase - Planet Middle Earth

Many congratulations to our second year animators on their excellent short film "Planet Middle Earth". Planet Middle Earth is a documentary short film completed by undergraduate animation students at Escape Studios, working alongside industry mentors from Framestore, who generously gave their time to make regular visits to our High Holborn Campus and keep us on track.

Character Creation Returns on 3 June 2019

We're delighted to announce a new 18 week evening class in Character Creation, which is returning to Escape Studios on Monday 3 June 2019.

This unique evening course will teach students how to create their own character designs and bring them to life. Over 18 weeks you will design, model, texture, rig and animate your own character.

The course is taught by Philip Meredith, veteran of Playstation's Overlord Minions and the Silent Hill franchise from Climax Studios.

Student Showcase - The Last of London

Once again, the games students at Escape Studios have impressed us all with the quality of their digital work. The video above is titled "The Last of London", showcasing work done by our masters' students, studying Games Design at Escape Studios as a post-graduate degree. The brief for the Last of London was to create a game environment in the style of "The Last of Us".  Remember that it's not just the case that all the elements shown above have to be beautifully modelled and textured, they must also be very light, so as to permit real-time rendering in the game engine.

Storyboarding Returns on 20 March 2019

Digby Dragon storyboard using PanelForge

Storyboarding is back. Our next evening class in storyboarding starts at our central London campus at 190 High Holborn on wednesday 20th March 2019.

This 8 week evening class is led by Francesca "Chess" Adams,  a story board artist at Blue Zoo, one of London's leading animation houses.

Chess brings her experience of working on shows like Digby Dragon and The Go Jetters, reflecting the huge increase in animated content being created right here in London in recent years, and the growing trend towards digital storyboarding tools such as Panel Forge.

Kevin Hudson Presents "Weeds" July 2nd

"Weeds" by Kevin Hudson

Kevin Hudson, asset artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios, is visiting Escape Studios on July 2nd at 4.30pm to talk about his multi-award-winning short film "Weeds".   

“Weeds” is the story of a dandelion, rooted on the wrong side of the driveway in a barren yard surrounded by dry dirt and dead grass.

Animation Taster Day Saturday 30 June

Learn to animate a bird in flight in just one day

We're running an Animation Taster Day here at Escape Studios on Saturday 30th June.

Taster Days are a great chance to learn about character and creature animation, and find out what an animator's job is all about.

You will learn how to use Autodesk Maya and get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques, all for just £25.

By the end of the day you'll have your own piece of creature animation - a bird in flight - uploaded to your YouTube channel.  No prior knowledge of Maya - or any software - is required.  So, how do you sign up?

Meet Royce Wesley from Pixar on 28 June

Royce Wesley

Enter our competition and win a chance to meet Royce Wesley from Pixar. Royce is flying in from LA to mentor our animation students and give feedback on their work, and he's giving an animation masterclass at Escape Studios on Thursday 28 June.

Royce has worked on some of Pixar’s biggest hits including Toy Story 3, Brave, Cars 3, Coco, and - most recently - Incredibles 2.

To mark the occasion, we’ve organised a special evening where Royce will share his experiences working on some of Pixar’s latest animation films - and his tips on how to become a successful animator. We’re giving away 20 free tickets to the event.

Maria Robertson Animation Intern at The Mill

The Mill

Many congratulations to 2nd year animator Maria Robertson, who has just started a summer internship animating at London VFX and animation powerhouse The Mill on Monday 18th June.

Maria is interning at the Mill for 12 weeks over the summer, working on live client briefs and honing her skills as an animator.

Character Design Returns on 29 October

Character Designs by Andrea Torrejon

Our popular Character Design Evening Class is returning to Escape Studios on Monday 29th October 2018.

Character Design is an 8 week evening class, running until 17th December, taught by Andrea Torrejon, veteran of Angry Birds, and in-house designer at one of London's leading boutique animation houses, Passion Pictures.

Like all of our courses, this class is taught by a working industry professional; Andrea will guide students through the principles of character design, building up to a live industry brief.

Introducing "Working With Dinosaurs"

Many congratulations to our second year animators on their short film "Working with Dinosaurs". Working with Dinosaurs is a mockumentary short film completed by our second year undergraduate animation students at Escape Studios, working alongside industry mentors from Framestore animation studio.  Directed by Daniel Dutton and Harry Pearson, Produced by Velvet Brandon, Storyboards and Art Direction by Sarah Andrews, Effects Animation by Adam Scrivener, CG supervision by Piotr Noworyta. Well done to our students on their excellent work, and many thanks to Framestore for their patience and support.

Rigging in Maya is Back on 7 Jan 2019

Michael Davies

We're delighted to welcome back 3D Artist and rigging specialist Michael Davies to teach a new evening class in rigging in Maya, starting Monday 7th January 2019.

Michael has worked on many VFX blockbusters such as Batman vs Superman, Doctor Strange and Thor Ragnarok.

He also rigged Smaug (The Hobbit) and The Minions for Illumination-McGuff.

Concept Art Returns on 5 September

Art by Jonathan McFall

Concept Art is returning to Escape Studios on Wednesday 5th September 2018, taught by industry veteran Jonathan McFall.

Concept Art is a part-time evening class, designed to fit around jobs and families, and is taught one night a week, running for eight weeks from Wednesday 5th September.

Concept Art aims to introduce students to the many techniques and skills that go up to make a well-rounded concept artist, including 3d and 2d software.

Producing Animation is Back on 16 October

Learn from the producer of Ultramarines

Producing Animation is returning to Escape Studios on 16th October 2018. Our 8 week evening class will take place at our 190 High Holborn campus.

This unique class is taught by Ultramarines producer Bob Thompson, an experienced industry veteran with a long and successful track record of producing animated feature films, commercials and VFX projects.

The course is designed to prepare producers to the challenges of pitches, budgets, spreadsheets and all the commercial knowledge that underpins our industry. And, of course, the creative side of the business - because every blockbuster project starts with a great idea.

So, what can students expect?

Animal & Creature Animation at Annecy

Annecy, France

Escape Studios will be heading over to the Annecy Animation Festival next week, checking out the latest developments in our industry at what has become the world's biggest animation festival.

I'll be on a panel tomorrow, Tuesday 12th June, talking about how to animate non-human characters, sitting alongside my fellow panelists Alonso Martinez from Pixar, Joeri Christiaen from Thuristar, and independent animator Nicolas Deveaux.

An Evening With Royce Wesley on 28 June

Incredibles 2 - coming soon

We're excited to host Pixar animator Royce Wesley, fresh from working on Incredibles 2, as part of our next "Evening With..." series of events at Escape Studios.

Royce Wesley is a skilled animator who will be visiting London in June, when he will be mentoring our student animators.

Our "Evening With..." events are an opportunity for our graduates, students and soon-to-be-graduates to meet working professionals in person, listen to their experiences, and find out more about how the industry actually works.

MA 3D Animation Starts 1st October

Get your MA at Escape Studios

Our new MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation has now been formally validated and approved by the University of Kent.

The course will be taught at our mid-town campus in central London, and we look forward to welcoming our first cohort of students on 1st October 2018.

If you're looking for an animation course that teaches you how to animate, and leads to a formal qualification in the field, this could be the right choice for you. 

Free Rigging Tutorial from Michael Davies

Escape Studios' rigging expert Michael Davies has recorded this free tutorial; an introduction to rigging human and humanoid characters.  Mike's impressive film credits include The Hobbit, where he rigged Smaug, and also Despicable Me, where he rigged The Minions.  Mike gets great reviews from our students for his well-paced methodical style of delivery, breaking down complex processes into simple parts in a clear and transparent way. To find out more about Mike's evening class at Escape in rigging, follow this link. And to find out about his summer class in character creation, click here.

Last Call for Storyboarding on June 6th

Chess Adams boards on Digby Dragon at Blue Zoo

Storyboarding is back...our next evening class in storyboarding starts at our Shepherd's Bush campus tomorrow, wednesday 6th June, and we still have one or two seats left.

This 8 week evening class is led by the very talented Francesca "Chess" Adams,  a story board artist at Blue Zoo, one of London's leading animation houses.

Chess brings her experience of working on shows like Digby Dragon and The Go Jetters, reflecting the huge increase in animated content being created right here in London in recent years. If you'd like to sign up, there is still time to book a seat.

The Last of London

Check out the video walk-through above of "The Last of London", excellent work completed by our second year undergraduate games students. This 12 week group project was part of a studio collaboration module, designed to replicate (as far as possible) the realities of working at a games company on a live brief. The brief was to create a game environment based in London, and styled as if it was part of Naughty Dog's Last of Us universe. You can see more about the project here.