Eight New Year's Resolutions for Animators

Bong! Happy 2019!

What should an animator's new year's resolutions be? The animation business continues to expand, bringing jobs and opportunities, but it's a competitive world, and good animators need to be smart to stay on top of their game.

So, apart from going on a post-Christmas diet,  what are some simple ways to maintain your edge in 2019?

Toonboom Harmony Licenses at Escape Studios

We're in the processing of installing 13 new licenses in Toonboom Harmony for our new evening class in 2D Animation, which kicks off on 8 January.

Watching the amazing animation done by Ken Duncan's animation studio on Mary Poppins Returns underlines just how much 2D animation skills are still in demand.

It was also clear at last summer's Annecy animation festival in France that a big 2D animation revival is in progress. Here in London, Blue Zoo animation is expanding into 2D work and aggressively recruiting fresh animation talent. So, there are plenty of opportunities for 2D animators - as long as they are properly trained in the right software, of course.

Producing For VFX Returns on 5 Feb 2019

Learn from the producer of Ultramarines

Producing for visual effects is returning to Escape Studios on 5th February. This six week intensive class, supported by Access VFX, ScreenSkills and the BFI, will take place at our 190 High Holborn campus.

The course will prepare VFX producers for 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.

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

So, what can our students expect?

UCAS Deadline - January 15th 2019

UCAS - time to apply

Thinking of applying to Escape Studios to study the Art of 3D Animation, Games or Visual effects?  The UCAS deadline of January 15th is fast approaching.  We are welcoming applications for the fourth intake of our new integrated BA/MArt in Animation, Games and VFX - launched in September 2016.

One of the most common questions I get asked by prospective students is this: "should I wait to apply until I have finished my portfolio?" The answer is a definite "no".  Get your application in early, and worry about your portfolio later. You'll have plenty of time before attending one of our Creative Workshops to pull your portfolio together.

What is APEL?

APEL: route to post-graduate study

What is APEL? APEL stands for "Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning", and is the formal recognition of prior learning by UK universities.

Why is it important? Because APEL is the mechanism by which students who do not have an undergraduate degree can gain entry onto a masters' level course, such as our master's programme in 3D animation.

For example, an animator with ten years' experience in the industry might not realise they can apply for our MA course in animation, because they need a BA first.  In fact, this would not necessarily be true.

We can consider a student's body of work, and their professional career, as a route into post-graduate study, permitting them to meet the necessary qualifications for entry onto a masters' programme.

Great Reference at Greenscreenanimals.com

Greenscreen animals - great reference for animators

Greenscreenanimals.com is an excellent online resource that does what it says on the tin.

Greenscreenanimals is a website dedicated to live action clips of animals, all filmed against a green screen background.

For animators, this provides us with super-useful reference for studying animal locomotion; reference which can be easily imported into Maya and used as the basis for an animal or creature performance.

Storyboard Tips by Jim Mortensen at Gumroad

storyboard tips and tricks by Jim Mortensen

We're loving these free Storyboard Tips, hosted at at Gumroad, created by DreamWorks storyboard artist and director Jim Mortensen.

It's a great introduction to the art and craft of storyboarding, highlighting some of the common pitfalls experienced by junior board artists.

Mit Circs and Extensions at Escape Studios

What happens if a student fails to meet an academic deadline at Escape Studios? Or, if a student hasn't yet missed a deadline, but thinks they might miss it? There are two online forms our students need to know about.

The first form is the Extenuating Circumstances form, which applies when a student - through no fault of their own - fails to meet an academic deadline. The second is the Deadline Extension Form, which applies when a student needs more time to complete a project - but has not yet missed the deadline. 

Escape Studios Animators Visit Cinesite

Animation short course students with tutor Simone Giampaolo

Our Short Course Animation Students are visiting Cinesite today, to get feedback from one of London's leading animation and VFX houses.

Cinesite Head of animation Eamonn Butler will be personally reviewing our students' work, giving them feedback and notes.

The journey of our short course animators is not over. Their first cut of their demo reels will be just that - a first cut, and they will continue to polish and perfect their work as they apply for work in the industry.

Stuart Sumida Explains the "Five Most Important Anatomical Rules for Animators"

Stuart Sumida

Palaeontologist Stuart Sumida was at Escape Studios last night, demonstrating to our students "The Five Most Important Anatomical Rules for Animators".

Stuart is a world expert on animal anatomy and creature locomotion, widely consulted for his technical expertise on animated feature films like “Spirit”- Stallion of the Cimarron”, "Beauty and the Beast" “Lion King”, "Zootopia" and and “How to Train Your Dragon”.

Download Unreal Engine Paragon Assets Free

Paragon from Epic Games

Epic Games and Unreal Engine have released their "Paragon" online assets - free. Any student at Escape Studios who wants to use these photo-real characters in their projects can use "$12 million worth of assets" for no charge.

The online game Paragon was cancelled on March 19th 2018. Developer Epic Games (owners of Unreal Engine) announced that they would release all $12,000,000 worth of game assets for free use by anyone working with the Unreal Engine 4, via the Unreal Engine Marketplace.

The first wave of released content included 20 characters, with their respective skins, animations, VFX and dialogue, along with over 1,500 environment components.  To find the Paragon assets online, follow this link.

Jakob Parsons to teach sound design Jan 2019

Jakob Parsons

We're welcoming back sound specialist Jakob Parsons to teach sound design to our 2nd year undergraduate animators early in January 2019.

Sound design is an important but often neglected part of the film-making process. After all, 50% of the experience of enjoying a film is done with our ears, and yet when teaching film-making we tend to focus most of our attention on what we see with our eyes, often neglecting the importance of sound.

Escape Studios December 2018 Demo Reel

Check out our Escape Studios December 2018 Animation Demo Reel above. It's only a month since we published our last animation reel, but there is so much great animation being done at Escape Studios right now that we thought it was time to cut a new reel. The work above includes animation done by our short course and undergraduate students in their first and second year of studies. What about the third year undergraduates, and the masters' degree students, I hear you ask? Well, we've not forgotten them; they are doing some amazing work right now, but you'll have to wait until early next year to see that.

VFX Project Industry Review Wed 12 December

Our third year animation and VFX students are in the process of putting the finishing touches to their first VFX group project.

They are getting some industry feedback on Wed 12 December at 2.30pm, with industry guests to come and give critique - and also give credit - where it's due.

Chan Sagoo Animator on Lion King

Lion King (2019)

Many congratulations to Escapee Chan Sagoo who recently landed a job working at MPC on The Lion King as a junior animator.

After leaving Escape Studios, Chan graduating from the Technicolour Academy, and then went on to become a junior animators at MPC in London, following completion of the animation short course at Escape Studios earlier this year.

Lion King is, of course, the much-anticipated photo-realistic remake of Disney's original traditionally animated 1994 film.

What's in the 3rd Year at Escape Studios?

3rd year at Escape Studios - what's inside?

What's in the 3rd Year of Undergraduate Studies at Escape Studios? The third year at Escape is where our animation students take everything they have learned in their first two years of undergraduate study, and apply it to the business of creating professional-quality work.

The 3rd year (Level 6) is where students develop a portfolio of work that will enable them to start their careers in industry, and also gain enough experience on group projects to work effectively in teams, to tight deadlines.

Spiderman Art Competition at Escape Studios

Spiderman is coming to our screens shortly, and to celebrate the new movie we're hosting a Spiderverse Competition at Escape Studios.

The competition is open to all our students, and the brief is to create an original piece of art featuring characters from the Spiderman universe.

We're giving away prizes for the winner, and the runners-up.

Stuart Sumida to Escape Wed 12th December

We're delighted to host another "Afternoon With..." event at Escape Studios, this time with paleontologist and animal locomotion expert Stuart Sumida, on Wednesday 12th December at 4.30pm.

Stuart occupies a rare cross-over space between science and entertainment, having advised countless Hollywood studios on the development of movies such as "the Lion King" and Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron".

Gravity Sketch - Designing in a VR Environment

Gravity Sketch - 3D VR Design tools

At this year's BlueGFX Expo last week, one of the most interesting demonstrations was Gravity Sketch - a new software tool for designing assets in a 3D VR Environment.

The advantage of Gravity Sketch is speed; like its rival TiltBrush it allows designers to create complex sophisticated assets very fast, in an intuitive, virtual environment.

Wreck-It Ralph Storyboards

Ralph Breaks The Internet is hitting our screens tomorrow, and this latest Disney animated film will have deployed many of the latest digital film-making tools. But, in one respect, the making of the film was very traditional - in its use of storyboards to hone and perfect the story process. One of the most important parts of making a film like Wreck-It Ralph is still the old-fashioned storyboarding process or, as Pixar often call it, the story re-boarding process, because of the seemingly endless revisions involved in making the story work. Good board artists are hugely in demand, and storyboarding is a career path that can (and often does) lead to becoming a director.

The Order: 1886 - Games Art from Escape

The Order 1886. Check out the excellent project work done by our talented Games Art masters students. The MA students were tasked with creating an environment based upon the existing game The Order: 1886 from Ready at Dawn. Congratulations to them all on another superb piece of work.

Toonboom Storyboard Pro Licenses at Escape

We're in the process of acquiring some licenses for Toonboom Storyboard Pro to support our third year animation students at Escape Studios.

A number of our third year animation students want to specialise in storyboarding, and to support this we're getting them the leading industry software in this area.

Storyboarding is an important part of the pre-production process, and an area which continues to experience a significant skills shortage here in the UK.

A Christmas Carol at BFI 9th December

A Christmas Carol, 1971

Richard Williams' animated Oscar-winning adaptation of the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol is to be screened at the BFI on Sunday 9th December at 3pm, along with two other British animated classics: Raymond Briggs' The Snow Man and Father Christmas.

The event is a great opportunity to see some beautiful home-grown animation, and after the screening there will be a Q&A with directors Dave Unwin and Richard Williams.

And, if you are lucky, you might even get a chance to have your copy of "The Animator's Survival Kit" signed by the author. 

Black Friday at Escape Studios

This year for the first time Escape Studios are hosting a Black Friday event, offering a 10% discount off all our Escape Studios short courses.

For example, you could get 10% off our evening class in 2D Animation on 8 Jan 2019, our ZBrush class starting on 10 January or our storyboarding class on 6 March.

But you'd better be quick; discounts like this are rare and the offer is only valid until midnight Monday 26th November.

PanelForge 2.0 - and a Free Download

At Wednesday's Blue GFX Expo in London, Blue Zoo’s Tom Box announced the latest version of Panel Forge Pro, storyboard software "developed and battle-tested" at Blue Zoo animation.

Demonstrated by developer James Leaning, this latest release is good news for storyboarders - Version 2.0 is now available for free for beta testing, pending the official product launch.

Animators Enter October "11 Second Club"

11 Second Club Entry by Maciej Osuch

Congratulations to our 2nd Year animators at Escape Studios who tackled the 11 Second Club competition this past month, with all our students placing in the top half of the competition, and 6 placing in the top 30.

The October competition had, as it usually does, a spooky theme; the line of dialogue was this: "You can really feel the history coming through the walls here...yeah, isn't it wonderful? ...Not when the history fights back!".

What's in the 1st Year at Escape Studios?

What's in the first Year of our undergraduate animation course at Escape Studios?

Our first year at Escape Studios is the same for all our undergraduate students, whether they are studying animation, games, or visual effects.

That means that in the first year of studies ("Level 4"), all our students study a broad, flexible curriculum, enabling them to understand the whole animation, games and VFX pipeline before committing to one specialism in their second year.

BlueGFX Expo on Wednesday 21st November

Blue GFX Expo 2018 is taking place in London this week on Wednesday 21st November.

We're suspending animation classes at Escape on the day, and we're also paying for our undergraduate and masters' animation students to attend this excellent event.

Escapee Animation Demo Reels

At Escape Studios we often asked by prospective employers to provide a selection of student animation reels: producers are always on the look-out for animation talent, and we do our best to connect our graduates with the right job opportunities, something that matches their skillset and looks like being a good fit. The best place by far to check out our Escapee demo reels is our YouTube channel, where we showcase a growing selection of student work. Some of the students are recent Escapees, others are still studying at Escape Studios, still honing and polishing their skills. If you're a producer looking for the next generation of animation talent, check out our student demo reel playlist.

Animation Short Course: Final Brief

Our 12 week animation course at Escape Studios builds up to a final project, to animate a line of dialogue in a fun and inventive way. The project is a chance for students to demonstrate their skill in character performance, using a rig of their choice. The shot can be up to 11 seconds in length, and the assignment can also be an opportunity to enter the monthly “11 Second Club” competition.  The final piece should be included in their animation demo reel, and uploaded to their blog or website.

Simone Giampaolo to Teach at Escape Studios

Simone Giampaolo

We're delighted to welcome animation director Simone Giampaolo to Escape Studios, to teach our short course and masters' animation students.

Simone worked at Blue Zoo animation in London for many years as an animator, rising to become animation supervisor and eventually director of some of Blue Zoo's best animation shorts.

Simone is now working as an animation director for Aardman animation in Bristol, but we managed to find a couple of gaps in his schedule to teach our animation students.

Troy Saliba and the Making of Venom

Venom

Troy Saliba, animation director at Double Negative, came to visit us at Escape Studios on Friday, to talk about his work on the recent blockbuster release: Venom, whose global box-office gross has reached almost $550million.

Troy was in fact my animation director on "Monster House" back in 2005, a well-crafted film which was also my introduction to working with motion capture.  It's hard to think of an animator anywhere with a better understanding of how to create character-driven animation within a VFX environment.

The Venom live-action shoot was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, but the bulk of the animation and post-production was done at DNeg in London.

Troy explained how, on Venom, animation and FX were heavily interlaced, requiring a great deal of collaboration between the departments, and lots of back-and-forth to get the right final result.

Daniel Amor 3D Runner at The Mill

The Mill

Many congratulations to Escapee Daniel Amor has recently landed a position as a 3D Runner at The Mill.

Daniel took our 12 week intensive animation course here at Escape Studios and, after the end of the course, continued to polish his demo reel.

Working as a runner is a well-established and effective way to break into the animation and vfx industries.

Advanced Animation Starts 14th January 2019

Advanced Animation - 18 weeks

What's in our Advanced Animation course? Advanced animation is a new course, an extension of the existing 12 week course in animation.

Advanced Animation is aimed at students who want to polish and further develop their 3D animation skills.

This 6 week intensive class builds on the lessons learned in the 12 Week Animation Short Course,  developing and enhancing existing skills and making sure that all our students are job-ready by the end of the course.

Character Design is Back on 18th March 2019

Nothin' Personal by Andrea Torrejon

Character Design Evening Class returns to Escape Studios on Monday 18th March 2019.

Character Design is an 8 week evening class taught by Andrea Torrejon, veteran of Angry Birds, and in-house designer on the Disney TV Series "101 Dalmation St".

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.

Learning character design isn't just about drawing cool characters; it is also about learning what the industry actually needs from a character designer. 

Escape Studios Animation Library

Escape Studios Animation Library

Welcome to the Escape Studios Animation Library or - perhaps more accurately - the Escape Studios Animation Shelf.

My personal library of animation books was gathering dust at home (most of my animation work gets done at the office) so I figured - why not bring the books to work?

That way they could reach a wider audience - and our animation students can read them too.

Escape Studios Industry Survival Guide

Escape Studios has just published our latest careers guide, titled: "Industry Survival Guide".

It's the latest go-to guide to get all the information you need to help figure out where you could fit into the creative industries.

Animation? Compositing? VFX? What do all these jobs involve, and what training do you need to get them?

To download your free copy, follow this link: https://bit.ly/2ILdwU3.

Unreal Training Day at Escape Studios 10 Nov

We're hosing an Unreal Engine Training Day at Escape Studios on 10th November. The event is open to students and industry professionals, and the day's training costs just $50.

We have two classes running on the same day, with 25 seats per class.

What's in Our Level 7 Integrated MArt?

Level 7 MArt: collaboration and creativity

What's in the final year of our integrated Masters degree?

Our undergraduate students graduate after 3 years with a BA, and many of them will go on to study for an extra, final year, at the end of which they get an Master of Arts degree in their subject.

It is called an "integrated masters" degree, because the masters' year builds on the first three years of undergraduate study.

In their fourth year of study, masters' students will collaborate to fulfill their own ideas and projects, working together in teams to create original content.

RADiCAL offers Escape Studios students FREE Account Upgrade for RADiCAL's MOCAP Smartphone App

Escape Studios have teamed up with RADiCAL, a new provider of smartphone driven motion capture, to give our students free Producer accounts.

You can find RADiCAL at https://getrad.co, where they offer users a new AI driven bipedal motion capture system that our students can now run from their Smartphones.

Dinosaurs: The Making of Jurassic World

Jurassic World

One of the highlights of last week's VIEW conference in Turin, Italy, was Glen McIntosh's presentation on  the making of Jurassic World, and Fallen Kingdom.

Glen was the animation supervisor on both projects. His talk was essentially a masterclass in creature animation, demonstrating how much careful research goes into the creation and animation of the dinosaurs.

McIntosh introduced himself as a man "obsessed with dinosaurs, obsessed with "how they looked, and how they moved."

He described the Jurassic Park series of movies as a "balance between science and entertainment", as the film-makers try to keep both audiences and paleontologists happy. 

Escape Studios October 2018 Animation Reel

We're proud to present our October 2018 Escape Studios Animation Reel. Drawing on work from our talented undergraduate and short course animators, this latest reel was cut by our newest animation tutor, Amedeo Beretta, and features the work of many of our students. Many congratulations to Maria Robertson, Emily Lim-Sarrias, Chan Sagoo, Amanda Costa, Elena Scala, Daniel Amor, Sebastian Kuder, Katerina Zacharakis, Chiara Lurgo, Francesco Nevi, Harry Pearson and Aaron Hopwood on their excellent work.

Animation Short Course Starts 25th Feb 2019

Animation 12 week course starts 25 February 2019

Our next animation short course - three months of intensive training in 3D animation - starts on 25th February 2019.

The course is aimed at anyone who wants to learn the art and craft of 3D Animation in Maya.

Mend the Gap! at Escape Studios

Mend the Gap: an evening of discussion and debate around the current animation training and employment landscape.

Currently up to 30% (or more) of the team at British animation studios are artists sourced from overseas, often from schools in Europe.

But with Brexit looming, and the likely loss of free movement of labour, the future of UK animation could be under threat.

UK universities produce over 600 students with degrees in animation every year - so why are many UK animation graduates not ready for work when they leave university? On 1st November our panel event, organised by Film London and hosted at Escape Studios,  will debate what can be done to Mend the Gap.

Escape Studios at Animation Week

Escape Studios was featured at Animation Week yesterday, in the form of an online interview.

Animation Week was interested in the kind of students who study at Escape Studios, and why they study with us. Of course, the answer is - it's all about industry, and learning practical real-world skills. To see the full story, follow this link. 

Tax Breaks Bring Boost for UK Animation

The British Film Institute recently released some new data showing the big impact that UK Govt tax relief has had on animation production here in the UK over the last few years.

Tax relief has been a big success, and has led to a big increase in animation production. As a result, despite the tax cuts, the Treasury is collecting more tax, not less, thanks to the increase in overall business.

BA/MArt in Animation Starts Sept 2019

Rocket, animated at MPC in London

Here at Escape Studios we are now taking applications for our four-year BA/MArt in computer animation, now recruiting for September 2019.

So, what's in the course, and what do potential students need to know in order to make a successful application?

Dave Novis Animator at Outpost VFX

Many congratulations to Escapee Dave Novis for starting a new position as Animator at Outpost VFX.

Dave started his career in animation by taking our animation course back in 2016, and then worked as a studio assistant at Escape Studios, helping to train our growing cohort of animators. After that he joined Lipsync Post as a junior animator, working on the movie "Show Dogs".

MA Animation Starts 25 February 2019

Get your masters degree in 3D Animation

The Spring 2019 intake of our new MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation starts on 25 February 2019.

The course will be taught at our mid-town campus in central London, and we look forward to welcoming our new cohort of students.

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

Drawing Club is Back!

Drawing Club at Escape Studios

Drawing Club is returning to Escape Studios, and all students and all skill levels are welcome. Even if you're just a beginner, and can barely draw a stick figure - come along and get stuck in.

Our Studio Assistants will be on hand to lead the class, presenting drawing challenges such as quick gesture drawings to capture a fast pose.

Drawing club will be taking place on Tuesdays in the basement at 190 High Holborn: Morning session at 11:30-12:30 and afternoon session at 4:30-5:30.

Character Design is Back - 2 September 2019

Josh O'Brien

Save the date! Our Character Design class is returning to Escape Studios next September, taught by leading character designer Josh O'Brien.

Josh will be teaching our full-time intensive four week character design class, starting on Monday 2nd September and running until Friday 27th September.

Josh is an experienced visual development artist and character designer, currently working at Blue Zoo animation in London. Past clients include Ash Gaming, Oxford University Press, Capstone publishing, Melwood Pictures and Zondervan Publishing.

Thief and the Cobbler at BFI 25th November

A Moment in Time

Richard Williams' unfinished masterpiece The Thief and the Cobbler - A Moment in Time - is to be screened at the BFI on Sunday 25th November, with a Q&A afterwards.

To buy tickets to see this rarely-screened film, follow the link to the BFI website here.

Meet Our Studio Assistants

Studio assistants - the undergraduate team

Our Studio Assistants are the backbone of Escape Studios - we couldn't manage without them.  Studio Assistants help keep our classes running smoothly and keep an eye out for all the students in the class - to help make sure that everyone gets the most out of their studies.

Our team has grown of late - so here's a group photo to match some names to faces. Our studio assistants are there to help all our students - so if you get stuck, don't be shy to ask Michael, Ash, Mael, Amanda, Federico, Pol, Matt, Lorenzo, Thierry, Thomas, Mitch, Fabrizio or Harry for help.

Daniel Baidoo Animator on "Hurricane"

Many congratulations to 3rd year animation undergraduate Daniel Baidoo, who recently finished work as a junior animator on the WW2 movie "Hurricane", currently in theatres in the UK.

Daniel did the work this summer with Lipsync Post in London.

Daniel started his animation career by interning at King Bee animation while he was still a first year undergraduate. Later he joined Lipsync and worked as a Junior animator on Showdogs.

We asked him how he got the position on "Hurricane", and what advice he might have for other students at Escape Studios looking to find internships and summer jobs.

Last Call for Storyboarding 31st October

Digby Dragon storyboard using PanelForge

Last call to sign up for our storyboarding evening class, starting on 31st October.

The class starts at our central London campus at 190 High Holborn on Wednesday 31st October, and is an introduction to the art and craft of storyboarding.

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.

Concept Art with Jonathan McFall 20th March

Concept Art by Escapee Xu Xing

Concept Art is returning to Escape Studios on Wednesday 20th March 2019, 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.

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