Throwing a Box Tutorial by Marc Stevenson

In this new tutorial, Escape Studios tutor Marc Stevenson explains how to animate a character picking up a box and throwing it. Being able to animate physical actions that have have weight and feel believable is one of the key skills that all our animation students must learn to accomplish.

Online Storyboarding Taster 10 August at Noon

Storyboard by Ronnie Kim

Join us on 10 August at Noon at Escape Studios for a free online storyboarding taster, to see what it is like learning the art and craft of storyboarding at Escape Studios.

This free online taster will give you a hands-on introduction to professional storyboarding techniques, techniques which are currently in great demand as the animation industry continues to expand.

In this taster, taught by Escape Studios' tutor Iliana Franklin, you will get a hands-on introduction to professional storyboarding techniques, such as creating a simple storyboard and editing the images into a digital animatic with music and sound design.

Aspen Lane No2 at the Rookies for VR

What lurks inside No 2 Aspen Lane?

Many congratulations to our talented games students whose VR game "Aspen Lane - VR Paranormal Investigation" was ranked No2 at "The Rookies" in the VR category.

The Rookie Awards is an annual contest that is open to young creative talent in visual effects, animation, games, virtual reality, motion graphics and 3D visualisation. This year saw thousands of entries in all categories from animation schools all over the world - the most competitive year ever. You can find Aspen Lane here.

Basic Modeling with Michael Davies

We've added a new series of tutorials to our expanding Vimeo Channel - Basic Modeling with Michael Davies.

You can find the tutorials here at our Vimeo channel.  For anyone looking to get started with the basic modeling tools in Maya - this is the place to begin.

Games Demo Reel Clinic on 30 July

Join us for a Games Demo Reel Clinic with leading games developer Creative Assembly on Thursday 30th July at Noon.

We will be joined by Senior Environment Artists Greg Smith and Ashley Heppell, who have kindly offered to give us their time to help our students get their portfolio "industry ready"!

To take part, submit your portfolio in advance to event organiser Andrew Brassington: andy.brassington@escapestudios.com

The portfolio review will be an interactive session, with Q&A to follow.

To sign up, follow this link:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QFkGSLWxS4a8NuotAP5hBA

Storyboarding Class Returns on 21 October

Francesca "Chess" Adams at Escape Studios

Our evening class in Storyboarding with Francesca "Chess" Adams, veteran story board artist at Blue Zoo, one of London's leading animation houses, is back on 21 October 2020.

Our next evening class in storyboarding is scheduled to be taught online, and runs for eight weeks.

Chess brings her long 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, which speed up the process and help to bridge the gap with 3D Layout.

3D Stereo Rendering with Michael Davies

We've uploaded a new series of videos to our Vimeo Tutorial Channel, on the subject of 3D Stereoscopic Rendering in Maya. 

The videos were recorded by our undergraduate program leader Michael Davies.  3D Stereo has been a big growth area in the animation industry in recent years; in this tutorial Michael Davies explains how to go about setting up cameras for a 3D Stereo render. You can find the tutorial at our Vimeo channel here.

"Death From Above" Winner at Bucharest Fest

"Death from Above" - Award Winner

Many congratulations to the makers of "Death From Above", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Bucharest Short Cut Cinefest.

It's a well-deserved award for a film which was a finalist in the TMFF - The Monthly Film Festival on April 30th, and also won Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.

"Street Ratz" Nominee at Assurdo Film Festival

Many congratulations to the makers of "Street Ratz", which has been nominated in the category "Best Trailer" at the Assurdo Film Festival in Milan.  

Street Ratz" is a teaser/trailer written and directed by Austin Hill, a graduate student at Escape Studios studying for his MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation.

Character Design is Back on 19 October

Artwork by Andrea Torrejon

Our Character Design Evening Class is returning to Escape Studios on 19 October 2020.

Character Design is an eight week evening class taught by the very talented Andrea Torrejon, an experienced character designer whose recent work includes 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 - turnarounds, model packs and an animation "bible".

Luis Marcillo-Coronado Runner at Jellyfish

Luis David Marcillo-Coronado

Many congratulations to Escapee Luis David Marcillo-Coronado who has recently landed a position as a Runner at Jellyfish Pictures in London.

Luis completed a Master's Degree in Animation here at Escape Studios and, after graduating with an MA, continued to polish his demo reel.

At Escape, Luis worked on the award-winning short film "Flame", a group project directed by Cherelle Owusu and produced by Carolina Xavier.

Working as a runner is a well-established entry-level pathway into the animation and vfx industries.

Animate a "Take" with Monty

We've uploaded a new animation tutorial to our growing Vimeo Tutorial Channel.  One of the most common assignments a junior animator will be given on a feature film is to animate a reaction shot.

Reactions can be big or little, exaggerated or subtle.  In this short tutorial, I explain how to animate an exaggerated reaction shot (a "take") with "Monty", the green pea with legs.

Chevening Scholarship For Overseas Students

For overseas students applying to Escape Studios for our masters' degree courses, one possible source of finance for post-graduate study is Chevening, a UK Govt financed scholarship that pays for overseas students to come and study in the UK.

Applications for Chevening Scholarships open in August, though some Chevening Fellowships are already open.

To find out more, visit the official Chevening site here.

Animating with Constraints by Marc Stevenson

We've uploaded a new tutorial to our growing library on online tutorials, designed to complement and support our classroom teaching.

"Animating with Constraints" by Marc Stevenson is a technical tutorial showing how to attach and un-attach objects to one another in Maya, a process that can be somewhat fiddly.  You can find Marc's video tutorial here.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxIzoEJ0jom1fWGC90iL9exlp3xnoQoZc

UK Govt Finance for Post-Graduate Study

One of the most common questions we get asked at Escape Studios is about the financing of post graduate courses.

The UK Government's student loan system for postgraduate master's degrees is now well established.  A system of low interest loans provides students in the UK with access to postgraduate university courses - including our own MA in 3D Animation, and our MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation.  Prospective students who would like to do post-graduate study with us can borrow up to £11,222 in the coming academic year.

Death From Above Best Trailer at Halicarnassus

Many congratulations to the makers of "Death From Above", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Halicarnassus film festival.

It's a well-deserved award for a film which was also a finalist in the TMFF - The Monthly Film Festival on April 30th.

Meet The Scottish Studios on July 23

The Scottish animation industry is hiring - so it's time find out about job opportunities north of the border.

Animated Women UK are hosting a free online event for recent graduates titled "Meet the Studios", featuring representatives of some of Scotland's most successful animation studios, including Axis, SellOut and Wild Child.  The event takes place online on Thursday July 23rd from 3-5pm.

ZBrush Modeling at Our Vimeo Channel

ZBrush

We've added a new series of tutorials to our expanding Vimeo Channel Z - ZBrush Modeling with Michael Davies and with Jonathan McFall.

ZBrush is one of the most popular 3D sculpting tools for visual effects and games in the creative industries.  Students start by learning the need-to-know basics, and quickly progress to sophisticated techniques.  With ZBrush, digital artists can quickly create a custom model or sculpt, working intuitively to get effective results.

MA Scholarships - Deadline 14 August 2020

The clock is ticking to apply for a scholarship to study on one of our postgraduate degrees in animation, games, 3D VFX, 2D VFX (compositing), and Storyboarding & Previsualisation.

At Escape Studios we offer a £8,000 scholarship to one applicant for each of our next 2020 postgraduate cohorts; significantly reducing the cost of a postgraduate degree in 2D VFX, 3D VFX, 3D Animation, Game Art or Storyboarding and Previsualisation.

Don't wait - apply now. The deadline is 14th August, but it's always good to be an early bird.

Ziva Dynamics Muscle Systems Tutorial

Ziva Dynamics Muscle System

We've added a new series of tutorials to our expanding Vimeo Channel - Ziva Dynamics Muscle Systems Tutorial with Michael Davies.

Ziva Dynamics is a simulation tool, designed to create muscle systems for VFX animal and creature animation.

Ziva VFX Academic licences are now free for students enrolled at qualified educational institutions - including Escape Studios.

Evgenia Designs "Mia's Magic Playground"

Many congratulations to Escapee Evgenia Golubeva, whose latest TV Show Mia's Magic Playground will be broadcast on Sky Kids here in the UK.

Evgenia designed all the characters in the Magic World - including the Ice Cream Bear, the Rainbow, the Watermelon Cat, the Leaflings - and everyone else.

Evgenia also helped out with the backgrounds, creating concept art for the trees, bushes, underwater and space environments.

AN5001 "Computer Animation Pro" Starts on Monday 14 September

"Hotel Aloha" 

Module AN5001 Computer Animation Pro starts on Monday 14th September.

That seems like a long way off, but it's a good idea for our students to keep practicing animation over the summer break.

AN5001 is the first animation module that our undergraduate students encounter in their second year of studies.

In September we hit the ground running - our animation students will tackle character actions, pantomime, acting, performance and dialogue.

"Seeker" Best Director at Prague Film Fest

Many congratulations to Rassoul Edji, director of  the VFX film "Seeker", which has won "Best Director - Runner Up" in the "Super Short Film" category at the Prague Monthly Film Festival.

It's a well deserved award for a film which has also been selected as a finalist in this year's Rookies competition.

Ricardo Ferreira "Catch Up With Alumni" on 14th July at 6.30pm

Ricardo Ferreira 14 July 2020 at 6.30pm

Join us on Instagram on 14 July 2020 at 6.30pm for the first of our "Catch Up With Alumni" events, with special guest and Escapee Ricardo Ferreira.

How do you land that crucial first job in industry? Ricardo will talk about his career journey after leaving Escape Studios, and will take questions from our students and graduates on what they can do to launch their own careers, even in these difficult times. 

Ricardo has worked on many award-winning films, including Interstellar, Ex Machina and Gravity.

"Stewart" Walk Tutorial with Marc Stevenson

We've uploaded a new Walk Cycle Tutorial, part of our series of online animation tutorials, to support our students' online learning.

The tutorial, recorded by Escape Studios tutor Marc Stevenson, uses the Stewart rig, which is free for download.

Escape Studios Summer Showcase 2020

Check out the Escape Studios Summer Showcase, a collection of the best work completed by our Animation, Games and VFX Students.

Most of the films you can see by clicking on the "showcase" tab at the top of the blog, but the Escape Studios Summer Showcase is a "One Stop Shop" for all of our graduating students' latest work.

Weight Animation Tutorial with "Heavy"

We've uploaded a new animation tutorial to our growing Vimeo Tutorial Channel, showing how to animate a character lifting a heavy object.

The purpose of the tutorial is to show students how to create the illusion of weight. With CG animation, we get nothing for free, and it is easy for animation to feel floaty and weightless.

"Offcut" Rookies Finalist: VFX Film of the Year

Congratulations to all our students whose films have been selected for the finals for "VFX Film of the Year" in The 2020 Rookies, which have just been announced.

Three of our students' films were selected for the finals: "Offcut", "Seeker" and "The Lost City of Aztlan", all three of which are currently also in festival competition. 

"Flour Sack Suicide" Tutorial at Vimeo

We've uploaded a new tutorial series to our growing Vimeo Tutorial Channel, showing how to animate a leaping flour sack.

The purpose of the exercise is to learn how to simulate weight, and create an entertaining performance with a simple, basic Maya rig. You can find the flour sack video tutorial here.

Escape Studios' Industry Beginners Guide

One of the most useful resources provided by Escape Studios for prospective students is our Industry Beginners' Guide, an invaluable source of information for understanding what's involved in the animation, VFX and games industries, and how to acquire the skills needed to break in.

Escape Studios track the latest trends in the job market, focusing especially on the skills that are currently in high demand.

Our goal is to place students in well-paid work in the best animation, games and visual effects houses in London and overseas. We recommend that all of our students download a copy.  Best of all, it's absolutely free.

Foxy Tail Tutorial with Marc Stevenson

We've uploaded a new tutorial on animating overlapping action to help our students working from home. Escape Studios animation tutor Marc Stevenson explains how to approach the challenge of animating overlapping action, using a simple bouncing ball character with  a flexible tail - in this case a low poly fox rig.  The trick is to break the process down into simple steps so that the principles can be applied easily.