"BoxBots" Honourable Mention at The Rookies

BoxBots awarded Hon Mention at the Rookies for VFX

Many congratulations to the makers of "BoxBots", which has won an Honourable Mention at the Rookie Awards in the category of Best Visual Effects. 

Directed by Jordan Coles and Ross Green, and produced by Priya Shah, "BoxBots" is about a contest between two toys who compete for the "World Plasticweight Championship".

Amarok Wins Best Trailer at Halicarnassus Fest

Amarok "Best Trailer" at Halicarnassus Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Amarok", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

Amarok was written and directed by Shenaaz Suliman, co-written by Simone Fraser, produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters, and edited by Cameron Haley.  

Amarok is a trailer for a web series about a First Nations police detective in a remote town in Northern Canada; it has won multiple festival awards. 

Konrad Peczkowicz MoCap Artist at ILM

Konrad Peczkowicz

Congratulations to Escapee Konrad Peczkowicz who has recently started a new position as a Junior Facial Capture Artist at Industrial Light and Magic.  Motion Capture is a growing part of the animation industry, increasingly embedded into our animation course at Escape Studios. 

At Escape Studios, Konrad Peczkowicz was the lead animator on the award-winning short film "Slushy", and also contributed to other award-winning film projects. 

ILM is one of the world's leading animation and VFX houses, pioneers in VFX and also software development.  Konrad will be using ILM's own proprietary software for facial capture animation.  

Kiwi's Dream: People's Choice at The Rookies

Kiwi's Dream wins "People's Choice Award" at The Rookies

Congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won a "People's Choice Award" at The Rookies, in the category of Best Visual Effects.

Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, "Kiwi's Dream" is a short story about an origami kiwi who dreams of flight.  

"Summer of Unreal" Training Begins

Our free four-week course in Unreal Engine began yesterday,  offering training in Unreal Engine for industry professionals.  The Summer of Unreal is a free, four-week boot camp created in collaboration with Epic Games, teaching artists practical real-time skills in Unreal Engine.  The event is designed and hosted by Escape Studios, the UK’s first and only Unreal Authorised Training Center. 

Home Sweet Home Wins Best VFX at LIMFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "Home Sweet Home", which has won "Best VFX" at the London International Film Festival (LIMFF).

  

Home Sweet Home is about a gang of discarded sweets trying to get home.  It was directed by Maria Robertson, co-directed by Harry Pearson and produced by Maddison Gould.  

Home Sweet Home has won multiple festival awards, including Best Animation at the Basilicata International Film Festival in Potenza, Italy and Best Student Animation at the 2019 British Animation Film Festival

Animation Careers Evening on 5 August 4.30pm

Animation Careers Event August 5th

Join us at Escape Studios on Thursday 5th August at 4:30pm for a free online Animation Careers Evening with animation industry leaders Blue Zoo and Jellyfish Pictures.  

Blue Zoo recruiter Lauren Barnes, and animators Jamie Floodgate and Joel Airebamen will discuss the latest animation career opportunities. Sign up here at the official site.

Callum Wylie Animation Intern at Blue Zoo

Callum Wylie

Many congratulations to Escapee Callum Wylie who has begun an internship with London-based animation studio Blue Zoo, responsible for animated hits such as the BAFTA and Emmy-award winning "Paddington" series. 

While at Escape Studios, Callum contributed to a number of short films.  In 2019 Callum produced the adventure-horror trailer "Death from Above", which has won multiple festival awards. 

Callum also contributed to three other films at Escape Studios: Street Ratz, Quarantine Chorus and Slushy, all of which have won festival awards.

Planet Mars Wins Best Cinematography

Planet Mars wins Best Cinematography at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the creators of the animated short mockumentary  "Planet Mars", which has won another festival award - Best Cinematography at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.  

Directed by Escapee Sebastian Kuder, and produced by Katerina Zacharakis, Planet Mars was a Studio Project completed by second year animation students at Escape Studios.

Jordan Coles Junior Rigger at MPC

Jordan Coles

Congratulations to Escapee Jordan Coles who has just started a new role as Junior Rigger at MPC in London. 

MPC is one of the UK's leading animation and VFX houses, responsible for hits such as the 2019 remake of The Lion King and The Jungle Book.

While at Escape Studios, Jordan directed the award-winning short films "Death From Above" and "BoxBots". Jordan also contributed custom rigs to the award-winning short film "Hat Shop".

Jerich0 wins Best VFX at Tokyo Film Fest

Jerich0 wins "Best VFX" in Tokyo Festival

Many congratulations to the makers of Jerich0, which has won another festival award - Best VFX at the Tokyo International Film Festival in June. 

This award is the latest in a string of festival honours for Jerich0, which was directed by Sarah Andrews, produced by Matt Wight, with original music by Alexandra Harwood. 

Eilin Berrio Pena MoCap Artist at ILM

Eilin Berrio Pena

Many congratulations to Escapee Eilin Berrio Pena, who has recently started a new position as a Junior Facial Capture Artist at Industrial Light and Magic.  Motion Capture is a growing part of the animation industry, increasingly embedded into our animation course at Escape Studios. 

While at Escape Studios, Eilin directed the award-winning film "Malloe", and contributed to many other award-winning projects. 

ILM is one of the world's leading animation and VFX houses, pioneers in VFX and also software development.  Eilin will be using ILM's own proprietary software for facial capture animation.  

Animator's Survival Kit "Minis" Launch 5 Aug

Animator's Survival Kit "Minis"

Here at Escape Studios we recommend one key textbook for learning animation - The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams.

It is a big book, heavy to carry around, and has now been published as a series of "mini" editions, breaking the book up into four sections, and available from August 5th. 

The ASK was first published in 2002 as a book, and a few years later was released as a DVD set, and later as an iPad app.

Raphael Obaro Layout Artist at Sixteen South

Raphael Obaro

Congratulations to Escapee Raphael Obaro - who has started a new animation job as a layout artist at Sixteen South, a Belfast-based animation company. 

Raphael took our intensive three month animation short course at Escape Studios, and initially found work at British Muslim TV, a UK terrestrial channel launched in 2014.

Layout is an important part of the animation process, closely mirroring the role of cinematographer on a live action film. 

Laptop Specifications for 3D Animation

What kind of laptop?

"What kind of laptop should I buy?" is a question that is often asked at Escape Studios, especially since the Global Pandemic has made home working essential. 

Computer specifications change regularly and much depends on exactly what you want to use your laptop for.  But let's say you want to buy a laptop capable of running Autodesk Maya, for computer animation and to render out your shots.

What sort of laptop should you buy, and how much do you need to spend? Our animation tutor Amedeo Beretta offers some advice to our students.

Free Animation Taster on 26 July at 5pm

Lee Caller

We're running a free online Animation Taster at Escape Studios on 26 July at 5pm, taught by award-winning animator Lee Caller.

Taster Classes 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. No prior knowledge of Maya - or any software - is required.

Dominika Brodowska Animator at Lupus Films

Dominika Brodowska

Many congratulations to Escapee Dominika Brodowska, who is working as an Animator at Lupus Films in London, the studio responsible for animated hits such as "Ethel & Earnest", "Snowman and the Snowdog" and "The Tiger Who Came to Tea". 

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

Dominika also excelled at gesture drawing, and developed a portfolio of drawings and sketches, initially finding work with Cloth Cat animation in Cardiff.

Steve Sole Returns for Movement & Narrative

Steven Sole

We're delighted to welcome back character designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach at Escape Studios.

Steven will teach our first year undergraduate students Movement & Narrative, a mini-module in which students develop their skills in creativity, design, and visual narrative, starting on Monday 20th September 2021.

Steven Sole comes to us from Framestore and from Tiger Aspect Productions, where he was Art Director on Mr Bean.  To see some of Steve's work, visit his official site.

Free Training in Unreal Engine Starts 26 July

Summer of Unreal Engine Starts July 26

If you work in the animation or 3D CGI industry in Europe, in games, VFX, motion graphics or film & TV  (or teaching these subjects), come and join our free four-week course in Unreal Engine, starting 26 July. 

The Summer of Unreal is a free, four-week boot camp created in collaboration with Epic Games, teaching artists practical real-time skills in Unreal Engine.

The event is hosted by Escape Studios, the UK’s only Unreal Authorised Training Center. 

Tendai Mande MoCap Artist at ILM

Many congratulations to Escapee Tendai Mande, who has recently started a new position as a Junior Facial Capture Artist at Industrial Light and Magic.  Motion Capture is a growing part of the animation industry, increasingly embedded into our animation course at Escape Studios. 

While at Escape Studios, Tendai contributed to the short animated film "Street Ratz", which has won multiple festival awards.  Tendai worked on the film as Editor, Second Director, and Lead Pipeline Supervisor. 

ILM is one of the world's leading animation and VFX houses, pioneers in VFX and also software development.  Tendai will be using ILM's own proprietary software for facial capture animation.  

"Malloe" Finalist at The Rookies 2021

Malloe finalist 3D Animation 2021 Rookies

Congratulations to the makers of "Malloe", which is a finalist at The Rookies in the category of Best 3D Animated Short Film. 

"Malloe" was produced by our 3rd year graduating animation students, working together as a team to produce their final short animated film.   "Malloe" was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, edited by Ross Green, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin.  Art Direction was by Paloma Zhu. 

How to Find Work in an Animation Boom

On 7th July Escape Studios hosted a webinar on finding work in the animation industry.  The industry is booming right now, with the job market busier than it has been since the 1990s, when "Lion King" caused an explosion in demand for animators.  However, the industry is still competitive, and only those with the right skills will find work.  Watch this one hour webinar to find out the ten key steps to land that crucial first job.

Paloma Zhu Animator at Passion Pictures

Paloma Zhu

Congratulations to Escapee Paloma Zhu who has just joined Passion Pictures as an animator. 

Passion Pictures is one of London's longest-established boutique animation houses; responsible for multiple award-winning commercials and short films. 

While at Escape Studios, Paloma personally directed two award-winning films: "Hotel Aloha" and "Kiwi's Dream" and contributed her talent as an animator and art director to many others.  Paloma also worked at Escape Studios as a Studio Assistant, and also recorded video tutorials to our expanding Vimeo Channel.

Amarok Wins Best Trailer at Art Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Amarok", which has won its second festival award: "Best Trailer" at the Art Film Awards. 

Amarok was written and directed by Shenaaz Suliman, co-written by Simone Fraser, produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters, and edited by Cameron Haley.  Amarok is a trailer for a web series about a First Nations police detective in Northern Canada. 

Michael Davies Unreal Engine Webinar 27 July

27 July Webinar with Michael Davies

On Tuesday 27th July at 6pm industry veteran and animation program leader Michael Davies will deliver a free webinar on the use of Unreal Engine, the real-time renderer that is transforming the animation and VFX industries.

In this one hour webinar Michael will utilise free online content and motion capture to show students how to use the latest tools in Unreal Engine 5 to create real-time cinematics.

Escape Studios is now an officially accredited Unreal Engine Authorised Training Centre (ATC), the only one in the UK and one of only two in Europe. 

James Baxter Animation Webinar

 

On 30 June we hosted a live animation webinar with legendary Disney and DreamWorks animator James Baxter.  James began his animation career on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and has since worked on dozens of animated films.   James was the animation lead on Belle on Beauty and the Beast, Rafiki on The Lion King, and Quasimodo on The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  He also won the Windsor McCay Award at the 2018 Annie Awards (the animation "Oscars").

Malloe Wins Best Micro Short at Vesuvius

"Malloe" wins Best Micro Short at Vesuvius Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Malloe", which has won its third festival award - "Best Micro Short" at the Vesuvius Film Festival. 

"Malloe" was produced by our 3rd year graduating animation students, working together as a team to produce their final short animated film.  

"Malloe" was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, edited by Ross Green, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin.  Art Direction was by Paloma Zhu. 

Animation, Story & Previs Fair on 19th July

Dragon by Shauna Ludgate

We're hosting a Storyboarding, Previsualisation and Animation Fair on 19th July at 5pm. 

The event takes place online via Zoom, and is an opportunity for prospective students to find out about our courses in Animation, as well as Storyboarding & Previsualisation.

To book your free place, register on Zoom.

Amarok Wins Best Trailer at Vesuvius Fest

Amarok wins Best Trailer at Vesuvius Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Amarok", which has won its first festival award - "Best Trailer" at the Vesuvius Film Festival. 

Amarok was written and directed by Shenaaz Suliman, co-written by Simone Fraser, produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters, and edited by Cameron Haley.  Amarok is a trailer for a web series about a First Nations police detective in Northern Canada. 

Finding Work in the Industry - Webinar 7 July

On 7th July at 5pm (UK time) we're hosting a webinar on finding work in the animation industry.  

The animation industry is booming right now, with the job market busier than it has been since the 1990s, when "Lion King" caused an explosion in demand for animators.  

So, how do graduates land that crucial first job?