Steve Sole Teaches Production Design Jan 24

Steve Sole...and Mr Bean 

On Monday 24th January 2022 we welcome back designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach the fundamentals of Production design, starting at 9.30am. 

Steven will be teaching our 2nd year undergraduate students, who are currently working on their Specialism Module CR5001.

Steven Sole comes to us from Framestore and also from Tiger Aspect Productions, where he was Art Director on the hit series Mr Bean.  To see Steven's design work, visit his official site.

Character Designer Steven Sole 

Mr Bean - designs by Steve Sole

Steven Sole has over a decade of studio experience across various positions in both broadcast and web animation.

Steve's recent work includes Art Director and Designer on Mr Bean at Tiger Aspect Productions.  Steven specialises in Concept Art, Character Design and Illustration.

3D Skills
Steven also develops short film projects and music videos and is skilled with Zbrush and Mud Box. To see more of Steven's work, visit his official site.

The Art of Character Design
Steve brings his skill as a professional character designer to Escape Studios, helping to steer our animation students towards practical outcomes. Character designers in the creative industries must work towards a client brief, developing an art bible that can be used by overseas studios and production houses.

Art and Commerce

Pictish Village 

A successful career in the animation industry requires the ability to balance creativity and creative thinking with working to a specific brief, with clear parameters.

CR5001 - Animation Specialism
Steve  Sole's class forms part of the 2nd year Animation Specialism module CR5001, where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.

The Specialism Module  involves a blend of taught classes and self-study in which students must select an area of specialism and develop their proficiency in that area. CR5001 is worth 15 credits and runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.

Production Design in Animation

Concept Art by Xu Xing

Production Design is a vital part of making a short film. What will the film look like? What is the colour palette? What time of day is it, and what is the visual style? Gothic/Horror, Film Noir, Pixar/cute, Disney Princess?  What part of the world are we in, and what era? 

Make your Choices

There is no real limit to the kind of design choices that film-makers can select, and these choices will have a significant impact on the look and feel of the film. 

Production Design Resources

To see more about the importance of Production Design, follow the links below:

• Why Animators Need Production Design
• Steve Sole and the Art of Considered Character Design
• "Malloe" wins Best Production Design in Athens
• Why Animators Need Colour Scripts
• Why Animators Need Mood Boards

Cat by Aimee-Rose Schiele

Student Experience at Escape Studios
To see more detail about what our undergraduate students study at Escape Studios, follow these links:

• First year of undergraduate studies at Escape Studios
• Second year at Escape. 
• Third year at Escape Studios
• Fourth and final year (Integrated MArt)

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 2022, follow this link.   To apply, visit the official page here.