"Lumi" Wins "Best Animation" at 1st Film Festival

"Lumi" wins "Best Animated Short" at 1st Film Festival

Congratulations to the makers of "Lumi", which has won "Best Animated Short" at the First Film Festival.

Lumi is a short animated film created by our second year animation students at Escape Studios.  Lumi was directed by Maye Liu, co-directed by Sirisha Mutty, and produced by Amy Little.  

Lumi was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects. This is its fifth festival award. 

Undergraduate Online Open Day 13 Jan 2024

Saturday 13th January 2024

Escape Studios is hosting a new online undergraduate open day from 10.30am until 12.30pm on Saturday 13th January 2024.

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees in Animation, The Art of Games and Visual Effects.  

An Open Day is an opportunity for potential students to find out how they can follow in the footsteps of our award-winning alumni.

Character Design Made Simple

Character Design is something that all animators should know a little bit about; it's also one of the most demanding (and fun) parts of the animation process.  This video is a basic introduction to the art of character design; in this short tutorial we show how to begin the process of character design with basic shapes, working outwards to develop contrasting characters with different characters and personalities.  

"The Descent" Wins "Best Trailer" at AFA

"The Descent" wins "Best Trailer" at AFA

Congratulations to the makers of "The Descent", the short film created by our second year animation students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Trailer" at the Art Film Awards.

The Descent was directed Sirisha Mutty and produced by Belle Leuschke, and was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short films.   

This is the latest of many festival awards for "The Descent".

Short course and Post-Graduate Taster Day 27 Jan

Short Course & PG taster Day Sat 27th January 2024 

Join us on Saturday 27th January 2024 for our next Short Course and Post-Graduate Open Day at Escape Studios, hosted at our new North Greenwich Campus, right next to the O2. 

The event takes place on Saturday 27th January 2024, where you can visit our studios, try our software and find out what it's like to study with us. 

Merry Christmas from Escape Studios

If you've got a few minutes this Christmas Eve, why not watch Richard Williams' 1972 Oscar-winning version of The Christmas Carol.  It has all the atmosphere of 19th Century London and none of the sentimentality.  It's just twenty minutes long, and was completed at Williams' London studio at 13 Soho Square - a Grade II* listed building which still stands today (it's even painted the same colour).

Clara Cornish Teaches Storyboards 23 March 2024

"Brodiaga" by Anastasia Gurova

Our evening class in Storyboarding returns on 23 March 2024.  This evening class in storyboarding is an online class, taught from 7-10pm, and runs for ten weeks.

Storyboarding is a growing area of the animation industry; one which has recorded significant skills shortages in recent years.

Our storyboard students have gone on to successful careers at studios such as Walt Disney, Brown Bag Films and Blue Zoo Animation.

New Animation Books for the Anim & VFX Library

We have more new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage, our new home in North Greenwich.

New books include the Hue Book of Animation - a great guide for getting started if you've never animated before - and Cracking Animation by Aardman Animation, the team behind Wallace & Gromit (and the new Chicken Run movie, released on Netflix on 15 December).  We also have two new copies of "Producing Animation", by Katherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi. 

Lux Mediae Noctis Wins "Best VFX" at 1st Fest

"Lux Mediae Noctis" wins Best VFX at 1st Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Lux Mediae Noctis", the VFX short film created at Escape Studios by our graduating class of VFX artists, which has won "Best VFX" at the First Monthly Film Festival.

Produced and directed by Henry Claud N'Guetta and Enrico Vaccari, Lux Mediae Noctis was a collaboration between 2D and 3D VFX Students.  This is the latest of many awards for Lux Mediae Noctis. 

AN4001 Starts on January 8 2024

 

For our first year undergraduate students, our core animation module - Animation 1 - starts in the New Year, with our first group beginning on Monday 8 January.  AN4001 is a 15 Credit module that teaches all our first year students the fundamentals of character and creature animation. AN4001 lasts four weeks, and covers all the basic principles of animation. To see some of the best work done by our first year undergraduate animators, watch the short video above, cut together by Escape Studios' animation tutor Marc Stevenson.

Clara Cornish Talks Storyboarding on Chicken Run 2

In the video above Escape Studios tutor and storyboard artist Clara Cornish talks about her work on "Chicken Run 2 - Dawn of The Nugget" - released on Netflix on 15 December.  Chicken Run 2 is the latest film from Aardman Animation, creators of Wallace & Gromit. You can watch the trailer for Chicken Run 2 below. 

Will AI take Over the Creative Industries?

Artificial intelligence offers new ways to speed up the animation pipeline and boost the productivity of animators.  But will it put animators and VFX Artists out of work?  This is a question we get asked a great deal at Escape studios, as prospective students weigh their options and try to imagine what the creative industries will look like in the near future.  To find out why we think AI will bring artists more benefits than challenges, watch the short video above. 

Escape Studios Houdini Reel

Above is the latest Houdini Reel from Escape Studios, a selection of the very best work done by our students over the past year.  SideFX Houdini is the leading software for the creation of digital FX, such as smoke, fire, water and - in Houdini 20 - clouds and feathers.  SideFX are one of our key industry partners, and contributed to the development of this course to make it as industry-relevant as possible.  Our next evening class in Houdini starts on 9 January 2024. 

"Street Ratz" Wins "Best Trailer" at Kodaikanal Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Street Ratz", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Kodaikanal Film Festival.

This is the latest award for "Street Ratz"; a collaboration among Level 7 VFX and animation students studying for their integrated MArt. 

Street Ratz is a teaser/trailer written and directed by Austin Hill,  and produced by Jack Wright.  The lead animator was Piotr Noworyta.  Street Ratz has won many festival awards.

Clara Cornish Storyboard Artist on Chicken Run 2

We're delighted to congratulate Escape Studios' tutor Clara Cornish whose work on Chicken Run 2 - Dawn of The Nugget is coming to Netflix this Friday 15th December. 

Clara Cornish was a storyboard artist on Chicken Run 2, before she joined us at Escape Studios to teach the mini-module Movement & Narrative to our first year undergraduate students. 

Chicken Run 2 is the latest feature film from the studio that created Wallace & Gromit and Sean The Sheep.

Reading List for 2D VFX (Compositing)

In this guest blog post Escape Studios VFX Programme Leader Klaudija Cermak offers a summary of the best books to read for the study of Compositing - 2D VFX. 

Klaudija's reading list is based on many years of research; traditional books are still one of the best ways to learn from the many decades of knowledge that underpin the digital arts. 

Many of these books can be found in the Escape Studios Animation & VFX Library, on the 11th Floor.   You can read more about the library and how it works here. 

"Bouya" Wins "Best Super Short" in London

Congratulations to the makers of " Bouya", which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the London Movie Awards.

"Bouya" was directed by Chiyoko Coyte and produced by Alex Sellen, both studying the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios. Lorenzo Pelli composed the original score.

"Bouya" tells the story of forest creatures who work together to clean up the mess left by humans.  This is Bouya's fifth festival award. 

Alisha Huxtable Line Producer at DNEG

Alisha Huxtable

Many congratulations to Escapee Alisha Huxtable who has joined DNEG as a Line Producer.

Alisha Huxtable studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, graduating with First Class Honours.  While at Escape, Alisha contributed to a number of VFX short films including the short film "BoxBots" (on which she served as compositing supervisor) which has won multiple festival awards. 

DNEG (formerly known as Double Negative) is one of the UK's longest-established VFX and animation houses; responsible for multiple blockbuster hits. 

Sagar Rathod Explains "The Rule of Thirds" - Pt 1

In this short video Escape Studios VFX tutor Sagar Rathod explains the principles behind the "Rule of Thirds" in Previsualisation and Cinematography.  The Rule of Thirds - more a guideline than a rule - is a "rule of thumb" for composing visual images such as designs, films, paintings, and photographs.  The  guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

Luciferin Wins "Best VFX" at FOF Awards

Luciferin wins "Best VFX" at FoF Fest

Congratulations to the makers of Luciferin, the VFX short created at Escape Studios by our graduating class of VFX artists, which has won "Best VFX" at the Future of Film Festival.

Directed by Jake Roberts and produced by Bruno Urzi,  Luciferin was a collaboration between 2D and 3D VFX Students, working together to create a short film.  Luciferin tells the story of a marine biologist working in a deep sea biosphere.  

This is the latest of many festival awards for Luciferin.  

Escape Studios Visits ELAM

Yesterday Escape Studios Visited The East London School of Arts & Music (ELAM), one of London's leading schools for the arts - and the source of a good deal of talent at Escape Studios.

ELAM describes itself as  "a full-time Industry Academy for 16-19 years olds interested in pursuing a career in Music, Film and Television Production and Games Design." 

In other words, a perfect fit for Escape Studios. Many ELAM students apply to Escape, and are accepted onto our undergraduate courses.

Leandro Silva MoGraph Artist at DMS

Many congratulations to Escapee Leandro F. Silva who has started his career as a Motion Graphics Designer at advertising agency DMS, 

Leandro F. Silva took our Short Course in Motion Graphics, studying with industry professionals Ed Brown and Adam Bennett.  

DMS is a creative digital agency headquartered in London. Motion Graphics is a growing part of the animation industry, focusing on client-facing animation for brands and businesses. 

DMS describes themselves as a "vibrant, engaged, talent-driven agency where our staff feel empowered, where ideas are encouraged and where outstanding work is rewarded."

Short Course and PG Taster Day Sat 9 Dec 2023

Join us on Saturday 9th December 2023 for a Short Course and Post-Graduate Open Day at Escape Studios, hosted at our new North Greenwich Campus, right next to the O2. 

The event takes place on Saturday 9th December, where you can visit our studios, try our software and find out what it's like to study with us. 

Giorgos Konstaninou Animator at Peerless VFX

Giorgos Konstaninou

Many congratulations to Escapee Giorgos Konstaninou who has started work at Peerless VFX as a junior animator. Peerless is one of London's longest-established VFX houses, founded by industry legend Terry Gilliam (and former Monty Python member) back in the 1970s. 

Giorgos Konstaninou studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, and worked on a number of award-winning short film projects.  Most notably, Giorgos directed the multiple-prize-winning short "Papercut", which has enjoyed considerable festival success.

Alex Maynard Animator at Jellyfish Pictures

Alex Maynard joins Jellyfish Pictures

Many congratulations to Escapee Alex Maynard who has recently joined Jellyfish Pictures as a junior animator.  

Jellyfish Pictures is one of London's leading animation and VFX houses, responsible for many film and TV hits; many Escapees have joined Jellyfish after graduating from Escape Studios.

Alex Maynard studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios.  Alex also contributed to a number of award-winning short films, including Hannibelle, which he directed.  

Catching Up With Escapees at ETC

Recently Escape Studios' Head of VFX Clement Gharini caught up with three Escapees - former Art of VFX students who have been working in the industry for a little more than a year now.  Clem was curious to hear about their experience in the professional world so far, about their time at Escape Studios, and how their studies with us supported their work in industry.  The video interview was held at their workplace ETC (Electric Theatre Collective), one of the UK's leading Visual Effects houses.

Q&A With Ian Palmer on Wed 6 December 4.30pm

Dr Ian Palmer

On Wednesday 6th December our Principal, Dr Ian Palmer, will be online - answering questions about our undergraduate courses at Escape Studios.  Keyboards at the ready - we can't wait to hear from you! 

Dr Ian Palmer is the Principal of Escape Studios, and knows more about what we do at Escape Studios than pretty much anyone else.