"Young Arrows" Animation Awards Closes 3 Sept

The "Young Arrows" animation awards are open

Calling all Escape Studios students and Calling all Escapees working in the advertising industry - The "Young Arrows" animation awards are now open, and entry is completely free.  Up to three entries may be submitted.  The "Young Arrows" awards are judged by professional animators in the UK.  To find out how to enter, download the PDF of the entry rules and regulations.   The deadline is September 3rd. 

"AFK" Wins Best Super Short Film Award

"AFK" wins "Best Super Short Film" at Int'l Gold Awards

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "AFK" ("Away From Keyboard"), which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the International Gold Awards.  

Directed by “Moses” Tsz Yau Ho, and produced by Emily Newton, AFK tells the story of two video games characters who escape from the screen and do battle in the human world.  Industry Feedback was generously provided by Industrial Light & Magic.  This is its second festival award. 

2025 2D Animation Demo Reel

We're proud to present the 2025 Escape Studios 2D Animation Demo Reel, a selection of the best animation completed at Escape Studios over the past year.  This year Animation Career Review ranked us #5 for Animation in the UK, #12 for Animation in Europe and #17 for Animation Internationally.  To see more student work at Escape Studios, follow this link. 

Young Animator of The Year Awards 2025

Young Animator of the Year Competition 2025

There are still a few days left for our students to enter the Young Animator of the Year Competition 2025.  

The Competition, created by Access VFX and supported by Screen Skills, BAFTA and the BAA Awards, is judged by professional animators. Winning films will be announced and premiered at the Manchester Animation festival.  Entry must be completed by September 1st, and is open to animators under 22 years. You can find more about it here: https://younganimator.uk/competition #animation #YAYUK

Escapee David Mattock Animator at Spiro Media

David Mattock joins Spiro

Many congratulations to Escapee David Mattock who is joining the media agency Spiro as a Senior Mixed Media Designer & Animator. 

David Mattock took our 3D Animation Short Course at Escape Studios, getting a thorough grounding in 3D animation techniques.  Spiro is a UK based branding agency with a global client base. 

To see more of David's work, follow the link to his character and creature work at Vimeo.  You can also see David's general showreel here.

Escape Studios UG Term Dates 2025-26

Our undergraduate term dates for the academic year starting in September 2025 have been published - you can see the dates on the left or download the full PDF here.

Enrolment for our new undergraduate students starts on Monday 8th September; Welcome Week starts on Monday 15th September, and formal teaching begins on Monday 22nd September.  As always, we will extend a warm welcome to all our new students this September.

Escapee Ted Walker Joins Jedi Academy at ILM

Ted Walker joins ILM

Many congratulations to Escapee Ted Walker who has started as a junior compositor at Industrial Light & Magic ("ILM"), one of the world's leading animation and VFX houses, as part of their Jedi Academy programme.  

Ted Walker studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, specialising in 2D Digital Compositing. 

Ted Walker also worked on a number of award-winning short films at Escape Studios, including "Cursed Bond" (which he directed) and also "Set in Stone". 

Escape Studios 3D Animation Demo Reel 2025

We're proud to present the 2025 Escape Studios 3D Animation Demo Reel, a selection of the best animation completed at Escape Studios over the past year.  This year Animation Career Review ranked us #5 for Animation in the UK, #12 for Animation in Europe and #17 for Animation Internationally.  To see more student work at Escape Studios, follow this link. 

"Socks To Be You" Wins "Best VFX" at Kodaikanal Fest

"Socks To Be You" wins "Best VFX" at Kodaikanal Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Socks To Be You", which has won "Best VFX" at the Kodaikanal Film Festival.  

Directed by Josh Popusoi , and produced by Erik Bocsor,  "Socks To Be You" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

This is its second festival award. 

Developing "The Zoo"

Development drawings for "The Zoo"

Back in the late 1990s I did some early development work for a Warner Bros Feature Animation feature film provisionally titled "The Zoo".  

The Zoo never made it to production, but the experience taught me a lot about the creative development process of a major studio. 

It also taught me an early lesson in the unpredictable nature of our industry, and why some projects never get made. 

"The Hunt" Wins "Best Animation" in Milan

"The Hunt" wins "Best Animated Film" in Milan

Congratulations to the makers of the short animated film "The Hunt" which has won "Best Animated Film" at the Milan Gold Awards. 

"The Hunt" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  

The Hunt was directed by Eva Gifford and produced by Grace Chandler.  Rose Brooksby-Conroy was the art director.  This is its first festival award. 

"Shapla" Wins Best Animation at Paris Film Awards

"Shapla" wins "Best Animation" at Paris Film Awards

Many congratulations to the makers of "Shapla", which has won "Best Animation" at the Paris Film Awards.

"Shapla" was created by our graduating class of animation students. "Shapla" was directed by Ruksar Rowza Aziz and produced by Charlie Seeviour.  Erica Sanches was the art director and Tom Price composed the original score.  This is its second festival award. 

Why Animators Avoid Symmetrical Poses

Mickey Mouse from "The Illusion of Life"

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is for their character poses to be too stiff and symmetrical.  One of the fastest ways to make a character feel stiff and lifeless is to pose them symmetrically.  

Perfectly mirrored limbs, identical angles, and evenly balanced weight all scream “mannequin,” not “living being.” Real life — and good animation — is full of asymmetry.

"For Better or Worse" Wins "Best 1st Time Director"

For Better or Worse wins "Best 1st Time Director" in Hollywood

Congratulations to the makers of the short film For Better or Worse, which has won the "Best First Time Director" award at the Hollywood Film Awards.

For Better or Worse was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001 in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  It was directed by Danielus Sileikis and produced by Amelia Chwesiuk. This is its second festival award. 

Live Action Ref Shd Match Camera Angle in Maya

Anim Ref and Anim by Elin Berrio Pena

Most experienced animators know about the importance of shooting live action reference to create great animation. 

However, to get the best out of your reference, you should always be sure to match the correct camera angle in your shot. If you don't, the reference you shoot won't be nearly as useful.

"Hubris" Wins "Best Animation" at EEFF

"Hubris" wins "Best Animation" at the EEFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Hubris" which has won "Best Animation" at the Eastern Europe Film Festival.  

"Hubris" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "Hubris" was written and directed by Sohaib Mehar and produced by Secander Sadat.  The editor was Gleb Migas, and the art director was Leona Lu.  This is its second festival award. 

"Vivid" Wins "Best VFX" at Future of Film Awards

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "Vivid" which has won an award for "Best VFX" at the Future of Film Awards. 

"Vivid" was created by our third year graduating class of VFX students.  Vivid was written and directed by Kia Claire, and produced by Amber Coventry.  Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead and William Griffith was the 2D VFX Lead.  

This is the latest of many festival awards. 

Antonia Palmer Compositor at ETC

Antonia Palmer

Many congratulations to Escapee Antonia Palmer who has joined Electric Theatre Collective as a digital compositor. 

While at Escape Studios, Antonia studied the Art of Visual Effects, specialising in 2D compositing in Nuke.  Antonia directed the short VFX film "Gnaughty Gnomes", which won many festival awards.

Antonia joins the many Escapees who have found work as compositors in the animation and vfx industry, which is currently experiencing significant growth. 

Dusty Memories Wins "Best Super Short" at Int'l Fest

Dusty Memories wins "Best Super Short Film at Int'l Gold

Many congratulations to the makers of "Dusty Memories", which has won "Best Super Short Film"  at the International Gold Awards.  

"Dusty Memories" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  

"Dusty Memories" was written and directed by Grace Lam, and edited and produced by Max Ebdon.  This is its first festival award. 

Escapee Amanda Costa Animator at Framestore

Amanda Costa Animator joins Framestore

Many congratulations to Escapee Amanda Costa who has joined Framestore as an animator.  

Amanda Costa took our short course in Computer Animation at Escape Studios, taught by veteran animator Lee Caller.  

After graduation, Amanda became a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios.

Character Animation by Akasha Devlin-Clovering

We're enjoying this excellent example of character animation (above) by Escapee Akasha Devlin-Clovering, who graduates this summer with a degree in the Art of Computer Animation.  While at Escape Studios, Akasha worked on a number of award-winning short films, including the short film "Set in Stone", which she produced.  Akasha also worked on the award-winning short films Ongo, and Order Up!