Welcome To Escape Studios!

Welcome to Escape Studios!

A very warm welcome to our new animation and vfx undergraduate students who recently joined us to study for their BA/Mart in Animation or BA/MArt in VFX. 

Teaching started on Monday 22nd September - you can find the full 2025-26 Term Dates here. 

Classes take place at our North Greenwich Campus at 6 Mitre Passage. In addition to classroom teaching, we have plenty of other resources to help our students to learn the art and craft of animation and vfx. 
 Welcome to Escape Studios


Core Textbook - The Animator's Survival Kit

We recommend that all our animation students buy a copy of  The Animator's Survival Kit, by Richard Williams; now the standard textbook for animators and easily the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.

Library at 6 Mitre Passage
We have plenty of copies in the animation library on the 11th Floor at Escape Studios (we also have dozens of other books on animation and digital film-making), but it's also a good idea to get your own copy.

Access to a Home Laptop
We recommend that all our students have access to a laptop computer; this will enable you to work from home and make it easier to for you to work outside studio hours.  Computer specs change all the time but here is a useful guide to buying your own machine. Ideally, you would also have a second monitor, so that you can watch a tutorial on one screen and follow along on the other.  We also recommend using a tablet rather than a mouse.

Install Maya
The next thing to do is install your free copy of Autodesk Maya. Maya is the main software we animate with, nowadays it's the industry standard. You can download a free educational license here.

Start Watching Our Tutorials
Start to learn the Maya interface. We offer our students a free playlist that introduces students to the basics of the Maya tools, to get you started.
It's a good idea to get familiar with Maya early on.

We also have a Vimeo Tutorial Channel which is exclusively for our students and recent Escapees. The Vimeo Tutorial Channel is password protected - email me for the password and you can access hundreds of videos on animation, games and VFX. Start with animation basics, and keep going.

"Jerich0" - BAFTA shortlisted

Understand the Course Structure
Familiarise yourself with how the course works. To get started, check out the links below:

• What's in the First Year Year at Escape Studios?
• Second year at Escape Studios
• Third year at Escape Studios
• Fourth and final year, (integrated MArt)
• What is the "Escape Method"?
• Learning Resources at Escape Studios
• How feedback works at Escape Studios

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects.
To apply for one of our courses, follow this link.