Escapee Sunny Asadi Joins Larian Studios

Sayna "Sunny" Asadi joins Larian Studios 

Many congratulations to Escapee Sayna "Sunny" Asadi who has joined Larian Studios in Guildford. as an animator.  Larian Studios is a global games studio, responsible for the many successful games including "Baldur's Gate 3".

Sunny Asadi took our master's degree in the Art of Computer Animation, taught by veteran animator Lee Caller.  

While at Escape Studios, Sunny contributed to a number of short films, including the award-winning short Same Day Delivery.

Sebastian McKernan Joins Untold Studios

Sebastian McKernan Joins Untold Studios

Many congratulations to Escapee Sebastian McKernan who has joined Untold Studios, one of London's leading VFX houses. 

Sebastian McKernan has been working at Escape Studios as a Studio Assistant; prior to that he studied the Art of VFX, contributing to a number of award-winning short films including "Sea of Madness" on which he served as the 3D Lead, and also and "X-Terminate".

"An Evening With...." Studio AKA 12 May 2026

Philip Hunt and Studio AKA 12 May 2026  

All our currently enrolled students are invited to join us for our next "Evening With..." event on Tuesday 12th May at 5.30pm for an in-person meeting with animator, actor and director Philip Hunt, the creative director of the Emmy and BAFTA-winning Studio AKA.  

Studio AKA is one of London's most innovative animation studios, and one of our long-standing industry partners.   Philip Hunt will talk about the work of Studio AKA, the current state of UK animation and - as always - where the entry-level jobs and opportunities are for Escapees and recent graduates. 

Escapee Michael Shaw joins One of Us

Michael Shaw joins London VFX house One of Us 

Congratulations to Escapee Michael Shaw who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Michael Shaw was a post-graduate student who studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, with tutors Daniel Shutt and Klaudija Cermak.  

Robert Hagan Compositor at Framestore

Robert Hagan joins Framestore as a compositor

Many congratulations to Escapee Robert Hagan who has joined Framestore as a compositor. 

Robert Hagan was a post-graduate student at Escape Studios,. studying the Art of Visual Effects, specialising in 2D Compositing in Nuke. Framestore is one of the UK's leading visual effects houses.  

Feedback with Hammer Creative on Friday 17 April

Hammer Creative

We're delighted to welcome games industry agency Hammer Creative who are joining us tomorrow Friday April 17th to offer feedback to our 3rd year animation students on their graduation projects. 

Our 3rd year animation students are currently collaborating with games students to deliver a joint project, including a cinematics reel. 

ILM's "Jedi Academy" Now Open For Applications

Industrial Light & Magic's Jedi Academy is now open

Industrial Light & Magic's Jedi Academy, a six month paid internship at ILM, is now open for applications.

You can apply here, and the deadline is May 4th 2026.  We highly recommend that our students and Escapees apply. 

Escape Studios Toonboom Harmony ATC 2026

Escape Studios ATC for Toonboom Harmony

We're delighted to announce that Escape Studios has been re-confirmed as an ATC (Authorised Training Centre) for Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

2D Animation has been experiencing a revival, with many 2D productions being animated in the UK. 

In particular, Blue Zoo, Aardman and Passion Pictures (and others) have chosen Toonboom Harmony as their 2D animation platform.

Cutting an Animation Reel For Games

Spidey Animation by Giorgos Konstantinos

What should go into a games animation reel? An animation reel for the games industry is essentially a stunt reel - it should include a variety of physical actions - games animators need to be very proficient in body mechanics.  

Games animators are not (for the most part) actors, rather they are "stunt co-ordinators".  It takes a while to break into the games industry so you need to be uploading your work to games sites and showing your progress over time; recruiters and industry folks will watch your progress and keep an eye on you.

Hamid Lotfi joins London VFX house One of Us

Hamid Lotfi has joined London VFX house One of Us 

Congratulations to Escapee Hamid Lotfi who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Hamid Lotfi  is a post-graduate student who studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, with tutors Daniel Shutt and Klaudija Cermak.  

"Night Terrors" Wins Best Short at Int'l Gold Awards

 "Night Terrors" wins "Best Super Short" at Int'l Gold Awards

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the International Gold Awards.  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

Escapee Amber Coventry Joins VFX House One of Us

Amber Coventry joins London VFX house One of Us

Congratulations to Escapee Amber Coventry who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Amber Coventry is a post-graduate student who studied the Art of VFX at Escape Studios, with tutors Daniel Shutt and Klaudija Cermak.  

Industry Feedback with Blue Zoo 21 May 2026

Feedback with Jamie Floodgate from Blue Zoo 21 May

We're delighted to welcome back Escapee Jamie Floodgate to Escape Studios, to give feedback to our second year animation students on their short films on 21 May 2026.  Jamie Floodgate is a Lead Animator at the London animation studio Blue Zoo.

Escapee Daniel Beeching Joins "One of Us"

Daniel Beeching

Congratulations to Escapee Daniel Beeching who has joined London VFX house One of Us as a Roto/Prep Artist.  One of Us is one of the UK's leading VFX houses.

Daniel Beeching has worked on a number of successful short film projects at Escape Studios, including the award-winning shorts Mini Mail, Socks To Be You and Odd Socks.  Daniel has been working as a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios. 

"Spark" Wins "Best Animation" at EE Film Fest

Congratulations to "Spark", the new animated short created at Escape Studios by MA animation student Nimisha Manjunathan, which has won "Best Animation" at the Eastern European Film Festival. 

 "Spark" was written and animated by Nimisha Manjunathan who is studying for her MA in Animation with Escape Studios' animation tutor Lee Caller.  "Spark" tells the story of a girl who dreams of athletic success. 

This is the film's first festival award. 

Toonboom Harmony Evening Class Returns 5 Oct 2026

Evening class in Toonboom Harmony returns 26 March 2026

Our 2D Animation Online Evening class in Toonboom Harmony returns to Escape Studios on 5 October 2026.

Learn the fundamentals of 2D animation over 20 weeks, two evenings a week (Mondays & Thursdays 7-10pm GMT) using Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

The class is taught by experienced industry professionals.

Industry Feedback with Max Howard 14 May 2026

Max Howard

Veteran Animation producer and former Disney executive Max Howard will join us on Thursday 14 May 2026 at Escape Studios, giving feedback to our second year animation students on their short film projects.

Max has many years of experience of animation production, having run animation divisions at Disney, DreamWorks and Warner Bros Feature Animation.

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios; one of the Five Pillars of the Escape Method.  Our second year animation students are currently working in groups on their short film projects, part of Module PR5001. 

Undergraduate Open Evening 9 April 2026

UG Open Evening Online via Zoom

Escape Studios is hosting an Online "Open Evening" on Thursday 9th April (online via Zoom).

An Open Day is an opportunity for potential students to find out how they can follow in the footsteps of our award-winning alumni and to find out more about our courses. To sign up, follow this link. 

The Art of Manga Storytelling 8 April 2026

The Art of Manga Storytelling with Elena Vitagliano 8 April

Join us for a free webinar 8 April 2026 at 6pm on The Art of Manga Storytelling with Elena Vitagliano.

Elena Vitagliano was the first European manga artist to be published on Shonen Jump Plus and creator of Miriam of the Skulls.  In this webinar Elena will explain how she developed one of her own manga stories from the initial idea through to the finished page.  She will also do a short live exercise during the session, followed by a Q&A.  To sign up follow this link. 

"Producing Animation" For the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of "Producing Animation" by Katherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi for the Animation Library at Escape Studios.   

Producing Animation is an important resource for any of our students interested in the production side of creating animation.

Producing animation is an increasingly important part of what we teach at Escape Studios, as our students collaborate on short film projects, entering festivals and winning awards.

Being a successful animator isn't just about being good at animation; you also need to understand how group projects work, and learn how to collaborate with other artists in a studio environment.

Many Escapees have gone on to fill production roles at animation, games and VFX studios in recent years. 

Mock Interviews at Escape Studios 23-24 April

Interview, by Mikkel Okholm and Mikkel Brons-Frandsen

On Thursday 23 April and Friday 24th April we're hosting a series of mock interviews for our animation students at Escape Studios.  

The purpose of mock interviews is to prepare our students for a real-life job interview.  What questions will you be asked? And how should you answer them? What should you say (and also not say)?  Interviews will be held with our industry partners both online over Teams and in person at Escape Studios. 

Freefolk "Futurefolk" Internship is Back for 2026

"Futurefolk" is back, and now accepting applications

VFX House Freefolk has announced that their paid internship scheme, "Futurefolk", is back, and is now accepting applications. 

Freefolk's talent team is now "ready to spot the skill, creativity and enthusiasm required to kick-start the careers of the next generation of VFX stars".  The deadline for submissions is midnight on Friday 17th April 2026.  You can apply via the Freefolk website here.

AnimBot Licenses for Escape Studios Animators

AnimBot for 3rd Yr UG Animators at Escape

Escape Studios has acquired a number of "animbot" licenses.  animbot is a plugin for Maya, formerly known as "aTools", described as a "utility belt" for animators; it helps to speed up the animation workflow with a number of clever tools. 

The animbot licenses are intended for our third year undergraduate animators, helping them to complete their graduation films swiftly and efficiently.

Meet Will Hughes - Talent Development Manager

Will Hughes (4th from right) with Escapees at BlueBolt VFX

Will Hughes is the Talent Development Manager at Escape Studios.  One of Will's key roles is to meet with our students, recent graduates and Escapees to help them to establish their careers in the animation, games and vfx industries. 

At a time of anxiety about opportunities in the creative industries, we asked Will to tell us about his work and what, exactly, he does to support our students and Escapees. 

"Prepare To Board" for the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of the storyboarding classic Prepare to Board! by Nancy Beiman  - the main book we recommend to our students studying the art of storyboarding here at Escape Studios.  

Prepare to Board! is an excellent book from a master animator and Disney Animation veteran.  We now have several copies in the Animation and VFX Library at Escape Studios. 

Nancy Beiman was a supervising animator at Disney (most notably on Hercules) and (like many 2D animators) she does storyboards and character design as well as animation.

Storyboarding is the vital starting point for all our students' short films; without a solid story few films will enjoy a successful festival career.  

Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards

Young Cartoonists Awards at the Cartoon Museum

Thursday March 26th was awards night for the Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards, the annual competition hosted by the Cartoon Museum and the British Cartoonists' Association. 

This year the YCOTY Awards were presented by cartoonist and BCA Chair Nicola Jennings.  The awards were sponsored by Léonie Wykes-Mahood in memory of her late husband, the cartoonist Ken Mahood. 

"Night Terrors" Wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran

"Night Terrors" wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran  

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Film Festival.  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

The Art Director was Ruby Ebbs, Yusuf Saddique was the 2D VFX Lead, and Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead.  This is its third festival award. 

Escape Studios 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus

Our brand-new Undergraduate Prospectus for 2027 is here.  Download your copy of interactive guide or grab a physical copy at our upcoming fairs and events. 

The Escape Studios Undergraduate Prospectus explores our courses, outlines careers in the creative industries, and shows the pathways into those careers. 

The Escape Studios Undergraduate Prospectus is free to download. You can find it here:  https://bit.ly/4ui1vw1

Escapee Giovanni Nuzzo Joins Outpost VFX

Giovanni Nuzzo joins Outpost VFX.

Many congratulations to Escapee Giovanni Nuzzo who has joined the London VFX house Outpost VFX.

Giovanni Nuzzo studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, and worked on two award-winning short films: "Cursed Bond" and "AFK".

"Shapla" Finalist at The 2025 Rookies

Shapla was a finalist at the 2025 Rookies

Many congratulations to the makers of "Shapla", which was a Finalist at the 2025 Rookie 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.   Shapla has won many festival awards. 

"Night Terrors" wins "Best VFX" Award at the CEFF

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best VFX" at the Cinematic European Film Festival (CEFF).  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  The Art Director was Ruby Ebbs, Yusuf Saddique was the 2D VFX Lead, and Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead.  This is its second festival award. 

Escape Studios' Jobs & Careers Playlist at YouTube

Jobs & Careers at our Animation & VFX YouTube Channel

Calling all Escapees: Don't forget our Our Jobs & Careers Playlist at our Animation & VFX YouTube Channel - a key resource for Escapees and graduates seeking their first job in the industry. 

Some of the videos are long form but most are shorts - around one minute long - exploring themes like how to cut a great demo reel, how to manage a job interview, and how to apply for jobs at animation and vfx houses.  It's a useful resource and one that is constantly growing as the needs of industry shifts and changes over time.   

Aardman Workshop at the Cartoon Museum 1 April

Aardman model-making workshop 1st April

The Cartoon Museum in Fitzrovia is hosting an Aardman Animation model-making workshop on April 1st, demonstrating how to make your very own "Sean the Sheep" plasticene model.  

For animation students at Escape Studios this is a rare opportunity to engage with the stop-motion pipeline, learning to make a physical maquette suitable for animation. 

Get yourself a tripod and a smart phone - now you're ready to animate.  You can sign up for the workshop here - it costs just £18.86. 

New Copies of the Animator's Survival Kit

Animator's Survival Kit

We have three new copies of Animator's Survival Kit - our most popular book on animation - for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Animator's Survival Kit is now the standard textbook for animators and the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.  

We have many copies of the Animator's Survival Kit in the 11th Floor Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage.  The ASK can also be bought as an eBook download for the iPad.  

For all our students learning animation, we recommend this book as the principal animation textbook.  And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - with many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

Cintiq: New Hardware for Our 2D Animators

Wacom Cintiq tablets

Escape Studios has recently acquired new Wacom Cintiq tablets for our 2D animation students, enabling them to draw directly onto the screen rather than onto a traditional tablet. 

The new Wacom Cintiq drawing pads are available to our 2D animation students in the main 2D animation studio, "PalletTown", on the 11th floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Wacom Cintiq tablets enable our students to draw directly onto the screen, as is now standard practice across the industry.  

Escapee Federico Guzzardo Joins ILM

Federico Guzzardo joins Industrial Light & Magic

Many congratulations to Escapee Federico Guzzardo who has joined Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) as a Senior Generalist (Environments).  

Federico Guzzardo studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in 3D VFX.

Industrial Light & Magic is a global visual effects house, setting the standard for VFX internationally and responsible for multiple blockbuster movies.

Industry Feedback with George Caton-Coult 30 April

George Caton-Coult

Escape Studios is delighted to welcome back Love Love Films Studio Manager George Caton-Coult to review our second-year animation students' film projects on 30 April 2026.

George Caton-Coult is the Studio Manager at Love Love Films, responsible for the TV hit "Pop Paper City"  developed in partnership with Aardman Animation.  

Many Escapees worked on and helped to contribute to the success of "Pop Paper City". 

Escapee Laraib Shaikh Joins Milk FX

Escapee Laraib Shaikh Studio Assistant at Milk FX

Many congratulations to Escapee Laraib Shaikh who has joined London VFX house Milk FX as a Studio Assistant.

Laraib Shaikh studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in roto/prep and 2D compositing in Nuke. 

Escape Studios' Motion Graphics Showcase

We're celebrating some of the latest motion graphics work completed at Escape Studios.  Above is the short film "Mochi World" - a Motion Graphics group project created by our MA MoGraph students at Escape Studios.  This was a collaborative studio project - with the contributions of Ayesha Said, Joel Lang, Kim Chi Nguyen, Oliver Auld, Sadaf Abd Ar-Rauf and Omar Ramadan.  "Mochi World" was supervised by Escape Studios' Motion Graphics tutor Daniel Amor.  Scroll down to see more excellent work completed by individual artists from our graduating class of MA students.

Introducing "Spark" by Nimisha Manjunathan

Introducing "Spark", a new animated short created at Escape Studios by MA animation student Nimisha Manjunathan.  "Spark" was written and animated by Nimisha Manjunathan who is studying for her MA in Animation with Escape Studios' animation tutor Lee Caller.  "Spark" tells the story of a girl who dreams of athletic success; the short film is currently being entered into animation film festivals. 

Motion Graphics Evening Class Starts 24 March 2026

Motion Graphics Evening Class returns on 20 Jan 2026

Our Motion Graphics 12 Week Evening Class returns on 24 March 2026.  The course is taught by experienced industry professionals, and aims to prepare students for careers in the motion graphic and motion design industries.

The market for skilled motion designers has never been bigger, and London is host to the world’s largest motion design community.   To find out more, visit the official course page here.

"Sea Of Madness" wins "Best Short" in Florence

Sea Of Madness wins "Best Super Short Film" in Florence 

Congratulations to the makers of Sea Of Madness, which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the Florence Film Awards. 

Sea Of Madness was directed by Maria Freitas  and produced by Ivy Wang.  

Jake Hines was the editor and 2D Lead, and Sebastian McKernan was the 3D Lead.  Ian Chavez Zarate stars as The Pirate.   This is the latest of many festival awards.

Film Soc is Back: "Glorious Failures" 12 March

Film Soc is back

Escape Studios' Film Society is back. Film Soc has unveiled a new line up of films starting tomorrow Thursday 12th March and continuing every Thursday until the 23rd of April.  

Escape Studios' Film Society is a student society that screens films that will inspire students for their future projects.  

The "Glorious Failures" season is a season of films dedicated to telling the stories of great artists who failed to gain the recognition they deserved. 

"Unknown" Wins "Best Animation" in Makizhmithran

Congratulations to Escape Studios' animation student Alessia Gori whose short film "Unknown" has won the award for "Best Animated Short Film" at the Makizhmithran Film Festival. 

Alessia Gori is studying for her master's degree in the Art of 3D Animation at Escape Studios.  

This is Alessia Gori's first film, and her first film award. 

"Void" Wins Best Short Award in NYC

"Void" wins Best Super Short Film in NYC

Congratulations to the makers of "Void", which has won Best Super Short Film at the New York Movie Awards.

Void is a short films made by our third year undergraduate animation students at Escape Studios.  

"Void" was directed by Kaya Akinci, edited and produced by Luis Yarroll. This is the latest of many festival awards.

MoGraph MA Returns September 2026

Master's Degree in Motion Graphics Returns 23 Feb 2026

Our new Short Course and Master's Degree in Motion Graphics returns on 14 September 2026.

Motion Graphics is a key part of the animation industry, an expanding area of jobs and creativity.

We have been teaching Motion Graphics  at Escape Studios for many years - now for the first time we can offer a fully accredited masters-level post-graduate course.

"Theseus" Wins "Best Trailer" at VIZ Film Fest

Theseus & The Minotaur wins "Best Trailer" at VIZ Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short Theseus and The Minotaur which has won "Best Trailer" at the VIZ Film Festival.

Theseus and The Minotaur tells the story of the Greek hero's entry into the Labyrinth, and was directed by Mitchell Wright and produced by Ayesha-Ria Jina. The 3D lead was Xavier Barker, and the 2D Lead was Ethan Mainwaring-Taylor.  Industry feedback was provided by Industrial Light & Magic.  

This the latest of many festival awards. 

Evening Class in Storyboarding: 24 March 2026

Our Evening Class in

Giles & Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament - Storyboards

Storyboarding returns on 24 March 2026.  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.

Vine FX and "The Challenges of Alternate Worlds"

Simon Carr  and Jessica Lennox from Vine FX

At last week's EscapeVerse Live Festival, Vine FX's Simon Carr (Creative Director) and Jessica Lennox (CG Lead) presented "The Challenges of Visible vs Fantasy FX". 

As always, creative projects begin with a conversation with the client.  What does the client want, and how can a VFX house like Vine FX serve their vision?  

Anand Sembhi Animator at King Bee Animation

Anand Sembhi joins King Bee Animation 

Many congratulations to Escapee Anand Sembhi - who has joined King Bee Animation as an animator.

Anand Sembhi studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios.  

While at Escape Studios, Anand Sembhi contributed to a number of award-wnning short films, including Freefall, Spitfire, Tech Troubles and Good Soup. 

Jake Lee: Short Films, Awards & Festival Success

At last week's EscapeVerse Live event, Jake Lee explained how he achieved short film festival success with his short film "Am I Dreaming?".

Jake explained the need to build a team, in this case a producer, composer, singer and songwriter. Film-makers rarely work alone - you need to build a team of enthusiastic partners to collaborate and deliver the vision.

HaZ Dulull: "How to Set Up and Run an Indie Studio"

HaZ Dulull "How to Set Up and Run an Indie Studio"

At last week's EscapeVerse Live event, HaZ Dulull - founder and director at "Beyond The Pixels" - explained "How to Set Up and Run an Indie Studio with Your First Game".  

HaZ's journey into the games industry has been one of an independent entrepreneur, setting up his own company, his first game "AstroBurn" and figuring out the nuts and bolts of running a business.