BYOA Returns on 22 September 2026

BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation) - 22 Sept 2026 

Calling all Escape Studios animation students - BYOA is back on Tuesday 22 September at the Nell of Old Drury in Covent Garden.

BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation)  is a monthly animation event that takes place upstairs at a London pub. 

The next BYOA takes place on Tuesday 22 September 2026 upstairs at the Nell of Old Drury at 29 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5JS from 7pm onwards. 

Sam Blackburn Live Graphics at Boomtown Festival

 Sam Blackburn - live graphics at Boomtown Festival

Many congratulations to Escapee Sam Blackburn whose live graphics formed part of this year's Boomtown Festival from August 11-15 in Hampshire.  

Sam Blackburn studied the Art of 3D Animation at Escape Studios. Sam creates live performances with real-time graphics at events, such as Boomtown and Miso Extra’s European tour in London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris.  While at Escape Studios, Sam also worked on the short film "Scars", which has won multiple festival awards. 

Escapee Maye Liu Animator at Blue Zoo

Maye Liu junior animator at Blue Zoo Animation 

Many congratulations to Escapee Maye Liu who is working as a junior animator at Blue Zoo Animation in London.

Maye Liu studied the Art of computer animation at Escape Studios, where she directed the short film Lumi - which has won many festival awards. 

"Project Juliet" Runner Up at The Rookies 2026

Congratulations to the makers of  "Project Juliet", which has won the "Runner Up" award for Game of The Year in the category of Console and PC at The 2026 Rookies. 

The Rookies is an international competition for young creatives; part contest and part showcase for rising talent.

In "Project Juliet", an unfortunate lab tester is forced to undergo a dangerous trial, with horrifying consequences.  

Project Juliet was created by "Team Psychosis" at Escape Studios, produced by Pahiya Rahman, and was inspired by The Outlast Trials, a survival game created by Montreal-based games company Red Barrels.  

Eric Goldberg Created a "Disney Legend"

Animation legend Eric Goldberg has been officially created a "Disney Legend" by the Walt Disney Company.

Becoming a Disney Legend means receiving the highest honor that The Walt Disney Company can give to an individual.

The award started in 1987. It celebrates people who have made a significant and lasting impact on the history and legacy of Disney animation. 

I worked under Eric's direction both on the feature film Pocahontas and later on the cartoony "Looney Tunes - Back in Action", animated in the snappy Warner Bros style.  

Bring Your Own Animation 24 September 2026

BYOA 24 Sept 2026 at Cinesite in Soho

Calling all Escape Studios animation students -BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation)  returns on 24 September 2026 for a "Rainbow Spotlight" event hosted by Cinesite in Soho. 

This special BYOA event is hosted by Siggraph and takes place on 24 September 2026 at Cinesite in London from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.  Cinesite's address is 10 Little Portland Street London W1W 7JG.  To sign up, follow this Eventbrite link. 

"Held Back" Wins "Best Animation" in Roshani

"Held Back" wins "Best Animation" at Roshani Film Fest  

Congratulations to the makers of the animated short film "Held Back" which has won "Best Animation" at the Roshani Film Festival.  

Held Back was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.   Held Back was directed by Lewis Sims and produced by Hassan Mahdi.  

This its second festival award. 

"Pretty in Pink" Wins Best Animation in Tamizhagam

Many congratulations to the makers of "Pretty in Pink", the latest animated short film created by our Second Year 2d Animation Students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Animation" at the Tamizhagam Film Festival.  

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

The goal is to simulate as closely as possible the reality of working on a client project at a commercial animation studio. 

"Pretty in Pink" was directed and produced by Eric Dulieu; this is its first festival award. 

MA Entrepreneurship for the Creative Industries

MA Entrepreneurship for the Creative Industries

This September we launch our new MA in Entrepreneurship for the Creative Industries, a postgraduate course designed in collaboration with entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs to help creatives start and grow their own ventures.

On this one-year MA students learn in a practical incubator-style environment where ideas get turned into real-world ventures. 

Students will create production schedules, business plans, and project briefs in collaboration with industry partners, then take the leap into launching a new startup.

The course is led by games designer Glyn Fairweather, a creative entrepreneur with extensive experience of scaling projects in the games industry. 

Working on "The Iron Giant"

"He's a giant robot Dean; it's a little...undignified"

The Iron Giant was released 27 years ago, on 6 August 1999.  The film was not a box office success, but it has since won a cult following and regularly features in lists of the top 100 films of all time. 

I joined Warner Bros. Feature Animation in 1996, and started work on The Iron Giant in the spring of 1998.  Working for director Brad Bird was one of the best experiences of my career in animation.  

Meet the Concept Art Team at Escape Studios

Tutors Steven Sole, Will Brosch and Enrico Buffa

Meet the Concept Art Team at Escape Studios.  Concept Art is one of the fastest-growing areas of study at Escape Studios, reflecting the growth not just in film and TV work, but immersive media and in-experiences such as museum installations and theme parks.  Our team of Concept Art tutors includes Steven Sole, Will Brosch and Enrico Buffa.  

Concept Artist Enrico Buffa Joins Escape Studios

Enrico Buffa joins Escape

We're extending a warm welcome to Concept art Tutor Enrico Buffa, an experienced London-based visual development artist - who will be teaching our MA in Concept Art and Experience Design at Escape Studios.

Enrico has worked for many animation studios including DNEG, Blue Zoo, Boulder Media, and Studio Bozzetto in Milan.  Enrico's screen credits include Transformers, It's a Pony, and Superbook.  Enrico has also previously taught our evening class in concept art. 

We're delighted to welcome Enrico back to Escape Studios.

Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 26 Sept 2026

Escape Studios is hosting a new Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 26 September 2026 at 10.30am and 1.30pm. 

The event takes place at 6 Mitre Passage in our North Greenwich Campus and also online.  

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees - join us and find out more about what we do and how we teach. 

Animator Giacomo Autili Joins Escape Studios

Giacomo Autili joins Escape Studios

We're extending a warm welcome to veteran animator and character designer Giacomo Autili who joins us in September to teach the 3rd year animation students at Escape Studios, studying the Art of 2D Computer Animation.  

Giacomo Autili joins us from Studio AKA where he has worked on hit series such as "Hey Dugee".

Giacomo is proficient in 2D animation software such as TV Paint and Toonboom Harmony, as well as Unity, Adobe Animate, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, InDesign and Illustrator.   Giacomo also has extensive experience working as a character designer.

Short Course & Post-Grad Open Evening 19 Aug 2026

Short Course & Post-Graduate Open Evening 19 Aug 2026 

Join us on Wednesday 19th August 2026 at 6pm both in-person and online (via Zoom) for our next Short Course and Post-Graduate Open Evening at Escape Studios, hosted both on campus and online at Zoom. 

The event offers prospective students a chance to find out what it's like to study with us.  Meet our tutors, find out about our courses, and have your questions answered. To see more events at Escape Studios, follow this link.

Escapee Rich Jeffery Directs "The Bluey Movie"

Escapee Rich Jeffery 
co-directs the new Bluey Movie

Many congratulations to Escapee Rich Jeffery who
is co-directing the upcoming Bluey Movie, a co-production between Disney and the BBC, currently in production in Queensland, Australia.

Rich Jeffery took our 12 week course in 3D animation, and has since gone on to forge a successful career as an animation director. 

Rich Jeffery has been directing The Australian animated TV series "Bluey" for several years.  Since then "Bluey" has become a global success story, one of the most popular shows on Netflix.

Rich said "it’s been an epic ride for last few years and I’m over the moon to be co-directing on my first feature film".

The Bluey Movie is due for release in movie theatres in August 2027.

Graduation Day Tuesday 3rd Nov 2026 at the O2

Graduation Day 3rd Nov 2026 at The Indigo at the O2

Save The Date! This year's Escape Studios Graduation Ceremony takes place on Tuesday 3rd November 2026 at The Indigo at the O2 in North Greenwich, a short walk from our campus at 6 Mitre Passage. 

On Graduation Day we welcome all our graduating students for the graduation ceremony and for the reception afterwards. 

Tsveti Kumanova Animator at Fire Without Smoke

Tsvetelina Kumanova Animator at Fire Without Smoke

Many congratulations to Escapee Tsvetelina Kumanova who has been promoted from Junior Animator to Animator at Fire Without Smoke, one of the UK's leading games companies. Tsvetelina Kumanova is currently specialising in real time animated  cutscenes using Maya and Unreal Engine. 

Alfie Williams Animation Tutor with Simply Learning

Alfie Williams joins Simply Learning Tuition

Many congratulations to Escapee Alfie Williams who has joined Simply Learning Tuition, teaching animation to children and young adults in London. 
Alfie is currently teaching animation, scripting, storyboarding, and the fundamentals of digital film-making.

"Scars" wins "Best Animated Short" in Kodaikanal

Scars" wins "Best Animated Short" in Kodaikanal

Many congratulations to the makers of "Scars", which has won "Best Animated Short" at the Kodaikanal Film Awards.  

Scars was a collaboration between our graduating class of students studying the Art of Games, The Art of Animation and Character Creation - working together across disciplines to create a group project.  

Scars was directed by Charlie O'Sullivan, edited by Sam Blackburn and produced by Alex Sparks. Theo Craig was the Editor and Art Director.  This is the film's second festival award. 

"Fashionably Late" Wins "Best VFX" at the EEFF

"Fashionably Late" wins "Best VFX" at EEFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Fashionably Late", the latest VFX short film from Escape Studios, which has won "Best VFX" at the Eastern European Film Festival.  

Fashionably Late tells the story of a competition runner who wakes up late - and finds herself in a world of trouble. 

Fashionably Late was produced by William Brooke, based on an original pitch by Daniela Al-Hilli.  Thomas Cunningham wrote the script.  The athlete was played by Ash Brittleton.  You can find "Fashionably Late" here at Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/1190139530. This is its first festival award. 

Marc Stevenson 3D Animation Programme Leader

Marc Stevenson 3D Animation Programme Leader

Many congratulations to Escape Studios animation tutor Marc Stevenson, who has been appointed 3D Animation Programme Leader at Escape Studios.  

Marc teaches our Third Year Animation Students this year as they start their Specialism Module CR6001 and the other Third Year animation modules. 

Marc Stevenson is a veteran animator with multiple credits on Hollywood VFX hits including Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Fast & Furious 6, Avengers, Age of Ultron, Moon, and Victor Frankenstein. 

Introducing "Brodiaga" by Anastasia Gurova

Introducing "Brodiaga" by Anastasia Gurova.  "Brodiaga" is an original story created by storyboard artist and director Anastasia Gurova, a student on the MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation at Escape Studios.  This storyboard animatic about Anastasia Gurova's childhood experiences growing up in rural Russia was created as part of a formal submission on the Master's Degree Course. 

Rebecca Perrone 2D Animation Programme Leader

Rebecca Perrone 2D Animation Programme Leader

We're delighted to congratulation veteran animator Rebecca Perrone who has been promoted to 2D Animation Programme Leader at Escape Studios.  

Rebecca Perrone is an experienced 2D animator who has been teaching our "Level Six" 2D animation students in their third and final year of undergraduate studies at Escape Studios.

From Sept 2026 Rebecca Perrone 

will teach our Second Year Animation Students the art of 2D Animation. 

Clearing Q&A with Prof Ian Palmer 13 Aug 2026

Questions about Clearing? Online Q&A 13 Aug

Got questions about Clearing? Join us for our online Q&A next Thursday 13 August and get advice on your next steps from Escape Studios’ Principal, Professor Ian Palmer.

🚀 Thursday 13th August

🚀 1:00 - 2:00 PM

🚀 Online (via Zoom)

https://www.escapestudios.ac.uk/clearing/?utm_source=esc&utm_medium=x&utm_campaign=clearing2026

What is Clearing?

UCAS Clearing is the system in the UK that helps students find and secure open university and college spots. You can use the Clearing process if you missed your exam grades, applied late after June 30, didn't get any offers, or changed your mind. 

"Shapla" Now On YouTube

The short 2D animation film "Shapla" has been extended and fully completed, and is now available to watch at YouTube.  "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. Kam Penderly was the Lead Compositor.  

Shapla tells the story of Priya, a young woman who attempts to bring back her partner, Shapla, with the use of her power over water. Set in Bangladesh, the film explores themes of sustainability and environmentalism.  Shapla has won many festival awards. 

New Books for the Comics Library

"Bone" by Jeff Smith for the Animation Library

We're getting ready for the launch of our new BA/MArt in Comics and Narrative Storytelling by acquiring new books for the comics section of our library at Escape Studios, including two copies of the "Bone" series of comics by Jeff Smith. 

Bone is an American fantasy comic book series written and illustrated by cartoonist Jeff Smith, originally serialized in 55 issues released from 1991 to 2004.

Escapee Grace Reid Technical Artist at ILM

Escapee Grace Reid TA at ILM

Many congratulations to Escapee Grace Reid who has started work as a Technical Assistant (TA) at Industrial Light & Magic. 

Grace Reid first joined ILM's Jedi Academy as a VFX "Padawan".  Industrial Light & Magic's Jedi Academy is a six month paid internship.  ILM is arguably the world's leading VFX house, responsible for multiple hit movies and series.

Dozens of Escapees have joined ILM after graduating from Escape Studios. 

"Cursed Pages" wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran

"Cursed Pages" wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran

Congratulations to the makers of "Cursed Pages" which has won "Best VFX" at the Makizhmithran Film Awards. 

"Cursed Pages" is a short VFX film which was written, directed and produced by Laura Lambert.  Kaike Pela was the 3D lead, and Calum Johnstone was the 2D lead.  

You can watch Cursed Pages at Vimeo here.  

This is Cursed Pages' first festival award. 

Emily Shilling, Concept Art and ETC

Emily Shilling

At the University of Hertfordshire's annual Expo, UH graduate Emily Shilling gave a talk about her work as a concept artist at the Electric Theatre Collective (ETC), with some great advice for students on how to break into the industry - at a time of rapid technological change.

Clearing at Escape Studios - Apply Now

We're in "Clearing" at Escape Studios, meaning that there are still places available for students looking to study creative media, such as animation, games and visual effects.

To find out more about our courses, and perhaps place a last-minute application, follow this link. 

See you in September!

https://www.escapestudios.ac.uk/clearing/?utm_source=esc&utm_medium=x&utm_campaign=clearing2026