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. 

Blue Zoo's Jamie Floodgate Visits Escape Studios

Jamie Floodgate from Blue Zoo visits Escape Studios

On Thursday 21st May we welcomed Escapee Jamie Floodgate, now a lead animator at Blue Zoo animation, to give feedback to our second year animation students. 

Jamie Floodgate gave up his time to review all twelve of the Year Two Animation Studio Projects.  

Escape Studios' tutor Kevin Richards reports on a great day of industry feedback. 

Blue Zoo Summer Internships Now Open

Blue Zoo's 2026 summer internships are now open

Applications for Blue Zoo's 2026 summer internships are now open, and close on Friday 29th May at midnight.  

As always, we encourage our students to apply for internships like this one.  Even if you don't succeed, you will learn valuable skills along the way. 

The internship roles available this year at Blue Zoo are: 3D Animator, Social Media Intern and Production Assistant Intern.

All information needed to apply is at Blue Zoo's careers website along with the application pages.  Applications for Blue Zoo's 2026 summer internships can be made here at the official Blue Zoo site.

Blue Zoo's "AI Manifesto"

Blue Zoo's AI Manifesto

Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation companies, has published their "AI Manifesto".

The AI Manifesto sets out how artists and animators at the studio can navigate the world of artificial intelligence "ethically...leveraging technology for the betterment of society and creativity".  

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.

Happy 25th Birthday Blue Zoo!

Blue Zoo 25th Anniversary Party

This past week the BAFTA-winning animation studio Blue Zoo celebrated their 25th birthday with a huge party that brought together past and present team members, collaborators, and friends of the studio.

The event celebrated a quarter-century of award-winning creativity, from groundbreaking children’s TV shows to acclaimed commercials.  

Blue Zoo has mentored many Escape Studios' animation students at both undergraduate and graduate level, and many Escapees have begun their animation careers at Blue Zoo.

Priya Shah Junior Layout Artist at Blue Zoo

Priya Shah

Many congratulations to Escapee Priya Shah who has joined Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation studios, as a Junior Layout Artist. 

 

Layout is one of the key roles on an animated film, encompassing cinematography, animation and composition. 

Blue Zoo is a BAFTA-winning studio responsible for multiple hit TV series such as Paddington and Numberblocks. 

Animation Feedback from Blue Zoo's Will Lloyd-Cook

Blue Zoo's Will Lloyd-Cook - Industry Feedback

Many thanks to Blue Zoo's William Lloyd-Cook for giving animation feedback to our third year animation students at Escape Studios this week.  Will is an experienced animator and series director at London's Blue Zoo, one of London's leading animation studios.  

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios, part of what we call The Escape Method, a combination of intensive classroom teaching, online tutorials, constructive feedback, industry engagement, and group project work.

Simone Costa Animator at Blue Zoo

Simone Costa

Many congratulations to Escapee Simone Costa who has joined Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation studios, as an animator.  

At Escape Studios, Simone Costa studied the Art of Computer Animation, and contributed his skills to four award-winning animated shorts: Kiwi's Dream, Malloe, Animal Lover and Nefertiti.  

Lucy Harris Layout Artist at Blue Zoo

Lucy Harris

Many congratulations to Escapee Lucy Harris,  who has started work as a layout artist at Blue Zoo Animation in London. 

Lucy studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, and worked on several award-winning short films, including "March of the Potguins", which won a "Five Star Award" at the British Amateur Film Festival in 2020. 

In 2020 Lucy directed the short sci-fi fantasy "Over Under", which won "Best Animation" at the Flicks Festival and "Most Fabulous Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Fest. 

Escapee Sasha Fusini Reps Blue Zoo at Annecy

Sasha Fusini reps Blue Zoo at Annecy Fest

Many congratulations to Escapee Sasha Fusini who has joined Brighton Zoo Animation Studio as a storyboard artist, and represented Blue Zoo Animation at the Annecy Film Festival this year. 

Sasha Fusini took our evening class in storyboarding with industry veteran Francesca "Chess" Adams and built up a storyboard portfolio over the duration of the course. 

Blue Zoo Summer Internships Open May 27th

Applications for Blue Zoo's 2024 summer internships will open Monday 27th May at midnight.  

As always, we encourage our students to apply for internships like this one.  Even if you don't succeed, you will learn valuable skills along the way. 

The internship roles available this year at Blue Zoo are: 3D Look Development Intern, Social Media Intern and Games/Apps Intern.

All the information you will need to apply will be on Blue Zoo's careers website along with the application pages. 

You can read the internship FAQ page at the Blue Zoo blog now: https://lnkd.in/eSTvgeYk

Priya Shah Wins Disney/Blue Zoo Pitch Competition

Many congratulations to Escapee Priya Shah whose pitch to the Walt Disney/Blue Zoo Pitch Competition has been successful. 

Priya Shah, currently a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios, is one of the winners of the Success Story Competition by The Walt Disney Company and Blue Zoo Animation Studio.

Escapee Sasha Fusini Storyboards "Supertato"

Sasha Fusini

Congratulations to Escapee Sasha Fusini who has recently completed work on three hit shows at Blue Zoo Animation - Supertato, Tee and Mo and Pip and Posy. 

You can see Sasha's portfolio here:  www.sashafusini.com. Sasha now has experience storyboarding in both 2D and 3D and works in both Storyboard Pro and Blue Zoo's in-house software Panelforge.

Sasha Fusini took our evening class in storyboarding with industry veteran Francesca "Chess" Adams and built up a storyboard portfolio over the duration of the course.  She soon found work at Blue Zoo Animation.

Escapees Visit Blue Zoo Animation

Escapees visit Blue Zoo

Escape Studios is delighted to thank our industry partners Blue Zoo for their studio tour; this past week our 3rd year undergraduate animators had a studio visit at Blue Zoo, one of London's leading animation studios.

Blue Zoo welcomed our students, showed us their latest animation reel, and also offered an insight into some of their production processes, as well as a studio tour of their facility.

Jamie Floodgate Lead Animator at Blue Zoo

Jamie Floodgate

Many congratulations to Escapee Jamie Floodgate, who has recently been promoted to Lead Animator at the London animation studio Blue Zoo.

Jamie applied to Blue Zoo on the strength of his animation demo reel which he put together after taking our 12 week animation course at Escape Studios.

Jamie wasn't initially successful applying to Blue Zoo. Undaunted, he continued to polish his animation skills, working on an entry to the 11 Second Club monthly competition.  The second time around, everything fell into place.

Blue Zoo's Will Lloyd-Cook Animation Feedback

Will Lloyd-Cook

Many thanks to Blue Zoo's William Lloyd-Cook for giving animation feedback to our third year animation students at Escape Studios.  Will is an experienced animator and series director at London's Blue Zoo, one of London's leading animation studios.  

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios, part of what we call The Escape Method, a combination of intensive classroom teaching, online tutorials, constructive feedback, industry engagement, and group project work.

Animation Careers Evening 26th Oct at 5.30pm

On Wednesday 26th October 2022 at 5.30pm we're hosting a free online Animation Careers Evening at Escape Studios. 

Tune in to get exclusive career advice from our special guests at Blue Zoo Animation, one of the UK's leading animation houses. 

Our guests are Oleksiy Popov, Lead Animator at Blue Zoo, and Katie Slack, Talent Acquisition Manager at Blue Zoo.

Escapee Titi-Marian Giusca Animator at Blue Zoo

Titi-Marion Giusca

Many congratulations to Escapee Titi-Marian Giusca who has started work as an animator at Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation houses.

Titi-Marian Giusca studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios.

While at Escape Studios, Titi-Marian contributed to a number of award-winning projects, including March of the Potguins, Over Under, and The Golden Acorn, all of which have enjoyed considerable festival success.

Real-Time Animation with Blue Zoo

Michael Davies animates in real time

Last week Escape Studios visited the London animation studio Blue Zoo to test their new Real-Time Animation Pipeline.  

Traditional animation is painstaking and time-consuming, but Blue Zoo's new real-time pipeline allows the user to create puppet animation in a matter of seconds.

The interface uses the Oculus Rift, and allows the animator (on left is our Head of Animation, Michael Davies) to create puppet-style animation much more quickly than using a traditional approach. 

The Oculus interface allows the animator to use a layered approach, starting with the main body control, then animating the head, hands, eyes, eyebrows and so on. The effect is very much like a digital version of The Muppet Show, producing a lively, energetic style of animation.