Blue Zoo's Real Time Animation Pipeline

Blue Zoo's Tom Box at BlueGFX Expo

At the BlueGFX Expo event on Tuesday, Blue Zoo founder Tom Box explained how Blue Zoo are transitioning to a "real-time animation render pipeline" this year, exploring new ways to speed up the animation process.

Tom described Blue Zoo as a studio that, since its inception, has "refused to accept industry standards", and has forged its own path in the industry.

Recently Blue Zoo have been pioneering the use of real-time rendering using Unreal Engine, in much the same way that we have been doing at Escape Studios - finding ways to make the production process faster and more efficient. 

Blue GFX Expo 12 November 2019

It's that time of year again. Blue GFX Expo 2019 is taking place in London on Tuesday 12th November.

I'm suspending animation classes at Escape on the day, so our 2nd year under graduate students can catch up with latest in animation, VFX and Games. 

BlueGFX Expo on Wednesday 21st November

Blue GFX Expo 2018 is taking place in London this week on Wednesday 21st November.

We're suspending animation classes at Escape on the day, and we're also paying for our undergraduate and masters' animation students to attend this excellent event.

Save the Date: BlueGFX Expo 21 Nov 2018

Registration will open soon for the Blue GFX Expo, taking place in London on Wednesday 21st November 2018.

We'll be suspending classes at Escape on the day, so that all our students can attend this excellent event.

Challenges of VR - by Rewind

At the Blue GFX Expo this year we heard about some of the Challenges of Virtual Reality in an excellent talk by Oliver Kibblewhite, Head of Special Projects at Rewind, a creative agency based in LondonOliver Kibblewhite, Head of Special Projects at Rewind, a creative agency based in London.

VR is something of a "Wild West" right now, a potentially huge field that has yet to be explored. It's not yet clear how VR will become commercially viable, or even in what medium. But it is surely clear that, at some point in the (not so distant) future, VR will be a huge part of the entertainment industry. So, what (according to Rewind) are the challenges of VR?

Storyboard with Panel Forge Pro for Free

At last week's Blue GFX Expo, Blue Zoo’s Tom Box announced that Panel Forge Pro, their new storyboard and pipeline tool, is now available for free for student use.

Panel Forge Pro, extensively tested at Blue Zoo on Miffy the Rabbit and Digby Dragon, makes use of 3D Layouts to save time in Storyboarding, allowing board artists to use low resolution 3D assets to help set up camera angles and layouts.  Good news then for storyboard artists, who can now learn to use this new software for free.

Blue GFX Expo 2017 Thursday 9th November

Registration is still open for the Blue GFX Expo taking place in London on Thursday 9th November 2017.

We're suspending classes at Escape on Thursday, so that all our students can attend this excellent (and free!) event.

BlueGFX Expo - 9 November - Register Now!

Registration is now open for  Blue GFX Expo is taking place in London on 9th November 2017.

We strongly encourage all our students to register now for this excellent free event, .

Blue GFX Expo 9 November 2017

Save the date! Blue GFX Expo is taking place in London on 9th November 2017.

Last year speakers included Tom Box from Blue Zoo, one of the UK's biggest TV animation company, Stuart Penn from Framestore, and the folks from Autodesk showing the latest tools.

A Blue Zoo Animation Masterclass

At last week's VFX Festival, Blue Zoo's Tom Box introduced one of their animation directors to give a Masterclass in Cartoony Animation. Blue Zoo does all kinds of different styles of animation, trying "not to get known for just one style", but much of their work is done for TV format, where schedules are punishing and animators have to work fast.

Blue Zoo have to be creative, efficient, and find ways to stay competitive - even in a high-cost city like London, where rents and wages are much higher than overseas.

They also encourage their staff to get involved creatively, developing in-house projects which can be brought to the screen, and also doing short films - BZ Shorts - within the studio, developing new styles of animation and experimenting with new ways of doing things.

Since Blue Zoo will be mentoring our next group of student animators, we need to know - what are their secrets for a fast, efficient animation workflow?

Brynley Gibson from Curve Digital on Virtual Reality

At last week's BlueGFX Expo, one of the most interesting presentations was by Brynley Gibson from indie games developer Curve Digital on the subject of Virtual Reality.

Gibson posed a number of questions to the audience about what exactly VR is about, and how digital artists should approach VR projects.

And the first question anyone attempting a VR project should ask is a simple one: why does this need to be VR?

Blue GFX Expo Tomorrow! Last Chance to Register!

Today is the last chance to register for Blue GFX Expo - taking place in London tomorrow, 17th November.

This year speakers include Tom Box from Blue Zoo, one of the UK's biggest TV animation companies, Framestore on Dr Strange, as well as the folks from Autodesk showing the latest tools in Maya 2017. The event is free and we highly recommend that all our students attend the full day.

BlueGFX Expo 17 November 2016

Blue GFX Expo is taking place in London on 17th November 2016.

Last year speakers included Tom Box from Blue Zoo, one of the UK's biggest TV animation company, Stuart Penn from Framestore, and the folks from Autodesk showing the latest tools.

Stuart Penn Explains How FrameStore Helped Create Warner Bros’ Blockbuster Fantasy Adventure: Pan

Stuart Penn is a CG Supervisor with fifteen years experience working at Framestore, whose recent work includes Warner Bros’ blockbuster fantasy adventure: Pan.

At the BlueGFX Expo on London’s South Bank last week, Stuart explained how Framestore pulled off the exceptional challenges of this effects-heavy film.

BlueGFX EXPO Takes Place on Thursday 19th November 2015

Blue GFX Expo is taking place in London on 19th November 2015.  This year speakers include Tom Box from Blue Zoo, the UK's biggest TV animation company, Stuart Penn from Framestore, and representatives from Autodesk showing the latest Maya tools.  For all our students, this is a great chance to catch up with new technology and meet in person people from the UK's top animation and visual effects houses.  And best of all, it's completely free.

Blue Zoo and the Making of Q Pootle 5

Q Pootle 5 by Blue Zoo

Blue Zoo are one of the UK's leading animation companies, making world-beating TV series - sold and distributed around the globe.

So how do they do it? In a recent talk at Blue GFX, Adam Shaw (one of the co-founders of Blue Zoo) explained how he created the hit animated TV series Q Pootle 5. His lecture was a fully-fledged masterclass in how to put a TV series together.

So, if you have ever wondered - how do you get your own TV series off the ground? - here's how it works.