"Power Up Your Portfolio" Wed 30 Sept 5pm via Zoom

Power Up Your Portfolio on 30 Sept at 5pm

Thinking of studying with us at Escape Studios? Join us on Wednesday 30 September at 5pm for a free webinar to "Power Up Your Portfolio" - online via Zoom. 

Prospective students often ask What should go into a portfolio when applying to Escape Studios?  Find out on Thursday 30th September.  

You'll hear from our Dean of Visual Storytelling Alexander Williams,  Programme Leader for VFX Klaudija Cermak and Programming tutor Michael MacKinnon. 

We'll be showing samples of portfolio work from our current students, and offering insights into the sort of work you could include in your own portfolio.

Sign up here for this free event. 

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.

Animal & Creature Animation Showreel 2026

Congratulations to our all our talented students on the new 2026 Animals and Creatures Demo Reel from Escape Studios. The video above is a compilation of the best work done by students studying on our short courses, evening classes, and postgraduate classes.  Many thanks to Escape Studios' videographer Ahmed Aden for cutting the reel. 

Alex Williams 2D Animation Demo Reel

2D Animation has been expanding at Escape Studios, with a growing student body, many new short films - and many festival awards.  Our 2D animation tutors include Shane Woodson, Rebecca Perrone, Kevin Richards, Steve Lall and Iliana Franklin - all have many years of experience working on 2D animated projects.  Above is a selection of 2D animation on various films by our Dean of Animation & VFX Alexander Williams.  Edit by Escapee Miguel Teixeira, music by Pixabay.  

2025 Motion Graphics Demo Reel

Congratulations to our Motion Graphics students and tutors on the excellent new 2025 Motion Graphics Demo Reel from Escape Studios. The video above is a compilation of the best work done by Motion Graphics students studying on our short courses, evening classes, and postgraduate classes.  

Animation Demo Reels - To Light or Not to Light?

Chameleon by Dave Novis

A strong animation demo reel isn’t just about great animation — it’s also about great presentation.  

Many student reels rely on greyshade renders or raw playblasts, but taking the time to add simple lighting can make a huge difference to how your work is received. 

You don’t need to be a lighting artist to benefit from a basic setup.  A little polish goes a long way, and you can follow one of our super simple lighting tutorials to get a great result in just a few minutes. 

Why Animators Embed Their Demo Reel at Linkedin

Animation recruiters "live at Linkedin" 

A strong demo reel is essential for launching an animation career — but it only works if people see it. Too many graduates upload their reel to YouTube or Vimeo and stop there. 

One of the smartest places to share your reel is LinkedIn.  It’s quick, it’s professional, and it’s where animation recruiters are already looking. Your reel is your most important asset. Don’t hide it. Put it where the industry can find you easily.

Why Animation Demo Reels Need a Walk Cycle

Character walk by Ben Swallow

Every animation demo reel should include at least one good walk cycle.  It might seem too basic, but a well executed walk tells a recruiter a lot about your animation skills — timing, weight, character, and appeal — all in a few seconds of motion. 

You can have a number of walk cycles on your reel, as long as they show character and personality, and as long as you keep them short and snappy.  

Escape Studios Demo Reel 2025

Congratulations to all our talented students studying the Art of Animation, VFX, Games, Motion Graphics, Character Creation and Concept Art who have contributed their skills to our 2025 combined demo reel. This latest reel represents just a small proportion of the excellent work created at Escape Studios over the last twelve months. 

Character Creation Showreel 2025

Escape Studios is proud to present our 2025 Character Creation Showreel, featuring the best work created by our talented students over the past year.  Our courses in character creation teach students how to design and create their own characters, and bring them to life.  Students learn to design, model, texture, rig and animate their own character, enabling them to be creative artists working with a wide variety of digital tools.

Escape Studios' "Portfolio Power Up" 30 Oct at 6pm

Join us on 30th October at 6pm for a "Portfolio Power Up" with Head of Animation Marc Stevenson and Escape Studios' Principal Ian Palmer at 6pm UK time. 

Preparing an industry-ready portfolio is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios; it's how we prepare "Studio Ready Talent" for the world of employment in the creative industries. 

Join us on October 30th for demo reel advice, insider tips, and a live Q&A. 

To sign up for this free event, follow this link.

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.

Escape Studios VFX Showreel 2025

We're proud to present our 2025 VFX demo reel from Escape Studios, featuring the best work created by our students over the past year.  Visual Effects is at the heart of what we do; it's where we began over twenty five years ago when Escape Studios was first founded to bridge the gap between the needs of industry for studio ready talent, which remains our mission today.

2025 2D Animation Demo Reel

We're proud to present the 2025 Escape Studios 2D Animation Demo Reel, a selection of the best animation completed at Escape Studios over the past year.  This year Animation Career Review ranked us #5 for Animation in the UK, #12 for Animation in Europe and #17 for Animation Internationally.  To see more student work at Escape Studios, follow this link. 

Escape Studios 3D Animation Demo Reel 2025

We're proud to present the 2025 Escape Studios 3D Animation Demo Reel, a selection of the best animation completed at Escape Studios over the past year.  This year Animation Career Review ranked us #5 for Animation in the UK, #12 for Animation in Europe and #17 for Animation Internationally.  To see more student work at Escape Studios, follow this link. 

Why Animators Need to Finish Their Demo Reel

Get Your Demo Reel Done

One of the key tasks for our graduates is to be job-ready at the end of the course, and this includes finishing a professional-quality demo reel.  

An animator's demo reel is the single most important means of landing that crucial first job in the animation industry.  

The key thing is to get it done. Remember that your demo reel will never be perfect - it will always be a work-in-progress. 

Character & Creature Creation Showreel

Check our our new Character and Creature Creation Showreel. This selection of the best work created by our students at Escape Studios shows how far our Character and Creature Creation MA and Short Course has come in the past year.  Congratulations to all our students on their excellent work.

Escape Studios 2024 Anim Games & VFX Demo Reel

Welcome to the Escape Studios 2024 Demo Reel - our selection of the very best Animation Games and VFX work completed over the past year.  This latest edit includes work by our most recent graduating class, as well as clips from many of our award-winning short films.  Congratulations to all our students on their remarkable work, once again raising the creative bar ever higher.

Why Animators Need Walks on Their Demo Reel

"Monty" in the gym by Sam Baker

One common mistake junior animators make when cutting a demo reel is to leave off basic exercises like walks, character walks and runs. 

Walks and runs can be (and should be) on an animation demo reel - for just long enough to show that these exercises are firmly inside the animator's skill set.  Every animator needs to be able to animate a walk and a run. 

Escape Studios 2024 2D Animation Reel

We're proud to present our 2024 2D Animation Reel.  Here at Escape Studios we've been expanding our 2D animation capacity for some years, starting with our Evening Classes in Toonboom Harmony, and now offering our undergraduate animation students a new 2D Animation Pathway, focusing on digital tools such as Toonboom Harmony, Adobe Animate and Blender.  The 2D Animation industry has been going through a renaissance, and we're proud to offer our students a chance to be a part of it.  This month we also became a formally accredited Toonboom Harmony Authorised Training Centre (ATC). 

Why Animators Need a Great Acting Shot

Acting shot by Escapee Rich Jeffrey

Why do animators need a great acting shot on their demo reel?  Because nothing showcases an animator’s talent quite like a strong acting shot.  

A well-executed acting scene shows that an animator can approach a shot like an actor might approach a scene in a movie or a play. 

Acting shots reveal whether an animator can go beyond basic mechanics and deliver a performance.